Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The association of scapular kinematics and glenohumeral joint pathologies.

UNLABELLED There is a growing body of literature associating abnormal scapular positions and motions, and, to a lesser degree, clavicular kinematics with a variety of shoulder pathologies. The purpose of this manuscript is to (1) review the normal kinematics of the scapula and clavicle during arm elevation, (2) review the evidence for abnormal scapular and clavicular kinematics in glenohumeral joint pathologies, (3) review potential biomechanical implications and mechanisms of these kinematic alterations, and (4) relate these biomechanical factors to considerations in the patient management process for these disorders. There is evidence of scapular kinematic alterations associated with shoulder impingement, rotator cuff tendinopathy, rotator cuff tears, glenohumeral instability, adhesive capsulitis, and stiff shoulders. There is also evidence for altered muscle activation in these patient populations, particularly, reduced serratus anterior and increased upper trapezius activation. Scapular kinematic alterations similar to those found in patient populations have been identified in subjects with a short rest length of the pectoralis minor, tight soft-tissue structures in the posterior shoulder region, excessive thoracic kyphosis, or with flexed thoracic postures. This suggests that attention to these factors is warranted in the clinical evaluation and treatment of these patients. The available evidence in clinical trials supports the use of therapeutic exercise in rehabilitating these patients, while further gains in effectiveness should continue to be pursued. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Level 5.
Toll-like receptor 9 agonists as cancer therapeutics

Introduction: Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) agonists, commonly referred to as CpG oligodeoxynucleotides (ODN), have been added to the arsenal of anti-cancer drugs as monotherapy or in combination with chemotherapy, radiotherapy and other immunotherapeutic approaches as they increase antigen presentation and boost anti-tumor T- and B-cell responses. Several synthetic TLR9 agonists have been developed for clinical grade use and displayed substantial efficacy in the preclinical and clinical models. Areas covered: This review summarizes TLR9 signaling and the impact of TLR9 agonists on the immune response. The most recent experimental and clinical data are analyzed as well as the development of new TLR9 agonists in current clinical trials. Expert opinion: Application of TLR9 agonists, in particular, combination strategies with chemo- or radiotherapy seem a promising and efficient immunotherapeutic approach in cancer patients even with refractory disease. Simultaneous application of TLR9 agonists aims at supporting the patient's immune response and overcoming specific immunosuppressant strategies developed by tumors. Combinatory approaches of the future might also seek for synergism of TLR9 agonists with other immunomodulatory strategies such as B-cell activation using the CD40–CD40L system.
Resonant frequencies of standing humans.

Many forms of industrial illness are thought to result from the effects of vibration on the human body. Prolonged exposure causes undue stress and discomfort. At the human whole-body resonant frequency there is maximum displacement between the organs and the skeletal structure and thus this is one frequency of vibration that should be minimized in the workplace and elsewhere. The vertical whole-body resonant frequencies of 113 fully-clothed standing humans were measured using a vibrating beam method, which imposed a very low acceleration magnitude at the subjects' feet. The overall range of resonant frequencies was found to be from 9 to 16 Hz and independent of mass, height and mass to height ratio. The mean values (+/-1 s.e.) were 12.2 +/- 0.1 Hz for males and 12.8 +/- 0.2 Hz for females with an overall mean population value of 12.3 +/- 0.1 Hz.
Overexpression of Retinoic Acid Receptor α in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Purpose: Retinoid analogues have been reported to inhibit the growth of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the expression profile of retinoic acid receptors (RARs) in HCC has not been fully clarified. In this study, we investigated the expression of RAR mRNAs and proteins in resected HCC and nontumor liver tissue. Experimental Design: Reverse transcription-PCR and Western blot analysis were applied to investigate the expression of RAR mRNAs and proteins in 32 resected samples of HCC and 14 samples of nontumor liver tissue. A HCC cell line and primary-cultured hepatocyte were treated with RAR-α-selective retinoids in vitro to estimate their antiproliferative activity. Results: The intensities of mRNA and protein for RAR-α in HCC tissue were significantly higher than those in nontumor liver tissue ( P = 0.002 and P = 0.002, respectively). The intensity ratios of HCC versus nontumor liver for RAR-α mRNA and protein were significantly higher than those for RAR-β and RAR-γ (mRNA, P = 0.02 and P = 0.006; protein, P = 0.04 and P = 0.007, respectively). There was only one significant correlation between the higher intensity of RAR-β protein and tumor stage (stage I/II versus stage III/IVA, P = 0.01) among clinicopathological variables in the HCC patients. However, in vitro experiments showed that the growth of a RAR-α-elevated HCC cell line was potently inhibited by treatment with retinoids at concentrations that did not affect the growth of primary-cultured hepatocytes. Conclusions: These results imply that RAR-α is the dominant receptor in HCC, which suggests that RAR-α-selective retinoid analogues may be useful for chemotherapy.
Relief supply collaboration for emergency logistics responses to large-scale disasters

