Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Associations between Weight in Early Adulthood, Change in Weight, and Breast Cancer Risk in Postmenopausal Women

Background: Adult weight is positively associated with postmenopausal breast cancer but few studies have investigated whether there are associations with weight and body mass index (BMI) in early adulthood, or subsequent weight change. Methods: A total of 14,441 postmenopausal women from the Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study (MCCS) were followed for 16.5 years (mean) and 668 incident breast cancers were identified. Hazard ratios (HRs) were estimated using Cox regression. Results: Weight and BMI at 18 to 21 years were not associated with risk of any type of breast cancer and there was no variation by age. Women with the greatest increase in weight and BMI had higher risk at older ages [HR per 5 kg/m2 gain in BMI = 1.24; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.11–1.40], although the test for homogeneity by age was not significant. At older ages, the association was stronger for progesterone (PR) positive disease compared with PR negative disease (HR per 5 kg/m2 gain in BMI, 1.43; 95% CI, 1.23–1.66; test for homogeneity by PR status, P < 0.01) and for diseases that were positive for both estrogen (ER) and PR (HR per 5 kg/m2 gain in BMI, 1.45; 95% CI, 1.24–1.69; test for homogeneity by ER/PR status, P = 0.02). HRs were also greater for HER2− and luminal A tumors, but the P values for homogeneity by tumor subgroups were not significant. Conclusion: Early adulthood weight is not associated with risk of postmenopausal breast cancer. Greater weight gain during adulthood might be associated with increased risk for older women (>69 years) and this association might vary by tumor hormone receptor status. Impact: Further studies need to investigate the impact of increase in weight during adulthood on postmenopausal breast cancer risk and the potential variation by age or tumor characteristics. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 22(8); 1409–16. ©2013 AACR.
Ultrasonic assisted water quenching of aluminium and steel cylinders

Quenching of metallic components during heat treatment is often done in liquid baths, because of its easy realisation and high mean quenching rates. The essential disadvantage of liquid quenching is the inhomogeneity, mainly caused by the heat isolating vapour film of the film boiling stage. The application of ultrasonic fields is one possibility to destabilise the vapour film and hence to lead to an accelerated and more homogeneous quenching step. The matter of this study is the cooling power characterisation of unidirectional ultrasonic assisted compared to conventional water quenching of austenitic steel 304 (X5CrNi18-10) and aluminium 6082 (AlSi1MgMn) cylinders. In this work, the ultrasonic amplitude, the size of the sound emitting surface (sonotrode) and the distance between sonotrode and sample as well as the water temperature were varied. Due to the ultrasound, the film boiling stage is influenced significantly, which leads to an increase in cooling rate in front of the sonotrode with an increasing.
Periocular Biometric Recognition Using Supervised Fuzzy Clustering

Abtsract—Developing a potential biometrics has been a key focus of research in recent years. Periocular biometrics is a new trait to deal with non-ideal scenarios in face and iris biometrics. It can be used as an alternative to iris recognition, if the iris images are captured at a distance. In forensic applications, this trait can be used individually as well as with other traits (face and iris) for effective and accurate identification. In recent researches, the periocular biometrics is significantly impacting the iris and face based recognition. In this paper, we investigated the efficacy of supervised fuzzy clustering for strict periocular region which does not involve the eyebrows. The fixed initialization is considered in proposed supervised fuzzy clustering instead of random initialization. Then fuzzy clustering motivated with partition index maximization is used to optimize the objective function, hence yield clusters with representative prototype. The fuzzy clustering is further generalized with Minkowski distance matrices to yield variable cluster shape. Recognition is done based on the minimum distance measure between the test patterns and the centroid of the clusters. We use eight hundred periocular region images extracted from AR face dataset of 40 subjects. Performance of the proposed technique has been evaluated in terms of rank-one and rank-two recognition accuracy. Experimental analysis demonstrates the efficacy of presented technique over other variants of fuzzy clustering techniques.
K-Ras4A splice variant is widely expressed in cancer and uses a hybrid membrane-targeting motif

