Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prognostic Role of Platelet to Lymphocyte Ratio in Solid Tumors: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background: Inflammation influences cancer development and progression. An elevated platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR), a marker of inflammation, has been linked to poor prognosis in several malignancies. Here, we quantify the prognostic impact of this biomarker. Methods: A systematic review of databases was conducted to identify publications exploring the association of blood PLR and overall survival (OS) in solid tumors. Data were pooled in a meta-analysis. Pooled HRs for OS by disease group and by PLR cutoff groups were computed and weighted using generic inverse-variance and random-effect modeling. Results: Twenty studies comprising 12,754 patients were assessed. Cutoffs for PLR defining risk groups ranged from 150 to 300 and were dichotomous (12 studies; group 1) or split into three groups (<150/150–300/>300, 8 studies; group 2). Higher PLR was associated with significantly worse OS in group 1 [HR = 1.87; 95% confidence interval (CI, 1.49–2.34); P < 0.001] and with a nonsignificant association in group 2 (HR per higher category = 1.21; 95%CI, 0.97–1.50; P = 0.10). The size of effect of PLR on OS was greater for metastatic disease (HR[group 1] = 2.0; 95% CI, 1.6–2.7; HR[group 2] = 1.6; 95% CI, 1.1–2.4) than for early-stage disease (HR[group 1] = 1.5; 95% CI, 1.0–2.2; HR[group 2] = 1.0; 95% CI, 0.8–1.3). A significant association was observed for colorectal, hepatocellular, gastroesophageal, ovarian, and pancreatic carcinoma in group 1 and for colorectal cancers in group 2. Conclusion: A high PLR is associated with worse OS in various solid tumors. Further research of its regulation and relevance in daily practice is warranted. Impact: PLR is a readily available and inexpensive biomarker with independent prognostic value in solid tumors. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 23(7); 1204–12. ©2014 AACR.
Genotypic and Phenotypic Variation in Pseudomonas aeruginosa Reveals Signatures of Secondary Infection and Mutator Activity in Certain Cystic Fibrosis Patients with Chronic Lung Infections

ABSTRACT Evolutionary adaptation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa to the cystic fibrosis lung is limited by genetic variation, which depends on rates of horizontal gene transfer and mutation supply. Because each may increase following secondary infection or mutator emergence, we sought to ascertain the incidence of secondary infection and genetic variability in populations containing or lacking mutators. Forty-nine strains collected over 3 years from 16 patients were phenotyped for antibiotic resistance and mutator status and were genotyped by repetitive-sequence PCR (rep-PCR), pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), and multilocus sequence typing (MLST). Though phenotypic and genetic polymorphisms were widespread and clustered more strongly within than between longitudinal series, their distribution revealed instances of secondary infection. Sequence data, however, indicated that interlineage recombination predated initial strain isolation. Mutator series were more likely to be multiply antibiotic resistant, but not necessarily more variable in their nucleotide sequences, than nonmutators. One mutator and one nonmutator series were sequenced at mismatch repair loci and analyzed for gene content using DNA microarrays. Both were wild type with respect to mutL, but mutators carried an 8-bp mutS deletion causing a frameshift mutation. Both series lacked 126 genes encoding pilins, siderophores, and virulence factors whose inactivation has been linked to adaptation during chronic infection. Mutators exhibited loss of severalfold more genes having functions related to mobile elements, motility, and attachment. A 105-kb, 86-gene deletion was observed in one nonmutator that resulted in loss of virulence factors related to pyoverdine synthesis and elements of the multidrug efflux regulon. Diminished DNA repair activity may facilitate but not be absolutely required for rapid evolutionary change.
Reusability-based Semantics for Grasp Evaluation in Context of Service Robotics

