Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prognosis of Adenosquamous Carcinoma Compared With Adenocarcinoma in Uterine Cervical Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies

Objective The aim of this study was to compare the survival outcomes of adenosquamous carcinoma (ASC) and adenocarcinoma (AC) of the cervix. Methods We searched PubMed and Embase for observational studies that compared the outcomes of 2 histologic subtypes. Hazards ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated with a fixed effects model. Results A total of 17 studies were included in the analyses. Patients with ASC were associated significantly with poorer overall survival (death HR, 1.27; 95% CI, 1.12–1.43; I2 = 0%) and recurrence-free survival (recurrence HR, 1.43; 95% CI, 1.05–1.95; I2 = 19.4%) than those with AC. For clinical stages I and II in particular, ASC predicted significantly poorer outcomes compared with AC (death HR, 1.41; 95% CI, 1.17–1.70; I2 = 0%). Conclusions This meta-analysis suggests that ASC may have poorer outcomes compared with AC of the cervix.
Storing and handling vague spatial objects

This paper deals with the storage and manipulation of vague spatial objects: points, lines, and regions. Vector data format is used to implement vague objects. We store vague objects by extending GRASS vector format capabilities. A point is represented by a triple, containing the location and the membership value of the point. A line is represented by a sequence of triples, each containing the location and the membership value of a point on the line. A region is represented by a set of lines, which depict important characteristics of the region. Data structures are defined to put constraints on the stored data, so that desired properties for vague objects are satisfied. To complete (approximate) information about lines and regions, a linear interpolation and a triangulation-based interpolation method are used, respectively. Modules are built to edit and retrieve information of vague objects. A union operator on vague objects is also implemented.
Simulating the Distribution of Individual Livestock Farms and Their Populations in the United States: An Example Using Domestic Swine (Sus scrofa domesticus) Farms

Livestock distribution in the United States (U.S.) can only be mapped at a county-level or worse resolution. We developed a spatial microsimulation model called the Farm Location and Agricultural Production Simulator (FLAPS) that simulated the distribution and populations of individual livestock farms throughout the conterminous U.S. Using domestic pigs (Sus scrofa domesticus) as an example species, we customized iterative proportional-fitting algorithms for the hierarchical structure of the U.S. Census of Agriculture and imputed unpublished state- or county-level livestock population totals that were redacted to ensure confidentiality. We used a weighted sampling design to collect data on the presence and absence of farms and used them to develop a national-scale distribution model that predicted the distribution of individual farms at a 100 m resolution. We implemented microsimulation algorithms that simulated the populations and locations of individual farms using output from our imputed Census of Agriculture dataset and distribution model. Approximately 19% of county-level pig population totals were unpublished in the 2012 Census of Agriculture and needed to be imputed. Using aerial photography, we confirmed the presence or absence of livestock farms at 10,238 locations and found livestock farms were correlated with open areas, cropland, and roads, and also areas with cooler temperatures and gentler topography. The distribution of swine farms was highly variable, but cross-validation of our distribution model produced an area under the receiver-operating characteristics curve value of 0.78, which indicated good predictive performance. Verification analyses showed FLAPS accurately imputed and simulated Census of Agriculture data based on absolute percent difference values of < 0.01% at the state-to-national scale, 3.26% for the county-to-state scale, and 0.03% for the individual farm-to-county scale. Our output data have many applications for risk management of agricultural systems including epidemiological studies, food safety, biosecurity issues, emergency-response planning, and conflicts between livestock and other natural resources.
Predictive Value of Reactive Hyperemia for Cardiovascular Events in Patients With Peripheral Arterial Disease Undergoing Vascular Surgery