Significance The KRAS oncogene is mutated more frequently in human cancer than any other. The KRAS transcript is alternatively spliced to give rise to two products, K-Ras4A and K-Ras4B, both of which are oncogenic when KRAS is mutated. We detected significant amounts of each transcript in human tumor cells and colorectal carcinomas. We found that K-Ras4A is targeted to the plasma membrane by dual targeting motifs distinct from those of K-Ras4B. Because interfering with membrane association of Ras proteins remains one of the most attractive approaches to anti-Ras therapy, efforts in this direction will have to disrupt both the K-Ras4A and the K-Ras4B membrane-targeting pathways. The two products of the KRAS locus, K-Ras4A and K-Ras4B, are encoded by alternative fourth exons and therefore, possess distinct membrane-targeting sequences. The common activating mutations occur in exons 1 or 2 and therefore, render both splice variants oncogenic. K-Ras4A has been understudied, because it has been considered a minor splice variant. By priming off of the splice junction, we developed a quantitative RT-PCR assay for K-Ras4A and K-Ras4B message capable of measuring absolute amounts of the two transcripts. We found that K-Ras4A was widely expressed in 30 of 30 human cancer cell lines and amounts equal to K-Ras4B in 17 human colorectal tumors. Using splice variant-specific antibodies, we detected K-Ras4A protein in several tumor cell lines at a level equal to or greater than that of K-Ras4B. In addition to the CAAX motif, the C terminus of K-Ras4A contains a site of palmitoylation as well as a bipartite polybasic region. Although both were required for maximal efficiency, each of these could independently deliver K-Ras4A to the plasma membrane. Thus, among four Ras proteins, K-Ras4A is unique in possessing a dual membrane-targeting motif. We also found that, unlike K-Ras4B, K-Ras4A does not bind to the cytosolic chaperone δ-subunit of cGMP phosphodiesterase type 6 (PDE6δ). We conclude that efforts to develop anti–K-Ras drugs that interfere with membrane trafficking will have to take into account the distinct modes of targeting of the two K-Ras splice variants.
Research on Shear Resistant Capacity and Reliability of Multi-Ribbed Composite Wall in High-Rise Building

As a new structural system, MRSS (multi-ribbed slab structure) has some applications in multistory building. But theoretical investigation and application study on multi-ribbed composite wall in high-rise building should be developed with various factors composing shear resistant capacity of wall under complicated loads. By means of model test and numerical simulation with FEM (finite element method), shear resistant expression of slab in tall building is set up and reliability index of a representative wall under small earthquake is figured out. Sensitivity of each factor affecting shear strength is evaluated. These works disclose the wall’s load bearing mechanism and make the structure application more feasible and assure the new system safety in practice.
The future of medical school courses in professional skills and perspectives

This article looks toward the future of medical school courses in professional skills and perspectives by addressing the extent to which they are a valid model for educating physicians of the 21st century, highlighting what medical educators can learn from the experiences at a sample of four medical schools, and suggesting ways to strengthen this curricular genre. Each of the four courses described in this special feature strives to provide exposure and experience in behavioral science, medical ethics, physician-patient communication, health promotion and disease prevention, physical examination, clinical reasoning, and health services and financing. It is likely that students who will be practicing medicine in the 21st century would also benefit from more attention to personal awareness and professional growth. Several lessons can be drawn from the experiences with these courses: although complex, they are directed by very small groups of faculty; they require large numbers of teaching faculty; it is difficult to establish equal footing with basic science courses; evaluation of students' progress is a major challenge; it is important to clearly articulate course components; the emphasis must extend beyond the first two years; and ongoing student and faculty input is essential. The authors suggest that conducting outcome assessments, creating a more humane culture of medical education, and supporting course faculty are key to a stable future for these courses and a solid education for the students.
The Andalusian population from Huelva reveals a high diversification of Y-DNA paternal lineages from haplogroup E: Identifying human male movements within the Mediterranean space

