Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparison of cisplatinum/paclitaxel with cisplatinum/5-fluorouracil as first-line therapy for nonsurgical locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma patients

Background To retrospectively evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of definitive concurrent chemoradiotherapy (dCRT) with cisplatinum/paclitaxel versus cisplatinum/5-fluorouracil in patients with locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) who received nonsurgical treatment. Methods This study retrospectively evaluated 202 patients with locally advanced ESCC treated at Shandong Cancer Hospital between January 2009 and December 2013. All the patients initially received dCRT, including platinum and paclitaxel or 5-fluorouracil, with concurrent 1.8 or 2 Gy/fraction radiation (total dose, 54–60 Gy). The patient population was divided into two treatment groups: 105 patients who received the cisplatinum/paclitaxel regimen were allocated to group A, and 97 patients who received the cisplatinum/5-fluorouracil regimen were allocated to group B. We compared the progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) by various clinical variables, including prior treatment characteristics, major toxicities (mainly in grade 3 and 4 hematological), and response to dCRT. We used the receiver operating curve analysis to determine the optimal cutoff value of clinical stage and radiation dose. The Kaplan–Meier method was used for survival comparison and Cox regression for multivariate analysis. Results Median PFS and OS in group A were significantly better compared with group B (median PFS, 15.9 versus 13.0 months, P=0.016 and median OS, 33.9 versus 23.1 months, P=0.014, respectively). The 1- and 2-year survival rates of the two groups were 82.9% versus 76.3%, and 61.9% versus 47.6%, respectively. The complete response and response rate were 17.1% versus 7.2% (P=0.032) and 52.4% versus 30.9% (P=0.042) in group A and B, respectively. Meanwhile, group B was associated with a significantly lower rate of grade 3/4 overall toxicity than group A (P=0.039). Conclusion Our data showed that patients with locally advanced ESCC in group A had longer PFS and OS compared with group B. Cisplatinum/paclitaxel can be considered a good candidate chemotherapy regimen for patients with locally advanced ESCC who are being treated with nonsurgical therapy.
RIP bounds for naively subsampled Scrambled Fourier sensing matrices

We present an analysis concerning the RIP of naively (deterministically) subsampled DFT and Scrambled DFT (SDFT) matrices. First, we show that for an s-sparse vector of length K, O(s logK) or O (s√K) measurements suffice for a SDFT sensing matrix to satisfy the RIP-δs with constant but arbitrarily high probability (with the latter bound holding with greater probability than the former, for the same multiplicative constant). Second, we show that the same RIP bounds hold for any deterministically subsampled DFT matrix, assuming an equiprobable sparsity pattern model for the set of the regression vectors of interest. To the best of our knowledge, the results presented in this work are the first to demonstrate logarithmic dependence of the required number of measurements on the dimension of the sparse vectors of interest, K, for deterministically subsampled Fourier and Scrambled Fourier matrices.
Genome-Wide Association Study in Immunocompetent Patients with Delayed Hypersensitivity to Sulfonamide Antimicrobials

Background Hypersensitivity (HS) reactions to sulfonamide antibiotics occur uncommonly, but with potentially severe clinical manifestations. A familial predisposition to sulfonamide HS is suspected, but robust predictive genetic risk factors have yet to be identified. Strongly linked genetic polymorphisms have been used clinically as screening tests for other HS reactions prior to administration of high-risk drugs. Objective The purpose of this study was to evaluate for genetic risk of sulfonamide HS in the immunocompetent population using genome-wide association. Methods Ninety-one patients with symptoms after trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) attributable to “probable” drug HS based on medical record review and the Naranjo Adverse Drug Reaction Probability Scale, and 184 age- and sex-matched patients who tolerated a therapeutic course of TMP-SMX, were included in a genome-wide association study using both common and rare variant techniques. Additionally, two subgroups of HS patients with a more refined clinical phenotype (fever and rash; or fever, rash and eosinophilia) were evaluated separately. Results For the full dataset, no single nucleotide polymorphisms were suggestive of or reached genome-wide significance in the common variant analysis, nor was any genetic locus significant in the rare variant analysis. A single, possible gene locus association (COL12A1) was identified in the rare variant analysis for patients with both fever and rash, but the sample size was very small in this subgroup (n = 16), and this may be a false positive finding. No other significant associations were found for the subgroups. Conclusions No convincing genetic risk factors for sulfonamide HS were identified in this population. These negative findings may be due to challenges in accurately confirming the phenotype in exanthematous drug eruptions, or to unidentified gene-environment interactions influencing sulfonamide HS.
Blind extraction algorithm with direct desired signal selection