Objective— Reactive hyperemia is the compensatory increase in blood flow that occurs after a period of tissue ischemia, and this response is blunted in patients with cardiovascular risk factors. The predictive value of reactive hyperemia for cardiovascular events in patients with atherosclerosis and the relative importance of reactive hyperemia compared with other measures of vascular function have not been previously studied. Methods and Results— We prospectively measured reactive hyperemia and brachial artery flow-mediated dilation by ultrasound in 267 patients with peripheral arterial disease referred for vascular surgery (age 66±11 years, 26% female). Median follow-up was 309 days (range 1 to 730 days). Fifty patients (19%) had an event, including cardiac death (15), myocardial infarction (18), unstable angina (8), congestive heart failure (6), and nonhemorrhagic stroke (3). Patients with an event were older and had lower hyperemic flow velocity (75±39 versus 95±50 cm/s, P=0.009). Patients with an event also had lower flow-mediated dilation (4.5±3.0 versus 6.9±4.6%, P<0.001), and when these 2 measures of vascular function were included in the same Cox proportional hazards model, lower hyperemic flow (OR 2.7, 95% CI 1.2 to 5.9, P=0.018) and lower flow-mediated dilation (OR 4.2, 95% CI: 1.8 to 9.8, P=0.001) both predicted cardiovascular events while adjusting for other risk factors. Conclusions— Thus, lower reactive hyperemia is associated with increased cardiovascular risk in patients with peripheral arterial disease. Furthermore, flow-mediated dilation and reactive hyperemia incrementally relate to cardiovascular risk, although impaired flow-mediated dilation was the stronger predictor in this population. These findings further support the clinical relevance of vascular function measured in the microvasculature and conduit arteries in the upper extremity.
Cognitive control and counterproductive oculomotor capture by reward-related stimuli

Two experiments investigated the extent to which value-modulated oculomotor capture is subject to top-down control. In these experiments, participants were never required to look at the reward-related stimuli; indeed, doing so was directly counterproductive because it caused omission of the reward that would otherwise have been obtained. In Experiment 1, participants were explicitly informed of this omission contingency. Nevertheless, they still showed counterproductive oculomotor capture by reward-related stimuli, suggesting that this effect is relatively immune to cognitive control. Experiment 2 more directly tested whether this capture is controllable by comparing the performance of participants who either had or had not been explicitly informed of the omission contingency. There was no evidence that value-modulated oculomotor capture differed between the two conditions, providing further evidence that this effect proceeds independently of cognitive control. Taken together, the results of the present research provide strong evidence for the automaticity and cognitive impenetrability of value-modulated attentional capture.
Resting Metabolic Rate and Thermogenic Effect of Food in Vegetarian Diets Compared with Mediterranean Diets

The purpose of our work is to compare the resting metabolic rate (RMR) and thermogenic effect of food (TEF) in a group of vegetarians and a group of subjects consuming a Mediterranean diet. The composition of the diets was similar. Thirty-two subjects were studied: 16 vegetarians (age 34 ± 9 years, BMI 21 ± 2) and 16 omnivors (age 30 ± 5 years, BMI 22 ± 3). All were in excellent general health. Each subject consumed a dish of pasta (100 g) and bread (30 g) after RMR had been measured. TEF was measured over the next 3 h and calculated as the incremental area above RMR. Energy (vegetarians and omnivors 7,727 ± 3,516 vs 8,970 ± 2,273 kJ/day, respectively) and carbohydrate (vegetarians and omnivors 285.1 ± 141.3 vs. 300.1 ± 74 g/day, respectively) intakes of the 2 groups were similar. The vegetarian group consumed a higher quantity of fiber (30.5 ± 16.7 vs. 16.5 ± 7.9) and a lower amount of protein (44.9 ± 18.3 vs. 70.1 ± 14.9) than the omnivorous group. No significant differences were observed in RMR (4.23 ± 0.96 vs. 4.06 ± 0.54 kJ/min) and TEF (0.50 ± 0.25 vs. 0.38 ± 0.25 ΔkJ/min) between the groups. Results did not change after correcting for weight, age and gender. Our study failed to show any significant differences in RMR and TEF between vegetarians and subjects consuming a Mediterranean diet. We conclude that vegetarianism per se is not accompanied by a difference in RMR and TEF when the carbohydrate content of the diet is similar to a control group of nonvegetarians.
The Effect of Age on Serum Creatinine Levels in an Aging Population: Relevance to Vascular Surgery