Abstract Background: Gene flow among human populations is generally interpreted in terms of complex patterns, with the observed gene frequencies being the consequence of the entire genetic and demographic histories of the population. Aims: This study performs a high-resolution analysis of the Y-chromosome haplogroup E in Western Andalusians (Huelva province). The genetic information presented here provides new insights into migration processes that took place throughout the Mediterranean space and tries to evaluate its impact on the current genetic composition of the most southwestern population of Spain. Subjects and methods: 167 unrelated males were previously typed for the presence/absence of the Y-chromosome Alu polymorphism (YAP). The group of YAP (+) Andalusians was genotyped for 16 Y-SNPs and also characterized for 16 Y-STR loci. Results: The distribution of E-M81 haplogroup, a Berber marker, was found at a frequency of 3% in our sample. The distribution of M81 frequencies in Iberia seems to be not concordant with the regions where Islamic rule was most intense and long-lasting. The study also showed that most of M78 derived allele (6.6%) led to the V13* subhaplogroup. We also found the most basal and rare paragroup M78* and others with V12 and V65 mutations. The lineage defined by M34 mutation, which is quite frequent in Jews, was detected as well. Conclusions: The haplogroup E among Western Andalusians revealed a complex admixture of genetic markers from the Mediterranean space, with interesting signatures of populations from the Middle East and the Balkan Peninsula and a surprisingly low influence by Berber populations compared to other areas of the Iberian Peninsula.
Hematologic parameters as the predictors for metabolic syndrome in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women living in urban area: a preliminary report

Introduction Prevalence of metabolic syndrome increases drastically during menopausal transition. Chronic inflammation is proposed as the basic pathophysiology of metabolic syndrome (MetS). Aim of the study To compare mean white blood cell count between perimenopausal and postmenopausal women with and without MetS and find the prevalence of MetS in this patient group. Material and methods A total of 140 healthy perimenopausal and postmenopausal women were interviewed and underwent anthropometric measurements, biochemical investigations for MetS and hematologic parameters. MetS was defined according to the Joint Interim Statement 2009 criteria. The outcome measures were the hematologic parameters between women with and without MetS, correlation of hematologic parameters with MetS components and optimum cutoff for MetS prediction. Results The mean age of participants was 50 years. 63.6% were perimenopausal and 36.4% were postmenopausal ones. The prevalence of MetS was 21.4% (95% CI: 15.0-27.9). The women with MetS had a significantly higher level of white blood cell (WBC) counts (7,466.7 and 6,514.6; p = 0.006) and total lymphocyte counts (2,572.0 and 2,207.7; p = 0.003). The optimum cutoff of WBC counts and total lymphocyte counts for prediction of metabolic syndrome was 6,750 cells/ml (sensitivity = 0.633; specificity = 0.591, p = 0.019) and 2,232 cells/ml (sensitivity = 0.667; specificity = 0.518, p = 0.016), respectively. Conclusion White blood cell and total lymphocyte counts were higher in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women with MetS. However, both hematologic parameters were poor predictors for MetS in peri- and postmenopausal women.
VERY HIGH ENERGY γ-RAY AFTERGLOW EMISSION OF NEARBY GAMMA-RAY BURSTS

The synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) emission from gamma-ray burst (GRB) forward shock can extend to the very high energy (VHE; Eγ > 100 GeV) range. Such high energy photons are rare and are attenuated by the cosmic infrared background before reaching us. In this work, we discuss the prospect to detect these VHE photons using the current ground-based Cherenkov detectors. Our calculated results are consistent with the upper limits obtained with several Cherenkov detectors for GRB 030329, GRB 050509B, and GRB 060505 during the afterglow phase. For five bursts in our nearby GRB sample (except for GRB 030329), current ground-based Cherenkov detectors would not be expected to detect the modeled VHE signal. Only for those very bright and nearby bursts like GRB 030329, detection of VHE photons is possible under favorable observing conditions and a delayed observation time of ≲10 hr.
Pultruded Carbon Fiber/Vinyl Ester Composites Processed with Different Fiber Sizing Agents. Part I: Processing and Static Mechanical Performance

