Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Local Breast Cancer Recurrence after Mastectomy and Breast-Conserving Surgery for Paget's Disease: A Meta-Analysis

Background: Paget's disease (PD) of the breast is a rare presentation of breast malignancy. Mastectomy has been considered the standard of care, but several studies have shown that breast-conserving surgery (BCS) with radiotherapy is an alternative option. According to the literature, the total recurrence rate is as high as 20-40%. In an effort to enable a rational therapy decision, we compiled and analyzed the available data on PD. Methods: Pubmed, Web of Knowledge, and China Journal Net were searched for studies concerning treatment for PD between 1990 and 2013. A meta-analysis was performed to compare the effect of different treatments. Results: 7 studies with a total of 685 patients were included. The cumulative local recurrence rate was 7.6%, 5.6% among women undergoing mastectomy and 13.2% among those treated with BCS. Compared to the BCS group, mastectomy showed significant differences in terms of local recurrence (odds ratio = 0.38, 95% confidence interval 0.21-0.69; p = 0.001). Conclusion: Since not all currently available diagnostic and therapeutic options (magnetic resonance imaging, radiotherapy, tamoxifen) were systematically used in the studies included in this meta-analysis, it may be presumptuous to suggest that mastectomy is the right choice for all patients with PD in a modern interdisciplinary setting. Rather we can conclude that all efforts should be undertaken to assure local control since BCS is not equivalent to mastectomy in the treatment of PD.
Analysis of Antibodies Directed against Merozoite Surface Protein 1 of the Human Malaria Parasite Plasmodium falciparum

ABSTRACT The 190-kDa merozoite surface protein 1 (MSP-1) of Plasmodium falciparum, an essential component in the parasite's life cycle, is a primary candidate for a malaria vaccine. Rabbit antibodies elicited by the heterologously produced MSP-1 processing products p83, p30, p38, and p42, derived from strain 3D7, were analyzed for the potential to inhibit in vitro erythrocyte invasion by the parasite and parasite growth. Our data show that (i) epitopes recognized by antibodies, which inhibit parasite replication, are distributed throughout the entire MSP-1 molecule; (ii) when combined, antibodies specific for different regions of MSP-1 inhibit in a strictly additive manner; (iii) anti-MSP-1 antibodies interfere with erythrocyte invasion as well as with the intraerythrocytic growth of the parasite; and (iv) antibodies raised against MSP-1 of strain 3D7 strongly cross-inhibit replication of the heterologous strain FCB-1. Accordingly, anti-MSP-1 antibodies appear to be capable of interfering with parasite multiplication at more than one level. Since the overall immunogenicity profile of MSP-1 in rabbits closely resembles that found in sera of Aotus monkeys immunized with parasite-derived MSP-1 and of humans semi-immune to malaria from whom highly inhibiting antigen-specific antibodies were recovered, we consider the findings reported here to be relevant for the development of MSP-1-based vaccines against malaria.
Modularity in Inductively-Learned Word Pronunciation Systems

In leading morpho-phonological theories and state-of-the-art text-to-speech systems it is assumed that word pronunciation cannot be learned or performed without in-between analyses at several abstraction levels (e.g., morphological, graphemic, phonemic, syllabic, and stress levels). We challenge this assumption for the case of English word pronunciation. Using igtree, an inductive-learning decision-tree algorithms, we train and test three word-pronunciation systems in which the number of abstraction levels (implemented as sequenced modules) is reduced from five, via three, to one. The latter system, classifying letter strings directly as mapping to phonemes with stress markers, yields significantly better generalisation accuracies than the two multi-module systems. Analyses of empirical results indicate that positive utility effects of sequencing modules are outweighed by cascading errors passed on between modules.
Micro-Angiographic Fluoroscope: Comparison for Different Input Phosphors