In this paper a novel criterion for grasp evaluation is presented. Commonly used criteria for grasp evaluation take only forces into account. This way of describing a grasp is not intuitively usable by humans and does not consider the semantics of objects. The proposed criterion is based on the reusability of a grasped object. For example some grasps which might be form- or force-closure grasps may not be suitable with respect to a certain task, being executed after the object has been grasped. Our criterion closes this gap between force- stability and manageability. The reusability is defined via four typical tasks for a service robot scenario which represent some of the actions. It is more convenient for humans to use than the other force-based criteria, because the proposed actions are understandable by everybody and are not as abstract as force- based criteria. The actions themselves are defined by the forces occurring during operation performance and an additional keep- out-area if necessary.
Balancing Response Time and CPU allocation in Virtualized Data Centers using Optimal Controllers

The cloud computing paradigm proposes a flexible payment model, where a cloud user pays only for the amount of resources used. Thus, the cloud provider must only allocate as many resources to a user, as are to meet client performance requirements. In this paper, we present a control-theoreti c approach to tune the CPU resource allocated to a virtual machine (VM) such that application performance metrics are optimized while using minimal CPU resource. Moreover, our approach expects no inputs of performance targets to steer the system towards optimal values of CPU share allocations and system performance. We prototype and validate our methodology on a small virtualized testbed using the Xen virtualization environment. A simple server consol idation scheme which triggers VM migrations and powers servers up and down, uses our control-theoretic resource tu ning approach. Preliminary results demonstrate that our con troller allocates CPU share optimally, even in the presence of changing load, and can work well with a server consolidation scheme to achieve good application performance.
Newspaper Coverage of Nigeria Police Activities: A Content Analysis

This study is a content analysis of newspaper coverage of police activities in Nigeria from January to March, 2012. Three national dailies (the Nation, the Punch and Daily Sun) were studied. Among the specific objectives were to determine the volume of coverage of the activities of Nigeria Police by selected newspapers, the story types in which police activities are presented in the newspapers and direction of stories by the selected newspapers on the activities of Nigeria Police. The research is structured on agenda –setting theory. Population of study is 273, while the sample is 162 within a period of 36 days. It was found out that the police activities during the period of study were presented mostly as straight news and the direction of stories were mostly negative. The study recommended, among others, that newspapers should give in-depth coverage of police activities in Nigeria and that positive aspect of police activities should also be given attention in the media.
Influence of Body Mass Index, Smoking, and Blood Pressure on Survival of Patients with Surgically-Treated, Low Stage Renal Cell Carcinoma: A 14-Year Retrospective Cohort Study

The association of body mass index, smoking, and blood pressure, which are related to the three well-established risk factors of renal cell carcinoma, and survival in patients with renal cell carcinoma is not much studied. Our objective was to evaluate this association. A cohort of 1,036 patients with low stage (pT1 and pT2) renal cell carcinoma who underwent radical or partial nephrectomy were enrolled. We retrospectively reviewed medical records and collected survival data. The body mass index, smoking status, and blood pressure at the time of surgery were recorded. Patients were grouped according to their obesity grade, smoking status, and hypertension stage. Survival analysis showed a significant decrease in overall (P = 0.001) and cancer-specific survival (P < 0.001) with being underweight, with no differences of smoking status or perioperative blood pressure. On multivariate analysis, perioperative blood pressure ≥ 160/100 mmHg (HR, 2.642; 95% CI, 1.221-5.720) and being underweight (HR, 4.320; 95% CI, 1.557-11.984) were independent predictors of overall and cancer-specific mortality, respectively. Therefore, it is concluded that being underweight and perioperative blood pressure ≥ 160/100 mmHg negatively affect cancer-specific and overall survival, respectively, while smoking status does not influence survivals in patients with renal cell carcinoma.
Human Capital, Multiple Income Risk and Social Insurance

We set up an OLG-model, where households both choose human capital investment and decide on investing their endogenous savings in a portfolio of riskless and risky assets, exposing them to (aggregate) wage and capital risks due to technological shocks. We derive the optimal public policy mix of taxation and education policy. We show that risks can be efficiently diversified between private and public consumption. This results hinges on that the government can apply a wide set of instruments, including differentiated wage and capital taxation. We also show that for sufficient risk aversion the (Northern) European way of relying on progressive wage taxation and granting education subsidies is an optimal response to wage and capital risks.
Linear Time Algorithms to Construct Populations Fitting Multiple Constraint Distributions at Genomic Scales