Background and Aim. Serum creatinine is commonly used to assess and monitor renal function in the management of abdominal aortic aneurysm with endoluminal grafting, and for intervention of renal artery occlusive disease. The majority of patients selected for these procedures are elderly and serum creatinine is used post-operatively to monitor renal function. There is a need to adjust the serum creatinine concentration for age to determine the changes that might be due to the procedure: especially with endoluminal grafting using transrenal manipulation and fixation, and procedures involving interventions directly on the renal arteries. A single reference interval for serum creatinine is usually given for each sex but does not take into account variation due to age. The objective of this study was to establish age related reference intervals for serum creatinine, especially for those over 60 years of age to assist in the clinical interpretation of creatinine levels in the years following endoluminal grafting for aneurysms of the abdominal aorta. Methods. A pathology services database was established for serum creatinine measurements from 98,688 patients (44,784 males and 53,904 females). Data was stratified into five year age groups and reference intervals assigned for each age group after a reference population was determined. The heterogeneous population was refined firstly by removing patients with extreme (≥200 μmol/1) concentrations of serum creatinine, outliers and repeated values. Secondly, a putative “healthy” population was determined by removing values outside three standard deviations of the mean. Two statistical methods, the Bhattacharya and Hoffmann methods, were then applied to obtain a putative reference population. Serum creatinine data was obtained from the Busselton Population Research Foundation for comparison. Findings. Serum creatinine concentration increased steadily with age; in females from the age of 40 years and 60 years for males. Reference intervals for males and females aged from 20 to 94 years were established. Advancing age affects serum creatinine levels, especially in the “vascular” age group of 60 to 80 years. The changes in serum creatinine concentration that occur with age is relevant in interpretation of the results of renal monitoring after intervention.
Strain differences affect the induction of status epilepticus and seizure‐induced morphological changes

Genetic deficits have been discovered in human epilepsy, which lead to alteration of the balance between excitation and inhibition, and ultimately result in seizures. Rodents show similar genetic determinants of seizure induction. To test whether seizure‐prone phenotypes exhibit increased seizure‐related morphological changes, we compared two standard rat strains (Long–Evans hooded and Wistar) and two specially bred strains following status epilepticus. The special strains, namely the kindling‐prone (FAST) and kindling‐resistant (SLOW) strains, were selectively bred based on their amygdala kindling rate. Although the Wistar and Long–Evans hooded strains experienced similar amounts of seizure activity, Wistar rats showed greater mossy fiber sprouting and hilar neuronal loss than Long–Evans hooded rats. The mossy fiber system was affected differently in FAST and SLOW rats. FAST animals showed more mossy fiber granules in the naïve state, but were more resistant to seizure‐induced mossy fiber sprouting than SLOW rats. These properties of the FAST strain are consistent with those observed in juvenile animals, further supporting the hypothesis that the FAST strain shares circuit properties similar to those seen in immature animals. Furthermore, the extent of mossy fiber sprouting was not well correlated with sensitivity to status epilepticus, but was positively correlated with the frequency of spontaneous recurrent seizures in the FAST rats only, suggesting a possible role for axonal sprouting in the development of spontaneous seizures in these animals. We conclude that genetic factors clearly affect seizure development and related morphological changes in both standard laboratory strains and the selectively bred seizure‐prone and seizure‐resistant strains.
Caspase Inhibitor P35 and Inhibitor of Apoptosis Op-IAP Block in Vivo Proteolytic Activation of an Effector Caspase at Different Steps*