Hexcel AS-4 12K carbon fibers were sized with two different thermoplastic sizing agents. The sizing agents tested were K-90 poly(vinylpyrrolidone) and modified polyhydroxyether of bisphenol A (Phenoxy™). Hexcel AS-4 36K carbon fibers sized commercially with the standard G′ was also examined as reference. The sized carbon fibers were processed into composites utilizing a pilot scale pultruder and a pultrudable vinyl–ester resin. Both the thermoplastic sizing materials especially the Phenoxy™ sizing had improved processability over the traditionally utilized G′ sizing material. These improvements in processability translated into improvements in final composite surface finish and quality. In addition, the thermoplastic sized fibers entered the dip bath stiff, thus minimizing fraying and damage thereby ensuring a better product. The thermoplastic sized composites outperformed the standard sizing G′ by at least 25% in static tensile strength, by at least 11% in longitudinal flexure strength, by at least 30% i.
Distribution of Mycobacterium ulcerans in Buruli Ulcer Endemic and Non-Endemic Aquatic Sites in Ghana

Mycobacterium ulcerans, the causative agent of Buruli ulcer, is an emerging environmental bacterium in Australia and West Africa. The primary risk factor associated with Buruli ulcer is proximity to slow moving water. Environmental constraints for disease are shown by the absence of infection in arid regions of infected countries. A particularly mysterious aspect of Buruli ulcer is the fact that endemic and non-endemic villages may be only a few kilometers apart within the same watershed. Recent studies suggest that aquatic invertebrate species may serve as reservoirs for M. ulcerans, although transmission pathways remain unknown. Systematic studies of the distribution of M. ulcerans in the environment using standard ecological methods have not been reported. Here we present results from the first study based on random sampling of endemic and non-endemic sites. In this study PCR-based methods, along with biofilm collections, have been used to map the presence of M. ulcerans within 26 aquatic sites in Ghana. Results suggest that M. ulcerans is present in both endemic and non-endemic sites and that variable number tandem repeat (VNTR) profiling can be used to follow chains of transmission from the environment to humans. Our results suggesting that the distribution of M. ulcerans is far broader than the distribution of human disease is characteristic of environmental pathogens. These findings imply that focal demography, along with patterns of human water contact, may play a major role in transmission of Buruli ulcer.
Detection of illegal traffic pattern using Hybrid Improved CART and Multiple Extreme Learning Machine Approach

In the proposed hybrid intrusion detection process, misuse detection and anomaly detection model is integrated to detect the attack in traffic pattern. In misuse detection model, the traffic pattern is classified into known attack and not known attack. Each extracted normal data set does not have known attack and it contains small amount of varied connection patterns than overall normal data set. Anomaly detection model classifies the not known attack as normal data set and unknown attack thus improving the performance of normal traffic behavior. Experiment is carried out using NSL –KDD dataset and performance of proposed approach is compared with traditional learning approaches in terms of training time, testing time, false positive ratio and detection ratio. The proposed method detects the known attacks and unknown attacks with ratio of 99.8 % and 52% respectively.
Simultaneous localization and odometry calibration for mobile robot

This paper presents both the theory and the first experimental results of a new method which allows simultaneous estimation of the robot configuration and the odometry error (both systematic and non-systematic) during the mobile robot navigation. The estimation of the non-systematic components is carried out through an augmented Kalman filter which estimates a state containing the robot configuration and the parameters of the odometry error. It uses encoder readings as inputs and the readings from a laser range finder as observations. The estimation of the non-systematic components is carried out through another Kalman filter where the observations are obtained by two subsequent robot configurations provided by the previous augmented Kalman filter.
Multicomponent Synthesis of Some Molecular Hybrid Containing Thiazole Pyrazole as Apoptosis Inducer