In many practical applications we are interested in the extraction of only one desired signal out of a mixture of signals. A disadvantage of most blind extraction approaches proposed in the literature is that they are inefficient in the sense that they also separate or extract undesired signals. To deal with this inefficiency we exploit an a priori guess of direction of arrival related parameters of the desired signal, which serves as a mold. Based on this mold we create linear combinations of noise-free correlation matrices that are used to construct a single matrix with a specific eigenstructure. The eigenvector that corresponds to the smallest eigenvalue of this matrix is the desired extraction filter. Finally it is shown that this approach paves the way to make the algorithm flexible in the utilization of additional a priori information.
Disintegration of the Ecological Community

In this essay, I argue that the seemingly indestructible concept of the community as a local, interacting assemblage of species has hindered progress toward understanding species richness at local to regional scales. I suggest that the distributions of species within a region reveal more about the processes that generate diversity patterns than does the co‐occurrence of species at any given point. The local community is an epiphenomenon that has relatively little explanatory power in ecology and evolutionary biology. Local coexistence cannot provide insight into the ecogeographic distributions of species within a region, from which local assemblages of species derive, nor can local communities be used to test hypotheses concerning the origin, maintenance, and regulation of species richness, either locally or regionally. Ecologists are moving toward a community concept based on interactions between populations over a continuum of spatial and temporal scales within entire regions, including the population and evolutionary processes that produce new species.
VisualSEEk: a fully automated content-based image query system

We describe a highly functional prototype system for searching by visual features in an image database. The VisualSEEk system is novel in that the user forms the queries by diagramming spatial arrangements of color regions. The system nds the images that contain the most similar arrangements of similar regions. Prior to the queries, the system automatically extracts and indexes salient color regions from the images. By utilizing e cient indexing techniques for color information, region sizes and absolute and relative spatial locations, a wide variety of complex joint color/spatial queries may be computed.
Characteristics of Polysilicon Wire Glucose Sensors with a Surface Modified by Silica Nanoparticles/γ-APTES Nanocomposite

This report investigates the sensing characteristics of polysilicon wire (PSW) glucose biosensors, including thickness characteristics and line-width effects on detection limits, linear range and interference immunity with membranes coated by micropipette/spin-coating and focus-ion-beam (FIB) processed capillary atomic-force-microscopy (C-AFM) tip scan/coating methods. The PSW surface was modified with a mixture of 3-aminopropyl-triethoxysilane (γ-APTES) and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-treated hydrophobic fumed silica nanoparticles (NPs). We found that the thickness of the γ-APTES+NPs nonocomposite could be controlled well at about 22 nm with small relative standard deviation (RSD) with repeated C-AFM tip scan/coatings. The detection limit increased and linear range decreased with the line width of the PSW through the tip-coating process. Interestingly, the interference immunity ability improves as the line width increases. For a 500 nm-wide PSW, the percentage changes of the channel current density changes (ΔJ) caused by acetaminophen (AP) can be kept below 3.5% at an ultra-high AP-to-glucose concentration ratio of 600:1. Simulation results showed that the line width dependence of interference immunity was strongly correlated with the channel electrical field of the PSW biosensor.
29 Incorporating Detection Uncertainty into Presence-Absence Surveys for Marbled Murrelet

here is a long tradition associated with sample surveys for presence or absence of flora or fauna of detectability at increasing distances away from an observer in line transect and point transect surveys T at sites or stations in sampling units where detectability may be an issue. Species may be present at a sampling unit yet fail to be detected. Historically, the problem with detectability has often been ignored. Recently, attention has been given to the development of survey protocols that increase the likelihood of detection. Often, these protocols call for repeated visits to a sampling unit. It is a key requirement in the design of an increasing number of surveys that the numbers of visits to sampling unit sites ensure a sufficient level of probability, say 95 percent, that species be detected, either in an individual sampling unit, or in the entire survey region, if they are present. In such instances, the specific objective of the survey is to test the null hypothesis H0 that species are not present, versus the alternative hypothesis HA that species are present. The 95 percent probability of at least one detection is the power of the survey. When counts are taken to estimate abundance, various strategies have been developed to address the issue of detectability. Capture-recapture methods allow the estimation of recapture probabilities for both closed and open systems (Otis et al. 1978; Pollock et al. 1990). Distance sampling allows the estimation of a detection function to compensate for the loss (Buckland et al. 1993). An extensive literature exists describing estimators for these methodologies, both capture-recapture (e.g., jolly 1965, 1982; Cormack 1968, 1979; Nichols et al. 1981; Pollock 1981; Seber 1982, 1986; White et al. 1982; Burnham et al. 1987) and distance sampling (e.g., Burnham et al. 1980). A modified version of Emlen's method also addresses the issue of detectability for count response (Ramsey and Scott 1981; Scott et al. 1986). For presence-absence surveys, Azuma et al. (1990) addressed some aspects of this problem using spotted owls (Strix occidentalis) as an example. They proposed a fixed number of visits to each sampling unit and a bias adjustment to compensate for false negatives when estimating the proportion of occupied sampling units. Link et al. (1994) found that within-site sampling variability is a significant portion of overall variability in breeding bird surveys, particularly for species with low abundance levels. Pendleton (1995) recommended two strategies for addressing the effects of variation in detectability probabilities in bird point count surveys: standardizing surveys, and obtaining separate estimates of detection rates and adjusting for them. Kendall et al. (1992) commented on the problem with detectability in a power analysis study of grizzly bears (Ursus arctos), recommending multiple strata and optimal timing of surveys to enhance the
Contracts and Promises - An Approach to Pre-play Agreements ⁄