This paper proposes a novel relief supply collaboration approach to address the issue of post-disaster relief supply–demand imbalance in emergency logistics (EL) operations. This proposed approach involves two levels of recursive functions: (1) a two-stage relief supplier clustering mechanism for time-varying multi-source relief supplier selection and (2) the use of stochastic dynamic programming model to determine a multi-source relief supply that minimises the impact of relief supply–demand imbalance during EL response. The distinctive features of this proposed approach are to identify the potential relief suppliers and to minimise the imbalanced supply–demand impact under relief supply collaboration. Scenario design and model tests are conducted to demonstrate that relief supply collaboration with grouped relief suppliers has a significant benefit of alleviating the impact of imbalanced relief supply–demand, relative to collaboration with ungrouped ones.
HIV Viral Load Monitoring Frequency and Risk of Treatment Failure among Immunologically Stable HIV-Infected Patients Prescribed Combination Antiretroviral Therapy

The authors sought to assess whether viral load (VL) monitoring frequency was associated with differential rates of virologic failure (VF) among HIV Outpatient Study (HOPS) participants seen during 1999 to 2013, who had maintained VL <50 copies/mL, CD4 counts ≥300 cells/mm3, and been prescribed a stable combination antiretroviral regimen for at least 2 years. The authors required VL and CD4 testing to have occurred regularly for the entire 2-year period. The authors assessed rates of VF comparing patients who maintained a frequent VL testing (≥3 VLs) to those who shifted to a less frequent schedule (2 VL) after the 2-year period. Virologic failure was observed among 116 of 573 participants. The authors did not detect statistically significant difference in frequency of VF among patients undergoing frequent (21.0%) versus less frequent VL testing (19.6%), even after multivariable adjustment. Biannual VL monitoring for stable patients with aviremia could generate substantial cost savings without the increased risk of VF.
Intracellular calcium signals display an avalanche-like behavior over multiple lengthscales

Many natural phenomena display “self-organized criticality” (SOC), (Bak et al., 1987). This refers to spatially extended systems for which patterns of activity characterized by different lengthscales can occur with a probability density that follows a power law with pattern size. Differently from power laws at phase transitions, systems displaying SOC do not need the tuning of an external parameter. Here we analyze intracellular calcium (Ca2+) signals, a key component of the signaling toolkit of almost any cell type. Ca2+ signals can either be spatially restricted (local) or propagate throughout the cell (global). Different models have suggested that the transition from local to global signals is similar to that of directed percolation. Directed percolation has been associated, in turn, to the appearance of SOC. In this paper we discuss these issues within the framework of simple models of Ca2+ signal propagation. We also analyze the size distribution of local signals (“puffs”) observed in immature Xenopus Laevis oocytes. The puff amplitude distribution obtained from observed local signals is not Gaussian with a noticeable fraction of large size events. The experimental distribution of puff areas in the spatio-temporal record of the image has a long tail that is approximately log-normal. The distribution can also be fitted with a power law relationship albeit with a smaller goodness of fit. The power law behavior is encountered within a simple model that includes some coupling among individual signals for a wide range of parameter values. An analysis of the model shows that a global elevation of the Ca2+ concentration plays a major role in determining whether the puff size distribution is long-tailed or not. This suggests that Ca2+-clearing from the cytosol is key to determine whether IP3-mediated Ca2+ signals can display a SOC-like behavior or not.
Do financial indicators have directional predictability for US home sales?

ABSTRACT This study investigates the directional predictability of financial indicators for home sales across tranquil (1984–2005) and volatile (1972–1983 and 2006–2013) periods. We find that the mortgage rate has directional predictability for both existing and newly built home sales for up to 2005. The federal funds rate generally has directional predictability for existing (newly built) home sales in 1984–2005 (1972–1983). The term spread has directional predictability for home sales in 1972–1983 but generally not in the tranquil period of 1984–2005. Further, unlike mortgage and federal funds rates, the term spread has directional predictability for home sales in 2006–2013 and thus can help the Fed with useful information (assuming that this trend continues).
Collaboration in new technology-based product markets

In the context o f an apparently increasing contemporary interest in the phenomenon of collaboration, this paper reviews some of the major issues associated with such cooperative activity.Possible reasons for an increase in collaboration are suggested, as are the ofen neglected non-benifits of collaboration, before the variety of influences on the process of collaboration management are discussed. The authors adopt a critical stance towardsjnancial measures as indicators of ‘success’ and ‘failure’:arguing that such an approach is simplistic and neglects may of the more intangible benifits of engaging in collaboration. A model of the possible factors aJecting the process of collaboration is proposed and two case studies ofproduct development collaborations in new technolopbased sectors illustrate some of the issues discussed in the paper.
Ubiquitin Is Covalently Attached to the p6GagProteins of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 and Simian Immunodeficiency Virus and to the p12Gag Protein of Moloney Murine Leukemia Virus