Computer simulations can be used to study population genetic methods, models, and parameters, as well as to predict potential outcomes. For example, in plant populations, predicting the outcome of breeding operations can be studied using simulations. In-silico construction of populations with pre-specified characteristics is an important task in breeding optimization and other population genetic studies. We present two linear time Simulation using Best-fit Algorithms (SimBA) for two classes of problems where each co-fits two distributions: SimBA-LD fits linkage disequilibrium and minimum allele frequency distributions, while SimBA-hap fits founder-haplotype and polyploid allele dosage distributions. An incremental gap-filling version of previously introduced SimBA-LD is here demonstrated to accurately fit the target distributions, allowing efficient large scale simulations. SimBA-hap accuracy and efficiency is demonstrated by simulating tetraploid populations with varying numbers of founder haplotypes, we evaluate both a linear time greedy algoritm and an optimal solution based on mixed-integer programming. SimBA is available on http://researcher.watson. ibm.com/project/5669.
Western blot analysis of a limited number of cells: a valuable adjunct to proteome analysis of paraffin wax‐embedded, alcohol‐fixed tissue after laser capture microdissection

In recent years, laser capture microdissection (LCM) has been used successfully to obtain distinct populations of cells for subsequent molecular analysis. Because of the limited sample availability and the absence of in vitro amplification steps for proteins, the use of LCM for proteome analysis largely depends on highly sensitive protein detection methods. In this study, a western blot protocol was developed and validated for the detection of β‐actin and the moderately expressed cell death protein caspase‐3 in small numbers of cells. Initially, cultured human U937 monocytes and whole sections of paraffin wax‐embedded, alcohol‐fixed human tonsils were used to optimize protein electrophoresis and western blotting conditions. High‐performance NuPAGE Bis‐Tris gels in combination with high‐quality transfer membranes, optimized antibody concentrations, and a sensitive chemiluminescent substrate provided a strong signal for β‐actin with ∼500 U937 cells. In the same way, procaspase‐3 could be identified with ∼1000 cells. Similar results were obtained with germinal centre cells that were procured from paraffin wax‐embedded, alcohol‐fixed human tonsils by LCM. Treatment of U937 cells with etoposide rapidly induced cell death and allowed the detection of active caspase‐3 with ∼2500 cells (0.8 pg of protein). The findings of this study suggest that western blotting is a valuable adjunct to proteome analysis of LCM procured cells. Copyright © 2004 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A double-blind, randomized, controlled study of amitriptyline, nortriptyline and placebo in patients with fibromyalgia. An analysis of outcome measures.

OBJECTIVE To study the efficacy and tolerability of amitriptyline and nortriptyline in a Brazilian population with fibromyalgia and to evaluate the instruments used to measure the efficacy of the treatment. METHODS A total of 118 fibromyalgia patients were randomly assigned to 3 groups: amitriptyline (AM, n = 40), nortriptyline (NOR, n =38) and placebo (PL, n = 40), and were blindly given 25 mg at bedtime of the assigned treatment for 8 weeks. Clinical evaluation before and at the end of the study included the number of tender points (NTP), FIQ score (FIQ), and global improvement as reported by the patients on a verbal scale (VSGI). RESULTS The 3 groups were comparable at baseline for all the parameters studied. After 8 weeks, the 3 groups improved in all parameters: (36.5% AM, 26.7% NOR and 24% PL patients improved on FIQ; 13.9% AM, 19.5% NOR and 8.57% PL patients improved on NTP; 86.5% AM, 72.2% NOR and 57.6% PL patients improved on VSGI). Only the AM group differed from the PL group on VSGI. Side effects were noted among the groups, but none were serious (16 in the AM group, 31 in the NOR group, and 25 in the PL group). CONCLUSION All three groups improved after treatment. Only the patient's subjective global assessment of improvement differed between the AM patients and the PL group (p < or = 0.03). In fibromyalgia, placebo groups are important in drug trials. Different measures of therapeutic effect are not better than the patient's self assessment.
The bipartite architecture of the sRNA in an archaeal box C/D complex is a primary determinant of specificity