In line with the widely applied principle of just deserts, we assume that the severity of the penalty on a contract offender increases in the harm on the other. When this principle holds, the influence of the efficiency of the agreement on the incentives to abide by it crucially depends on whether actions are strategic complements or substitutes. With strategic substitutes, there is a conflict between Pareto-efficiency and the incentives to abide. The opposite tends to be true when actions are strategic complements. The results are interpreted in the context of legal contracts and in that of informal mutual promises.
The Ether Lipid Precursor Hexadecylglycerol Causes Major Changes in the Lipidome of HEp-2 Cells

The ether-lipid precursor sn-1-O-hexadecylglycerol (HG) can be used to compensate for early metabolic defects in ether-lipid biosynthesis. To investigate a possible metabolic link between ether-linked phospholipids and the rest of the cellular lipidome, we incubated HEp-2 cells with HG. Mass spectrometry analysis revealed major changes in the lipidome of HG-treated cells compared to that of untreated cells or cells treated with palmitin, a control substance for HG containing an acyl group instead of the ether group. We present quantitative data for a total of 154 species from 17 lipid classes. These species are those constituting more than 2% of their lipid class for most lipid classes, but more than 1% for the ether lipids and glycosphingolipids. In addition to the expected ability of HG to increase the levels of ether-linked glycerophospholipids with 16 carbon atoms in the sn-1 position, this precursor also decreased the amounts of glycosphingolipids and increased the amounts of ceramide, phosphatidylinositol and lysophosphatidylinositol. However, incubation with palmitin, the fatty acyl analogue of HG, also increased the amounts of ceramide and phosphatidylinositols. Thus, changes in these lipid classes were not ether lipid-dependent. No major effects were observed for the other lipid classes, and cellular functions such as growth and endocytosis were unaffected. The data presented clearly demonstrate the importance of performing detailed quantitative lipidomic studies to reveal how the metabolism of ether-linked glycerophospholipids is coupled to that of glycosphingolipids and ester-linked glycerophospholipids, especially phosphatidylinositols.
The Effect of Cadence on Shank Muscle Oxygen Consumption and Deoxygenation in Relation to Joint Specific Power and Cycling Kinematics

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of cadence on joint specific power and cycling kinematics in the ankle joint in addition to muscle oxygenation and muscle VO2 in the gastrocnemius and tibialis anterior. Thirteen cyclists cycled at a cadence of 60, 70, 80, 90, 100 and 110 rpm at a constant external work rate of 160.1 ± 21.3 W. Increasing cadence led to a decrease in ankle power in the dorsal flexion phase and to an increase in ankle joint angular velocity above 80 rpm. In addition, increasing cadence increased deoxygenation and desaturation for both the gastrocnemius and tibialis anterior muscles. Muscle VO2 increased following increased cadence but only in the tibialis anterior and only at cadences above 80 rpm, thus coinciding with the increase in ankle joint angular velocity. There was no effect of cadence in the gastrocnemius. This study demonstrates that high cadences lead to increased mVO2 in the TA muscles that cannot be explained by power in the dorsal flexion phase.
Application of DDAGSVM in Fault Diagnosis for Electric Transformer

Electric transformers play an important role in the electrical power system, and there is a strong demand on their reliable and safe operation. Support vector machine (SVM) based classification gives a promising approach for fault diagnostics of electric transformers. But the standard method for N-class SVMs (there are many types of electrical transformer fault) doesn't present an easy solution. The constructing N-class SVMs are still an unsolved research problem. In this paper, we apply a new learning architecture (the Decision Directed Acyclic Graph Support Vector Machine, DDAGSVM) in electric transformer fault diagnosis and try to obtain good results. The DDAGSVM operates in a kernel-induced feature space and uses two-class maximal margin hyperplanes at each decision node of the DDAG. At the last example shows that DDAGSVM is substantially faster to train and evaluate than either the standard algorithm (1-v-r) or Max Wins in electric transformer fault diagnosis, while maintaining comparable accuracy to both of these algorithms.
On the Resistance of Boolean Functions Against Algebraic Attacks Using Univariate Polynomial Representation