Although flat panel detectors are preferred for image-guided interventional endo-vascular treatments of stroke, they still have limitations in spatial resolution and excess additive noise, which restricts their low-dose performance. The Micro-Angiographic Fluoroscope (MAF), a CCD-based region-of-interest indirect X-ray imager recently developed, can meet the needs for high-resolution, high-sensitivity, real-time image guidance. Although the prototype MAF has better resolution (MTF) and detective quantum efficiency (DQE) than a standard flat panel detector, its performance could be improved by a change in the phosphor. The spatial resolution of such X-ray-to-light converting phosphors is limited by stochastic blurring and k-fluorescent X-ray reabsorption. Thinner phosphors generally improve resolution at the cost of lowering quantum detection efficiency (QDE) and increasing Swank noise, while thicker phosphors provide better absorption at the expense of spatial resolution. Two other Hamamatsu CsI(Tl) phosphors, 300- μm-thick HR, and 500- μm-thick HR, both without front reflective surface, were compared with the current 300- μm HL phosphor with front reflective surface. The phosphors were evaluated by comparing the MTF, NNPS, and DQE of the MAF detector used with each phosphor. All detector configurations showed linearity and quantum noise limited operation for a large range of exposures appropriate for both fluoroscopy and angiography. While the 300- μm HR type prototype demonstrated better resolution than the 500- μm HR type, the latter demonstrated better overall DQE and improved resolution compared to the original 300- μm HL, suggesting it would be the better choice for the MAF design.
The IT Workforce Challenge: Adoption of IT Careers by Minority Groups - Issues and Recommendations

America faces an internal challenge to its position as a global leader in information technology. This challenge is real, and it impacts the core of this countrys historical greatness  the preparedness of the national workforce. Simultaneously, the 21 century worker is facing a dynamic environment where technology and workforce diversity are key drivers for organizational change. The skilled workforce of the future must identify and evaluate opportunities and risks, leverage knowledge competencies, and effectively integrate information in a manner that creates value for their organizations. We suggest that re-designing courses in non-core technology disciplines, such as business, can be an effective factor in addressing the needs and expectations for a technologically prepared workforce. Using five undergraduate courses, we identified relevant front page business cases/issues that garnered significant student interest, whereby student teams examined critical technological implications associated with managerial decision-making. The tutorial provides an in-depth discussion of the technology workforce challenge, and uses cognitive theories to examine how changes in awareness and attitudes, with regard to career options, can impact the minority presence  women, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Native Americans  in the 21 century workforce.
Variants within the SP110 nuclear body protein modify risk of canine degenerative myelopathy

Significance Degenerative myelopathy (DM) is a canine disease very similar to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in humans. We previously showed that DM is a promising model for ALS, because genome-wide association identified a mutation in superoxide dismutase 1 gene (SOD1), a known ALS gene. This mutation found in many dog breeds increases the risk of DM, and the pathological findings and clinical progression of the two diseases are similar. In this study, we identify a modifier gene, SP110 nuclear body protein (SP110), which strongly affects overall disease risk and age of onset in Pembroke Welsh Corgis at risk for DM. Dissecting the complex genetics of this disease in a model organism may lead to new insights about risk and progression in both canine and human patients. Canine degenerative myelopathy (DM) is a naturally occurring neurodegenerative disease with similarities to some forms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Most dogs that develop DM are homozygous for a common superoxide dismutase 1 gene (SOD1) mutation. However, not all dogs homozygous for this mutation develop disease. We performed a genome-wide association analysis in the Pembroke Welsh Corgi (PWC) breed comparing DM-affected and -unaffected dogs homozygous for the SOD1 mutation. The analysis revealed a modifier locus on canine chromosome 25. A haplotype within the SP110 nuclear body protein (SP110) was present in 40% of affected compared with 4% of unaffected dogs (P = 1.5 × 10−5), and was associated with increased probability of developing DM (P = 4.8 × 10−6) and earlier onset of disease (P = 1.7 × 10−5). SP110 is a nuclear body protein involved in the regulation of gene transcription. Our findings suggest that variations in SP110-mediated gene transcription may underlie, at least in part, the variability in risk for developing DM among PWCs that are homozygous for the disease-related SOD1 mutation. Further studies are warranted to clarify the effect of this modifier across dog breeds.
Definitional Constraints

Certain constraints that should be interpreted as definitions or quasi-definitions can cause prediction problems for logics of action. Standard ways to avoid them rely on notions of priority in the minimization of fluent change. We offer an alternative approach based on belief revision. Revision is performed on the reduct of the system theory after isolating definitions, and the revised theory is then expanded by restoring the definitions. The basis for this is a weak monotonicity result for AGM contraction. Examples from the literature are used to illustrate the approach.
Randomized, Double-Blind Phase II Trial With Prospective Classification by ATM Protein Level to Evaluate the Efficacy and Tolerability of Olaparib Plus Paclitaxel in Patients With Recurrent or Metastatic Gastric Cancer.