Signal-induced activation of caspases, the critical protease effectors of apoptosis, requires proteolytic processing of their inactive proenzymes. Consequently, regulation of procaspase processing is critical to apoptotic execution. We report here that baculovirus pancaspase inhibitor P35 and inhibitor of apoptosis Op-IAP prevent caspase activation in vivo, but at different steps. By monitoring proteolytic processing of endogenousSf-caspase-1, an insect group II effector caspase, we show that Op-IAP blocked the first activation cleavage at TETD↓G between the large and small caspase subunits. In contrast, P35 failed to affect this cleavage, but functioned downstream to block maturation cleavages (DXXD↓(G/A)) of the large subunit. Substitution of P35's reactive site residues with TETDG failed to increase its effectiveness for blocking TETD↓G processing of pro-Sf-caspase-1, despite wild-type function for suppressing apoptosis. These data are consistent with the involvement of a novel initiator caspase that is resistant to P35, but directly or indirectly inhibitable by Op-IAP. The conservation of TETD↓G processing sites among insect effector caspases, including Drosophila drICE and DCP-1, suggests that in vivo activation of these group II caspases involves a P35-insensitive caspase and supports a model wherein apical and effector caspases function through a proteolytic cascade to execute apoptosis in insects.
DEA efficiency analysis of Chinese bank companies

We use DEA advantage efficiency model and disadvantage effciency model to make an assessment of fourteen Chinese banks' DEA comprehensive efficiency in 2007.The result shows that the big four state-ownership banks are obvious leas efficient than others by comparing the share reform before and after the changes with 2003 data.After Charners-Cooper linear change and dual exchange of the CCR model,a model(D) is gotten,with which an analysis is conducted to examine the fourteen Chinese banks' comprehensive efficiency,and it is found that large-scale economy is not apparent in the bank industry.
Molecular Identification of Phlebotomus caucasicus and Phlebotomus mongolensis (Diptera: Psychodidae) in a Hyperendemic Area of Zoonotic Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in Iran

Abstract Phlebotomus caucasicus Marzinovsky and Phlebotomus mongolensis Sinton are morphologically similar sand fly species. Finding a reliable, fast, and simple method to differentiate these two sand flies is important in understanding their role in the transmission of Leishmania parasite. In our study, 20 specimens of male P. caucasicus, 4 specimens of male P. mongolensis, and 16 specimens of female of both species (Caucasicus group) were examined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The result shows identical patterns with a visible fragment of about 500 bp in size. In restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP), we observed identical patterns with TasI used as the restriction enzyme. After alignment with sequences of the ITS2 partial gene in GenBank, a perfect match was obtained for the P. mongolensis, but not for P. caucasicus whose sequence was not present in the GenBank. Based on the results of our study, the RFLP-PCR method with nucleotide gene fragment ITS2 was a rapid and reliable method for differentiating these sand fly species.
Robust decision-feedback equalization with a noncausal filter for ATSC DTV receivers

This paper presents a robust decision-feedback equalization method for 8-VSB DTV receivers under severe channel environments where a 0-dB ghost exists. Noncausal filtering is employed to make a severe channel be mild. Simulation results show that the proposed method has more stable convergence than existing decision-feedback equalization schemes.
An Empirical Study on Urban-Rural Income Gap,Urbanization and Social Security Expenditure in China

Based on 1997-2011 panel data model with variable coefficients,an empirical study on urban-rural income gap, urbanization and social security expenditure of the 30 provinces in China has been conducted. The study shows that,for the country as a whole,it is not beneficial for urbanization and social security expenditure to remarkably narrow urban-rural income gap. For the specific provinces,it is not beneficial for urbanization to remarkably narrow urban-rural income gap in most regions,and it is beneficial for social security expenditure of more than half of the provinces to remarkably narrow urban-rural income gap. But the effect of different regions shows some differences. The policy implication is that,through the establishment of regurgitation-feeding mechanism between urban and rural areas and improving the social security system,it can narrow the income gap between urban and rural areas and promote social fairness.
Face Recognition based on Sub-pattern Sparsity Preserving Projection