The archaeal box C/D sRNP, the enzyme responsible for 2′-O-methylation of rRNA and tRNA, possesses a nearly perfect axis of symmetry and bipartite structure. This RNP contains two platforms for the assembly of protein factors, the C/D and C′/D′ motifs, acting in conjunction with two guide sequences to direct methylation of a specific 2′-hydroxyl group in a target RNA. While this suggests that a functional asymmetric single-site complex complete with guide sequence and a single box C/D motif should be possible, previous work has demonstrated such constructs are not viable. To understand the basis for a bipartite RNP, we have designed and assayed the activity and specificity of a series of synthetic RNPs that represent a systematic reduction of the wild-type RNP to a fully single-site enzyme. This reduced RNP is active and exhibits all of the characteristics of wild-type box C/D RNPs except it is nonspecific with respect to the site of 2′-O-methylation. Our results demonstrate that protein–protein crosstalk through Nop5p dimerization is not required, but that architecture plays a crucial role in directing methylation activity with both C/D and C′/D′ motifs being required for specificity.
An investigation of the presence of adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder behaviors in a population of court mandated domestic violence perpetrators

approved: Sixty-five male volunteers from a court mandated domestic violence treatment program were administered a questionnaire to assess for the presence of adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) behaviors. The questionnaire included copies of the Wender Utah Rating Scale (WURS) and the Attention Deficit Scales for Adults (ADSA), as well as demographic information and diagnostic questions assessing previous professional diagnoses. Results indicated that 93.8% met or surpassed Wender's suggested cutoff score of 36 indicating the presence of ADHD symptoms, and 64.6% met or surpassed the higher suggested cutoff score of 46. Twenty-three percent (15) of the participants met the criteria suggesting the presence of adult ADHD behaviors as measured by the ADSA. A factor analysis of the WURS resulted in participant scores loading on four factors suggesting a combination of ADHD and conduct disorder (CD) behaviors. Results are discussed in light of previous research indicating the WURS' difficulty in clearly discriminating among disruptive behavior disorders. Implications for Redacted for Privacy consideration of adult ADHD as a possible predisposing factor in the perpetration of violence are discussed. Treatment suggestions specifically targeting male DV perpetrators are offered, such as increased use of experiential exercises, minimizing distractions, increasing awareness of potential sensitivity to sound levels, and inclusion of stress reduction techniques. Limitations of this study are discussed in light of instruments utilized, question wording, and study design. Suggestions are made for further research with other DV groups from which results are generalizable to the larger DV perpetrator
Cooperative Sleep and Power Allocation for Energy Saving in Dense Small Cell Networks

Energy consumption has become a crucial issue due to the large-scale deployment of small base stations (SBSs) in dense small cell networks (DSCNs). In this paper, a joint optimization problem involving sleep mode in subframes and power allocation to minimize the DSCN energy consumption while guaranteeing users' rate requirements is formulated as a mixed integer nonlinear programming. To address this problem, we propose a cooperative sleep and power allocation approach by decomposing it into two subproblems. First, we derive the optimum number of active subframes for each SBS and present a centralized heuristic coalition formation algorithm to manage SBSs to form coalitions. In such a case, SBSs can transmit data in active subframes and sleep in others. We then obtain the SBSs' optimum transmit power in the active subframes relying on a distributed price-based power allocation algorithm. System-level simulation results show that our proposed cooperative scheme can yield significant performance gains in terms of energy saving compared with the maximum power allocation and the non-cooperative power allocation (NCPA) approaches. In addition, the effects of target rates on coalition size and energy consumption are also analyzed.
Clock1a affects mesoderm development and primitive hematopoiesis by regulating Nodal-Smad3 signaling in the zebrafish embryo