In the past few years, algebraic attacks against stream ciphers with linear feedback function have been significantly improved. As a response to the new attacks, the notion of algebraic immunity of a Boolean function f was introduced, defined as the minimum degree of the annihilators of f and f + 1. An annihilator of f is a nonzero Boolean function g , such that f · g = 0. While several constructions of Boolean functions with optimal algebraic immunity have been proposed, there is no significant progress concerning the resistance against the so-called fast algebraic attacks. In this paper, we provide a framework to assess the resistance of Boolean functions against the new algebraic attacks, including fast algebraic attacks. The analysis is based on the univariate polynomial representation of Boolean functions and necessary and sufficient conditions are presented for a Boolean function to have optimal behavior against all the new algebraic attacks. Finally, we introduce a new infinite family of balanced Boolean functions described by their univariate polynomial representation. By applying the new framework, we prove that all the members of the family have optimal algebraic immunity and we efficiently evaluate their behavior against fast algebraic attacks.
Blockade of N- and P/Q-type calcium channels reduces the secondary heat hyperalgesia induced by acute inflammation.

High voltage calcium channels are implicated in nociceptive transmission after nerve injury, capsaicin or formalin injection. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of calcium channels in secondary heat hyperalgesia associated with acute joint inflammation. After induction of acute inflammation (knee joint injection of kaolin and carrageenan), decreased paw withdrawal latency (PWL) to radiant heat (i.e., secondary heat hyperalgesia), increased guarding of the limb and increased joint circumference occurs. Spinal administration (through a microdialysis fiber placed in dorsal horn) of an N-type calcium channel blocker (MVIIA, SNX 111, ziconotide, 0.001-0.1 mM), before induction of inflammation, prevents the decrease in PWL. Treatment with SNX 111 4 hr after inflammation reverses heat hyperalgesia. A small reduction in spontaneous pain-related behaviors (guarding of the limb) occurs after pre- or post-treatment with SNX 111. Spinal blockade of P/Q-type calcium channels (with omega-agatoxin IVA) had no effect on the decrease in PWL to radiant heat when administered after induction of inflammation. However, pre-treatment with omega-agatoxin IVA prevents secondary heat hyperalgesia. omega-Agatoxin IVA has no effect on spontaneous pain-related behaviors whether administered before or after induction of inflammation. In contrast, pre or post-treatment with nifedipine (L-type calcium channel blocker, 0.01-1.0 mM), had no effect on heat hyperalgesia or spontaneous pain-related behaviors induced by acute inflammation. There were no differences in joint circumference between groups with any treatment. Thus, N-type calcium channels contribute to both the development and maintenance of secondary heat hyperalgesia while P-type calcium channels are only involved during development of hyperalgesia.
Research on Suspicious Financial Transactions Recognition Based on Privacy-Preserving of Classification Algorithm

Classification basing on Privacy-preserving is one of the hottest spots in the field of data mining in recent years. This paper studies how to identify suspicious financial transactions under the privacy-preserving of classification algorithm. The research is studied on multi-data that from several parts by using Scalar Product Protocol under the privacy-preserving. The experimental results show that this method is a effective way for financial institutions to improve the efficiency of identify Money-laundering transactions
The Changing Nature of Change Resistance

This research examines whether relationships between change resistance and its consequences and antecedents strengthen or weaken over time during an extended duration of organizational change. In 40 health care clinics undergoing a 3-year period of significant organizational changes, we found that resistance to change had increasingly negative relationships over time with two important consequences: employees’ commitment to the organization and perceptions of organizational effectiveness. That these relationships became stronger (rather than weaker) over time suggests festering effects of resistance to change. We also found that over time supportive leadership was increasingly impactful in reducing change resistance. A major implication of this research for practice is that it is important for change agents to address employee resistance because, left unchecked, it can fester and increasingly inflict harm. Also, engaging in supportive leader behaviors can be particularly useful in ameliorating resistance to change at later stages of a change initiative.
Towards a Worst-Case Execution Time Calculation Platform with Certificate Production

In real-time systems, time constraints must be satisfied in order to guarantee that deadlines will be met. The calculation of each task’s worst-case execution time (WCET) is a prerequisite the for schedulability analysis, and hence of paramount importance for real-time systems. This can be difficult if the underlying hardware architecture possesses features like caches and pipelines. In this position paper we present our ongoing work towards an Abstraction-Carrying Code based platform for the derivation of the WCETs. Our approach has as starting point an extension of the C programming language with annotations that express the intended time behavior. Moreover, by placing these annotations directly into the source code, we are also able to express valuable informations for the subsequent WCET analysis, such as infeasible paths and loop bounds. Being one of the most used architectures in embedded systems, our platform targets the ARM processor. Furthermore, in order to minimize the trusted computing base, we produce a checkable certificate whose validity entails compliance with the calculated WCET. Keywords-real-time systems; worst-case execution time; abstract interpretation; abstraction-carrying code; fixpoint computation;