In order to solve the problem of pseudo approach in SPP, an unsupervised algorithm named sub-pattern sparsity preserving projection(SpSPP) was proposed in this paper. In the proposed algorithm, face images are firstly divided into smaller sub-images, and sub-images from the same location are collected to compose the sub-pattern set. Then the conventional SPP is applied to each of sub-pattern sets to extract the local features. Finally, the sub-pattern features computed by SPP are concatenated to get the holistic features. Based on the fact that different regions of face images share a different similarity relationship and the discrimination information of sparse representation, SpSPP alleviated the effect of pseudo approach through image partition and feature concatenation. The effectiveness of the proposed method was verified on popular face databases (AR and Yale B).
Evolutionary EST analysis identifies rapidly evolving male reproductive proteins in Drosophila

Sequence comparisons of genomes or expressed sequence tags (ESTs) from related organisms provide insight into functional conservation and diversification. We compare the sequences of ESTs from the male accessory gland of Drosophila simulans to their orthologs in its close relative Drosophila melanogaster, and demonstrate rapid divergence of many of these reproductive genes. Nineteen (∼11%) of 176 independent genes identified in the EST screen contain protein-coding regions with an excess of nonsynonymous over synonymous changes, suggesting that their divergence has been accelerated by positive Darwinian selection. Genes that encode putative accessory gland-specific seminal fluid proteins had a significantly elevated level of nonsynonymous substitution relative to nonaccessory gland-specific genes. With the 57 new accessory gland genes reported here, we predict that ∼90% of the male accessory gland genes have been identified. The evolutionary EST approach applied here to identify putative targets of adaptive evolution is readily applicable to other tissues and organisms.
Automated Ribotyping of Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococcus faecium Isolates

ABSTRACT Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VREF) strains represent an important threat in hospital infections in the United States and are found at high frequencies in both the community and farm animals in Europe. We evaluated automated ribotyping for interlaboratory reproducibility by using the restriction enzymes EcoRI and BamHI and compared ribotyping to both amplification of fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) analysis and multilocus sequence typing (MLST) to assess its discriminatory power and capacity for the identification of epidemiologically important strains. Of 19 (EcoRI) and 16 (BamHI) isolates tested in duplicate in two laboratories, 18 (95%) and 16 (100%), respectively, showed reproducible ribotypes. These high reproducibility rates were obtained only after manual refinement of the automated fingerprint analysis. A group of 49 VREF strains initially selected to represent 32 distinct AFLP types were separated into 28 EcoRI ribotypes, 25 BamHI ribotypes, and 28 sequence types. Ribotyping with EcoRI and BamHI was able to discern the host-specific genogroups recently disclosed by AFLP typing and MLST and to distinguish most strains containing the esp gene, a marker specific for strains causing hospital outbreaks. An expandable ribotype identification library was created. We recommend EcoRI as the enzyme of choice for automated ribotyping of VREF strains. Given the high level of discrimination of VREF strains, the high rate of interlaboratory reproducibility, and the potential for the identification of epidemiologically important genotypes, automated ribotyping appears to be a very valuable approach for characterizing VREF strains.
Usefulness of proliferative activity, DNA ploidy pattern and p53 products as diagnostic adjuncts in colorectal adenomas and intramucosal carcinomas

Although numerous studies have assessed the biologic parameters of tumors, measurement of these parameters has had, to date, little impact on histologic diagnosis. Furthermore, analysis of a single parameter is insufficient to evaluate tumor malignant potential. In the present study, cell proliferation, DNA ploidy and p53 product were analyzed to objectify the tumor malignant potential in colorectal adenomas and intramucosal carcinomas. Sixty‐one adenomas and 49 intramucosal carcinomas were studied using immunohistochemical analysis of Ki‐67 and p53, silver‐staining nucleolar organizer region (AgNOR) stain and DNA ploidy in fresh samples. Intramucosal carcinoma exhibited a greater Ki‐67‐positive rate and AgNOR count than the adenomas, although these parameters varied widely among samples. The incidence of aneuploidy and p53 over‐expression in colorectal intramucosal carcinomas was significantly higher than in colorectal adenomas. These results indicate that DNA aneuploidy and p53 accumulation are the most reliable parameters for distinguishing benign and malignant lesions.