Circadian clock and Smad2/3/4-mediated Nodal signaling regulate multiple physiological and pathological processes. However, it remains unknown whether Clock directly cross-talks with Nodal signaling and how this would regulate embryonic development. Here we show that Clock1a coordinated mesoderm development and primitive hematopoiesis in zebrafish embryos by directly up-regulating Nodal-Smad3 signaling. We found that Clock1a is expressed both maternally and zygotically throughout early zebrafish development. We also noted that Clock1a alterations produce embryonic defects with shortened body length, lack of the ventral tail fin, or partial defect of the eyes. Clock1a regulates the expression of the mesodermal markers ntl, gsc, and eve1 and of the hematopoietic markers scl, lmo2, and fli1a. Biochemical analyses revealed that Clock1a stimulates Nodal signaling by increasing expression of Smad2/3/4. Mechanistically, Clock1a activates the smad3a promoter via its E-box1 element (CAGATG). Taken together, these findings provide mechanistic insight into the role of Clock1a in the regulation of mesoderm development and primitive hematopoiesis via modulation of Nodal-Smad3 signaling and indicate that Smad3a is directly controlled by the circadian clock in zebrafish.
Echinococcus multilocularis on Svalbard: introduction of an intermediate host has enabled the local life-cycle

The taeniid tapeworm Echinococcus multilocularis is here reported for the first time at the Svalbard Archipelago in the Norwegian Arctic. This new finding is interesting because the establishment of E. multilocularis is due to a recent anthropogenic introduction of its intermediate host – the sibling vole Microtus rossiaemeridionalis at Svalbard. The parasite itself has probably become naturally transferred to Svalbard due to migratory movements of its final host – the arctic fox Alopex lagopus between source areas for E. multilocularis in Siberia and Svalbard. We report macroscopically determined prevalence of E. multilocularis from a sample of 224 voles trapped in August in 1999 and 2000. The prevalence was among the highest ever recorded in intermediate hosts and was dependent on age and sex of the hosts approaching 100% in overwintered males. The high prevalence and the simplicity of the vole – arctic fox – E. multilocularis system at Svalbard makes it an eminent model system for further epidemiological studies.
A mobile approach for neurofeedback cognitive enhancement

Past researches showed that neurofeedback training can enhance cognitive function. This study used alpha rhythm (8-12Hz) to conduct brain induced training. It proposed the use of Bluetooth Low Energy to connect the EEG signals to the smartphone. Then, the pattern of the interface will display the induced alpha energy. The result of the experiment indicates that the alpha power showed on the phone has a significant memory increase in the results of the memory of cognitive brain training.
Evolutionary Learning of Business Process Models from Legacy Systems using Incremental Process Mining

Incremental Process Mining is a recent research area that brings flexibility and agility to discover process models from legacy systems. Some algorithms have been proposed to perform incremental mining of process models. However, these algorithms do not provide all aspects of evolutionary learning, such as update and exclusion of elements from a process model. This happens when updates in the process definition occur, forcing a model already discovered to be refreshed. This paper presents new techniques to perform incremental mining of execution logs. It enables the discovery of changes in the process instances, keeping the discovered process model synchronized with the process being executed. Discovery results can be used in various ways by business analysts and software architects, e.g. documentation of legacy systems or for re-engineering purposes.
DOES AGRICULTURE CREDIT AFFECT PRODUCTION EFFICIENCY? Frontier Production Function Approach

In the present study, the economic efficiency of credit and non- credit users in agriculture farms was estimated through frontier production function approach. In total, 152 farmers were selected through simple random sampling from District Sargodha of Punjab Province. The results of the study revealed that mean technical efficiency in the region was 0.90 and 0.79 percent of the credit and non-credit users, respectively. The high technical efficiency of credit users was safely attributed to credit availability through which they have a timely access to farm inputs. But still farmers were mis-allocating their resources means inputs at farm level. In this regard farmers need extension services along with credit use to make them economically efficient.