PURPOSE Gastric cancer cell lines, particularly those with low levels of ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM), a key activator of DNA damage response, are sensitive to the poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitor olaparib. We compared the efficacy of olaparib plus paclitaxel (olaparib/paclitaxel) with paclitaxel alone in patients with recurrent or metastatic gastric cancer and assessed whether low ATM expression is predictive of improved clinical outcome for olaparib/paclitaxel. PATIENTS AND METHODS In this phase II, double-blind study (Study 39; NCT01063517), patients were randomly assigned to oral olaparib 100 mg twice per day (tablets) plus paclitaxel (80 mg/m(2) per day intravenously on days 1, 8, and 15 of every 28-day cycle) or placebo plus paclitaxel (placebo/paclitaxel), followed by maintenance monotherapy with olaparib (200 mg twice per day) or placebo. The study population was enriched to 50% for patients with low or undetectable ATM levels (ATMlow). Primary end point was progression-free survival (PFS). RESULTS One hundred twenty-three of 124 randomly assigned patients received treatment (olaparib/paclitaxel, n = 61; placebo/paclitaxel, n = 62). The screening prevalence of ATMlow patients was 14%. Olaparib/paclitaxel did not lead to a significant improvement in PFS versus placebo/paclitaxel (overall population: hazard ratio [HR], 0.80; median PFS, 3.91 v 3.55 months, respectively; ATMlow population: HR, 0.74; median PFS, 5.29 v 3.68 months, respectively). However, olaparib/paclitaxel significantly improved overall survival (OS) versus placebo/paclitaxel in both the overall population (HR, 0.56; 80% CI, 0.41 to 0.75; P = .005; median OS, 13.1 v 8.3 months, respectively) and the ATMlow population (HR, 0.35; 80% CI, 0.22 to 0.56; P = .002; median OS, not reached v 8.2 months, respectively). Olaparib/paclitaxel was generally well tolerated, with no unexpected safety findings. CONCLUSION Olaparib/paclitaxel is active in the treatment of patients with metastatic gastric cancer, with a greater OS benefit in ATMlow patients. A phase III trial in this setting is under way.
Design, Fabrication, and Characterization of Ultrathin 3-D Glass Interposers With Through-Package-Vias at Same Pitch as TSVs in Silicon

A double-sided and ultrathin 3-D glass interposer with through package vias (TPVs) at same pitch as through silicon vias (TSVs) in silicon interposers is developed to provide a compelling alternative to 3-D IC stacking of logic and memory devices with TSVs. The 3-D IC stacking approach to achieve high bandwidth has several drawbacks, including the need for TSVs through the logic die, thermal management within the 3-D stack, and the high manufacturing cost associated with wafer-based TSV processing. This paper presents design, fabrication, and electrical characterization of small TPVs (15-40 μm in diameter) in 30-μm thin glass to achieve an ultrathin 3-D interposer. This paper also reports the first demonstration of ultrasmall TPVs in glass (15 μm) with same dimensions as TSVs in silicon. The signal insertion loss and crosstalk behavior of TPVs in ultrathin glass were investigated and found to be superior to TSVs using 3-D electromagnetic simulations. In demonstrating the 3-D interposers, two process-related challenges were addressed in this paper, namely: 1) defect-free formation of ultrasmall TPV holes with diameters of 15 μm at 27-μm pitch and 2) TPV metallization with copper. The fabricated TPVs in ultrathin glass showed a good model to hardware correlation of signal transmission with insertion loss <;0.15 dB at 20 GHz. The results in this paper suggest that the 3-D interposer concept can be a simpler alternative to 3-D IC stacking with TSVs to achieve high bandwidth between the logic and memory devices.
The Experience of Presence: Factor Analytic Insights