Abstract The present study describes a multicomponent synthesis of molecular hybrid containing pyrazole, thiazole moiety using hydrazone as a linker, which have been synthesized by condensation of 1-phenyl-3-(aryl)-1H-pyrazole-4-carbaldehydes 1a-b, thiosemicarbazide and α-bromoketones 2a-c.The target hybrid compounds, 1-((1-phenyl-3-aryl-1H-pyrazole-4-yl)methylene)-2-(4-arylthiazole-2-yl)hydrazine 3a-f are characterized by 1H-NMR, 13C NMR, FT-IR and mass. Apoptosis inducing ability and cytotoxic nature of all the hybrid compounds having thiazole, pyrazole and hydrazone were assessed by using biological assays viz morphological, fluorescence and tunel assays on granulosa cells of ovarian antral follicles of goat (Capra hircus) in vitro. Apoptosis was recognized and quantified using differential staining of ethidium bromide and acridine orange where apoptotic cells exhibited red fluorescence and live normal cells with intact cell membrane and normal nucleus displayed bright green fluorescence. Among the tested compounds, compound 3e and 3b showed the maximum potency to induce apoptosis with percentage of apoptosis 25.61±2.95and 23.45±1.46 respectively followed by 3f (20.95±0.40) and 3d (20.44±1.60) in comparison with control (5.14±0.44).
Gelatin‐coated Gold Nanoparticles as Carriers of FLT3 Inhibitors for Acute Myeloid Leukemia Treatment

This study presents the design of a gold nanoparticle (AuNPs)—drug system with improved efficiency for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia. The system is based on four different FLT3 inhibitors, namely midostaurin, sorafenib, lestaurtinib, and quizartinib, which were independently loaded onto gelatin‐coated gold nanoparticles. Detailed investigation of the physicochemical properties of the formed complexes lead to the selection of quizartinib—loaded AuNPs for the in vitro evaluation of the biological effects of the formed complex against OCI‐AML3 acute myeloid leukemia cells. Viability tests by MTT demonstrated that the proposed drug complex has improved efficacy when compared with the drug alone. The obtained results constitute a premise for further in vivo investigation of such drug vehicles based on AuNPs. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that investigates the delivery of the above‐mentioned FLT3 inhibitors via gelatin‐coated gold nanoparticles.
Modified Differential Evolution for Constrained Optimization

In this paper, we present a Differential-Evolution based approach to solve constrained optimization problems. The aim of the approach is to increase the probability of each parent to generate a better offspring. This is done by allowing each solution to generate more than one offspring but using a different mutation operator which combines information of the best solution in the population and also information of the current parent to find new search directions. Three selection criteria based on feasibility are used to deal with the constraints of the problem and also a diversity mechanism is added to maintain infeasible solutions located in promising areas of the search space. The approach is tested in a set of test problems proposed for the special session on Constrained Real Parameter Optimization. The results obtained are discussed and some conclusions are established.
RAPP, a systematic e-assessment of postoperative recovery in patients undergoing day surgery: study protocol for a mixed-methods study design including a multicentre, two-group, parallel, single-blind randomised controlled trial and qualitative interview studies

Introduction Day surgery is a well-established practice in many European countries, but only limited information is available regarding postoperative recovery at home though there is a current lack of a standard procedure regarding postoperative follow-up. Furthermore, there is also a need for improvement of modern technology in assessing patient-related outcomes such as mobile applications. This article describes the Recovery Assessment by Phone Points (RAPP) study protocol, a mixed-methods study to evaluate if a systematic e-assessment follow-up in patients undergoing day surgery is cost-effective and improves postoperative recovery, health and quality of life. Methods and analysis This study has a mixed-methods study design that includes a multicentre, two-group, parallel, single-blind randomised controlled trial and qualitative interview studies. 1000 patients >17 years of age who are undergoing day surgery will be randomly assigned to either e-assessed postoperative recovery follow-up daily in 14 days measured via smartphone app including the Swedish web-version of Quality of Recovery (SwQoR) or to standard care (ie, no follow-up). The primary aim is cost-effectiveness. Secondary aims are (A) to explore whether a systematic e-assessment follow-up after day surgery has a positive effect on postoperative recovery, health-related quality of life (QoL) and overall health; (B) to determine whether differences in postoperative recovery have an association with patient characteristic, type of surgery and anaesthesia; (C) to determine whether differences in health literacy have a substantial and distinct effect on postoperative recovery, health and QoL; and (D) to describe day surgery patient and staff experiences with a systematic e-assessment follow-up after day surgery. The primary aim will be measured at 2 weeks postoperatively and secondary outcomes (A–C) at 1 and 2 weeks and (D) at 1 and 4 months. Trial registration number NCT02492191; Pre-results.