ABSTRACT Host proteins are incorporated into retroviral virions during assembly and budding. We have examined three retroviruses, human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV), and Moloney murine leukemia virus (Mo-MuLV), for the presence of ubiquitin inside each of these virions. After a protease treatment to remove exterior viral as well as contaminating cellular proteins, the proteins remaining inside the virion were analyzed. The results presented here show that all three virions incorporate ubiquitin molecules at approximately 10% of the level of Gag found in virions. In addition to free ubiquitin, covalent ubiquitin-Gag complexes were detected, isolated, and characterized from all three viruses. Our immunoblot and protein sequencing results on treated virions showed that approximately 2% of either HIV-1 or SIV p6Gag was covalently attached to a single ubiquitin molecule inside the respective virions and that approximately 2 to 5% of the p12Gag in Mo-MuLV virions was monoubiquitinated. These results show that ubiquitination of Gag is conserved among these retroviruses and occurs in the p6Gag portion of the Gag polyprotein, a region that is likely to be involved in assembly and budding.
Immigration Flows and Regional Labor Market Dynamics

The paper analyzes the ability of a regional labor market to absorb growing flows of immigrant workers with declining levels of skills during relatively high unemployment. The impact of the size of the flow and the skill characteristics of the immigrants are analyzed. It is found that immigration is positively related to unemployment in the short run but in the long run is negatively related. Also, a higher average skill level among immigrants makes them more effective in their job search in the short run. Finally, increasing the discrepancy between the skill distribution of immigrants and that of the existing workforce is desirable, as both types of labor appear to be complements in the short-run.
Wnt10B is critical for the progression of gastric cancer

The family of Wnt proteins have been implicated in embryogenesis by regulation of cell fate and pattern formation, and also in human carcinogenesis. Wnt10B was previously shown to be involved in breast cancer development. The present study assessed the association of Wnt10B expression in human gastric cancer tissue specimens with clinicopathological data from these patients. Wnt10B expression in the regulation of gastric cancer cell proliferation and migration capacity in vitro was then investigated. The data revealed that Wnt10B mRNA and protein were upregulated in gastric cancer tissue samples and the upregulated Wnt10B mRNA was associated with gastric cancer metastasizing to lymph nodes. Knockdown of Wnt10B expression reduced gastric cancer cell proliferation and migration, as well as expression of a cell proliferation marker Ki67. Knockdown of Wnt10B expression inhibited tumor cell epithelial-mesenchymal transition by upregulation of E-cadherin and downregulation of N-cadherin. In addition, Wnt10B knockdown also suppressed tumor cell stemness by downregulation of octamer-binding transcription factor 4 and Nanog expression. The present data indicated that Wnt10B expression performs an important role in gastric cancer progression in vitro. Therefore, targeting of Wnt10B expression or activity may be investigated as a possible strategy for the control of gastric cancer.
Is Consumption Insured against Illness? Evidence on Vulnerability of Households to Health Shocks in Rural Ethiopia

Low and volatile incomes and absence of well‐developed financial markets make consumption smoothing an important issue in low‐income countries. Based on the theory of full insurance and using 2 years of panel data, this study examines the impact of illness on the consumption of rural households and the capacity of existing risk‐sharing mechanisms in insuring consumption against health shocks in the rural areas of Ethiopia. The results show that illness has a statistically significant negative impact on the stability of consumption and the capacity of households or existing intra‐ and interhousehold risk‐sharing arrangements in insuring consumption against illness varies across different consumption items. The regression results show that the hypothesis of consumption insurance cannot be rejected in the case of total food consumption, implying that basic items that come from own production and from external sources (gifts) are better insured and insensitive to the illness of the head. However, the implication of risk sharing is rejected in the case of nonfood consumption items. The restriction test results reveal that the movement of the household head from a healthy to an unhealthy status would lower the growth rate of quarterly nonfood consumption items of the household by more than 24 percentage points. This clearly demonstrates that there would be a significant amount of welfare gain if existing endogenous risk sharing arrangements can be strengthened or some kind of community health insurance scheme can be introduced in the rural areas of Ethiopia.
3D Liver Segmentation and Model Reconstruction from CT Images

In this paper, we present a system for segmenting the 3D liver region from CT images and reconstructing its 3D model. The segmentation is accomplished in 3-D space which is extended from the user controlled 2-D random walker technique and implemented by a slice-section method. After obtaining the 3D liver segmentation result, we apply the surface reconstruction algorithm based on bipartite polar classification to build the 3-D liver surface model. In the experimental results, we apply the proposed algorithm to ten test CT datasets to evaluate its accuracy and we demonstrate the good accuracy compared with the human labeled results.
Stroke survivors’ and relatives’ negotiation of relational and activity changes: A qualitative study