Within an embodied cognition framework, it is argued that presence in a virtual environment (VE) develops from the construction of a spatial-functional mental model of the VE. Two cognitive processes lead to this model: the representation of bodily actions as possible actions in the VE, and the suppression of incompatible sensory input. It is hypothesized that the conscious sense of presence reflects these two components as spatial presence and involvement. This prediction was confirmed in two studies (N = 246 and N = 296) assessing self-reports of presence and immersion experiences. Additionally, judgments of realness were observed as a third presence component. A second-order factor analysis showed a distinction between presence, immersion, and interaction factors. Building on these results, a thirteen-item presence scale consisting of three independent components was developed and verified using confirmatory factor analyses across the two studies.
Hospital Qualities Related to Return to Work from Occupational Injury after Controlling for Injury Severity as Well as Occupational Characteristics

We examined associations between hospital quality in the workers’ compensation system and injured patients’ return to work after controlling for injury severity, occupational factors, and demographic factors. Return to work data of injured workers were constructed from 2 datasets: 23,392 patients injured in 2009–2011 from the Korea Workers’ Compensation & Welfare Service and return to work data from Korea Employment Information Services. After de-identifying the data, quality scores were matched for each hospital that cared for injured patients. Injury severity was measured by Abbreviated Injury Scales. Relative risk and 95% confidence interval were calculated using log binomial regression models. After adjusting for age, sex, injury severity, occupation, factory size, city, and hospital type, the relative risk (95% confidence interval) for the total score was 1.04 (1.02–1.06), 1.06 (1.04–1.09), and 1.07 (1.05–1.10) in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th quartiles, respectively, compared to the 1st quartile. The RR (95% CI) in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th quartiles was 1.05 (1.02–1.07), 1.05 (1.02–1.08), and 1.06 (1.04–1.09) for the process score; and 1.02 (1.01–1.04), 1.05 (1.03–1.07), and 1.06 (1.04–1.09) for the outcome score compared to the 1st quartile score, respectively. In conclusion, our study design with blinded merge methods shows that total, process, and outcome qualities are related to the return to work of injured workers after controlling for other factors.
Testosterone Antagonizes Doxorubicin‐Induced Senescence of Cardiomyocytes

Background Chronic cardiotoxicity is less common in male than in female patients receiving doxorubicin and other anthracyclines at puberty and adolescence. We hypothesized that this sex difference might be secondary to distinct activities of sex hormones on cardiomyocyte senescence, which is thought to be central to the development of long‐term anthracycline cardiomyopathy. Methods and Results H9c2 cells and neonatal mouse cardiomyocytes were exposed to doxorubicin with or without prior incubation with testosterone or 17β‐estradiol, the main androgen and estrogen, respectively. Testosterone, but not 17β‐estradiol, counteracted doxorubicin‐elicited senescence. Downregulation of telomere binding factor 2, which has been pinpointed previously as being pivotal to doxorubicin‐induced senescence, was also prevented by testosterone, as were p53 phosphorylation and accumulation. Pretreatment with the androgen receptor antagonist flutamide, the phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase inhibitor LY294002, and the nitric oxide synthase inhibitor L‐NG‐nitroarginine methyl ester abrogated the reduction in senescence and the normalization of telomere binding factor 2 levels attained by testosterone. Consistently, testosterone enhanced the phosphorylation of AKT and nitric oxide synthase 3. In H9c2 cells, doxorubicin‐stimulated senescence was still observed up to 21 days after treatment and increased further when cells were rechallenged with doxorubicin 14 days after the first exposure to mimic the schedule of anthracycline‐containing chemotherapy. Remarkably, these effects were also inhibited by testosterone. Conclusions Testosterone protects cardiomyocytes against senescence caused by doxorubicin at least in part by modulating telomere binding factor 2 via a pathway involving the androgen receptor, phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase, AKT, and nitric oxide synthase 3. This is a potential mechanism by which pubescent and adolescent boys are less prone to chronic anthracycline cardiotoxicity than girls.
Effects of magnetic field on the antioxidant enzyme activities of suspension‐cultured tobacco cells

Effects of magnetic fields (MFs) on the activities of antioxidant enzymes of suspension‐cultured tobacco cells were investigated. Compared with the control cells, exposure of the cells to static MF with the magnitudes of 10 and 30 mT for 5 days, 5 h each day, increased the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD). In contrast, the activity of the catalase (CAT) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) was decreased by MF, compared with those of the control cells. Level of lipid peroxidation was also increased by MF. It suggests that MF could deteriorate antioxidant defense system of plant cells. Bioelectromagnetics. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
A Spatial Skyline Query for a Group of Users Having Different Positions

We consider a problem of skyline query of a spatial database. Assume that members of a multidisciplinary task force team located at different offices want to put together in a restaurant to hold a lunch-on meeting. In this situation, we should select a good restaurant whose location is convenient for each member. Skyline query is helpful for finding a good restaurant. We can compute a set of skyline restaurants based on non-spatial attributes such as price and rating by using conventional skyline queries. However, conventional skyline queries do not consider distance from each user, which must be important for selecting a restaurant in the example. If users' locations are different, the comparison of restaurant's location is complicated. For example, if one restaurant is very close to one user, it may be far from another user. In this paper, we consider a spatial skyline query for a group of users having different positions. The proposed method selects a set of spatial objects whose location for the group is not dominated by another spatial objects.
Evaluating Models of Parameter Setting

Our research group has built a research environment for testing models of syntactic parameter setting. We have created a domain of 3,072 languages with up to 1,432 sentences in each, defined by a set of Universal Grammar (UG) rules and 13 (so far) binary parameters. The languages resemble human languages in many respects, though they are considerably simpler (details below). Each of these languages is designated in turn as the target for acquisition and its sentences are input to a learning algorithm. We measure whether learning is successful (is the target reliably attained? ) and how long it takes (how many input sentences the learner consumes before arriving at the target grammar). Our goal in preparing this rich testing environment was to further the search for a credible psycho-computational model of syntactic parameter setting. That sounds very grand, but what it means is just: a model that is psychologically realistic, precisely specified, compatible with linguistic principles, and as reliably successful as children are. This has proven remarkably elusive. Individual grammars are defined by their parameter values, so acquiring a language consists in identifying the parameter values that license it. When the principles and parameters (P&P) theory of grammars was first proposed (Chomsky, 1981), it was hailed as a sweeping solution to problems that had
Lane line detection in real time based on morphological operations for driver assistance system

The objective of this paper is to use image processing techniques to identify the lane lines on the hilly road based on Hough transform. Vision based approach is utilized as it performs well in a wide variety of situations by extracting rich set of information compared to other sensors. The proposed method processes the live video stream from a monocular camera using matlab and extracts the position of lane markings and an algorithm is used to find the lane lines present on the road.
Trajectory generation under the least action principle for physical human-robot cooperation

Trajectory generation for active physical assistance to humans in cooperative haptic tasks gains increasing interest in recent literature. Planning-based approaches represent one class of trajectory synthesis methods for active robotic partners. To overcome the limitations of kinematic planning algorithms in dynamic tasks, we propose a three-step approach to the synthesis of trajectories under the principle of least action. This is motivated by neuroscientific findings on human effort minimization in motor tasks. A trajectory is generated by optimized sequencing of optimal motion primitives. The benefits of the proposed method for physical human-robot cooperation are demonstrated in human user studies in a 2D cooperative transport task in a virtual maze.
A New Algorithm for Solving Ring-LPN With a Reducible Polynomial

The learning parity with noise (LPN) problem has recently proved to be of great importance in cryptology. A special and very useful case is the Ring-LPN problem, which typically provides improved efficiency in the constructed cryptographic primitive. We present a new algorithm for solving the Ring-LPN problem in the case when the polynomial used is reducible. It greatly outperforms the previous algorithms for solving this problem. Using the algorithm, we can break the Lapin authentication protocol for the proposed instance using a reducible polynomial, in ~271 bit operations.