Abstract Objective: This study explores stroke survivors’ and relatives’ negotiation of relational and activity change in their interrelated long-term meaning-making processes of everyday life and what it means for the experience of progress and well-being. Material and methods: Repeated retrospective in-depth interviews were conducted with both the stroke survivor and relatives. A Critical Psychological Perspective gives the frame of reference to study more closely what is going on in and across particular contexts in family members’ ongoing social practices. Results: An asymmetric problematic relationship can develop among the participants in the context of family life. However, the analysis identifies six beneficial relational and activity changes, which contribute to a reciprocal, balanced repositioning, and help the family move in a more positive direction. The repositioning processes facilitate a new transformation of family we-ness, which is important for the participants’ experience of process and well-being. The comprehensive family work that has to be done is about managing the imbalance of everyday life, upholding separate activities outside the family sphere and dealing with the fact that peripheral others become more peripheral. Conclusion: The study addresses some arguments for taking a family-centred perspective in occupational therapy practice, as well as in a stroke rehabilitation service in general.
The impact of efficiency parameters on firms’ innovative activities: Evidence from Korean firm-level data

Abstract This paper extends the research on the R&D—patent relationship by distinguishing the factors affecting R&D productivity (which is defined as ‘efficiency parameters) from the factors associated with the propensity of firms to patent, and estimates the impacts of the factors on innovative output. A data set from 1255 firms with nonzero R&D expenditures in Korea was studied, and the results show that efficiency parameters such as in-depth patent searches and revenue splitting policy for employee-inventors influence firm’s innovative output through ‘R&D productivity’ effect. These results mean that we can improve firm’s innovation output by changing efficiency parameters through a firm’s investment or government support in a relatively short period.
Concessions in Negotiations: The Roles of Initial Assessment and Signaling on Outcomes of a Negotiated Agreement

This study explores the roles of calibrated (annual vs. hourly wage) positions on negotiators' expected contentiousness and estimation of reservation price on negotiators' initial offers and final outcomes. In a distributive labor negotiation, we found negotiator determinations of reservation prices served as an anchor such that the more ambitious their reservation prices, the less they conceded in opening offers. In addition, we found when wage rates were calibrated to reflect annual, rather than hourly earnings, negotiators anticipated a contentious negotiation. Those anticipating contention made less concessionary initial offers. We also found that the more concessionary their opening offer, the less successful their outcome, but the lower their negotiation costs (strike days). Concessions in the opening offer might serve as a partial mediator of reservation prices. In the ongoing of negotiation process, negotiators conceded more when they expected their counterparts' offers have been close to counterparts' reservation price. Taken together, this study demonstrates the importance of preparation processes, including the impact of initial assessments of the negotiation and the signaling effect of their opening offers. Most current research explores the impact of the on-going process or the personal (conflict style) and contextual factors that impact negotiator outcomes. This study looks at aspects of the preparation, such as developing target and reservation prices and the initial offers, as well as the impact of calibrated (annual vs. hourly wage) positions on negotiation outcomes and processes.
Joseph E. Stiglitz

Joseph E. Stiglitz, 2001 Nobel Laureate in Economics, helped create the theory of markets with asymmetric information and was one of the founders of modern development economics. He played a leading role in an intellectual revolution that changed the characterization of a market economy. In the new paradigm, the price system only imperfectly solves the information problem of scarcity because of the many other information problems that arise in the economy: the selection over hidden characteristics, the provision of incentives for hidden behaviors and for innovation, and the coordination of choices over institutions.
Visual reinforcement learning for object recognition in robotics

In recent years, unmanned systems reached a maturity level that resulted in the adoption of robotic system for both civil and military usages. As the amount of unmanned systems increases, the amount of visual information that is being sent to the end user increases, and the need to develop the unmanned systems ability to autonomously alert the user on predefined events is being emphasized. This ability is mainly based on their capability to detect and classify the objects in their field of operation. Recent studies shows that the mechanism behind the recognition process in the human brain includes continuous generation of predictions based on prior knowledge about the world. These predictions enable rapid generation of hypothesis that biases the outcome of the recognition process in situation of uncertainty. In addition, the visual system continuously updating its knowledge about the world based on visual feedback. In our work, we formed an architecture that is based on the concepts behind these top-down prediction and learning processes of the human visual system, together with state of the art bottom-up object recognition models, e.g. deep CNNs. We show that imitating these top-down reinforcement learning mechanisms, together with the state of the art bottom-up feed-forward algorithm, creates an accurate and continuously improving target recognition model.