Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
PSA mass as a marker of prostate cancer progression after radical prostatectomy

Summary Background Obese patients with prostate cancer may have lower preoperative PSA concentration due to hemodilution. Lower PSA concentration may falsely affect assessing the risk of progression after radical prostatectomy (RP). The aim of this study was to determine preoperative PSA mass as the absolute amount of PSA protein secreted into circulation, and evaluation of its usefulness in prediction of biochemical recurrence after RP. Material/Methods 177 patients after RP due to prostate cancer were included in the study. On the basis of formulas, PSA mass was calculated {PSA mass [μg] = (weight [kg])0.425 × (height [cm])0.72 × 0.007184 × 1.670 × PSA concentration [ng/ml]}. Patients were divided into 3 groups according to increasing values of PSA mass. The following features were assessed and compared between these groups (χ-square test): pathologic stage T3, nodal metastases, positive surgical margins, biochemical and local recurrence and the rate of death. Cancer-specific survival was assessed depending on PSA mass (Kaplan-Meier curves with log rank test). The usefulness of PSA mass in prediction of biochemical recurrence was compared with PSA concentration (logistic regression with ROC curves). Results Pathologic stage T3, nodal metastases, positive surgical margins and progression were more common in patients with higher levels of PSA mass (p<0.01). Cancer-specific survival was significantly shorter in patients with elevated values of PSA mass (p=0.02). Preoperative PSA mass was a more sensitive predictor of biochemical recurrence than was PSA concentration (p=0.04). Conclusions The preoperative PSA mass is a better predictor of biochemical recurrence after RP than PSA concentration.
Resource allocation and dynamic provisioning for Service-Oriented applications in cloud environment

Cloud computing has caused a revolution in our way of using software. Software development and deployment based on the new models of Software as a Service (SaaS) and Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) are expected to bring a lot of benefits for users. However, software developers and software service providers will have to address new challenging issues before such benefits can be realized. The issues mainly arise from two characteristics of service-based applications: software based on distributed service flows and online concurrent user access. This paper deals with one of the important issues concerning resource allocation and dynamic provisioning for the deployed services in a cloud environment. We propose a service deployment strategy based on the structural property of application service flows and a dynamic resource provisioning mechanism utilizing the estimation of future service requests. A series of experiments were conducted on the CloudSim platform to evaluate the proposed mechanisms. The experimental results indicate that the proposed methods significantly outperform the commonly used primitive approaches, achieving up to 79.9% performance improvement.
Tectospheric structure beneath southern Africa

P‐wave and S‐wave delay times from the broadband data of the southern Africa seismic experiment have been inverted to obtain three‐dimensional images of velocity perturbations in the mantle beneath southern Africa. High velocity mantle roots appear to extend to depths of at least 250 km, and locally to depths of 300 km beneath the Kaapvaal and Zimbabwe cratons. Thick roots are confined to the Archean cratons, with no evidence for similar structures beneath the adjacent Proterozoic mobile belts. The Kaapvaal craton was modified ca. 2.05 Ga by the Bushveld magmatic event, which affected a broad swath of cratonic mantle beneath and to the west of the exposed Bushveld Complex. The mantle beneath the extended Bushveld province is characterized by seismic velocities lower than those observed in regions of undisturbed cratonic mantle. The mantle beneath the Limpopo Belt, an Archean collisional zone sandwiched between the Kaapvaal and Zimbabwe cratons, exhibits a cratonic signature.
Quantifying ases multiconnectivity using multicast information

Redundant connectivity (or multiconnectivity) between adjacent autonomous systems (ASes) is important for interdomain traffic engineering and fast recovery in case of failures. However, the redundancy of ASes business relationship links has not been quantitatively studied, mainly due to the difficulty of obtaining relevant data. In this paper, we show that the mrinfo multicast monitoring tool can provide useful data about the Internet topology and such redundant links in particular. Our analysis relies on more than four years of daily queries to about ten thousand routers mapped into more than two hundred ASes. We demonstrate that peering links between ASes are frequently redundant. In particular, our analysis shows that more than half of the studied ASes pairs are connected through multiple physical links. We then refine our analysis by considering the different types of ASes and their business relationships. A particular result of our analysis is that at least 75% of the peer-to-peer relationships between adjacent Tier-1 ASes are redundant, i.e., the connections between these ASes involve several physical links. Our analysis is conservative, providing so a lower bound, as some links might not be seen by mrinfo due to ISPs filtering policies.
Black box measurement of musical tones produced by noise reduction systems

In the context of noise reduction algorithms, three instrumental measures are of major interest: the speech component quality, the level of noise attenuation, and noise distortion in terms of musical tones. As several proposals are made for the first two, the amount of musical tones is commonly still subjectively evaluated. Recent exploration of the log-kurtosis ratio for instrumentally measuring musical tones has led to white box test methodologies requiring specific information about the particular noise reduction algorithm. In this paper we propose a simple yet robust instrumental musical tones measurement, which is applicable to arbitrary unknown noise reduction systems, i.e., a black box measurement. A subjective listening test has been conducted to verify the proposed instrumental measure. Our measurement methodology has been proposed as part of an ITU-T Recommendation in Study Group 12, FG CarCOM.
Behavior sequencing based on demonstrations: a case of a humanoid opening a door while walking

There is neuroscientific evidence to suggest that imitation between humans is goal-directed. Therefore, when performing multiple tasks, we internally define an unknown optimal policy to satisfy multiple goals. This work presents a method to transfer a complex behavior composed by a sequence of multiple tasks from a human demonstrator to a humanoid robot. We defined a multi-objective reward function as a measurement of the goal optimality for both human and robot, which is defined in each subtask of the global behavior. We optimize a sequential policy to generate whole-body movements for the robot that produces a reward profile which is compared and matched with the human reward profile, producing an imitative behavior. Furthermore, we can search in the proximity of the solution space to improve the reward profile and innovate a new solution, which is more beneficial for the humanoid. Experiments were carried out in a real humanoid robot. Graphical Abstract
Calcium-activated chloride conductance in frog olfactory cilia

We have measured the effects of cytoplasmic Ca2+ on the conductance of single cilia excised from frog olfactory receptor neurons. When free cytoplasmic Ca2+ is buffered at 0.1 microM, ciliary conductance is low. As Ca2+ is increased, ciliary conductance increases. Maximal conductance averages sevenfold higher than that measured in the absence of Ca2+. We estimate that the K1/2 for Ca2+ activation is 5 microM; the dose-response curve indicates some positive cooperativity of Ca2+ binding. Activation by Ca2+ is rapid and fully reversible. Most of the Ca(2+)-activated current is carried by Cl- and persists in the absence of Na+ and K+. The Cl- channel inhibitor 3′,5-dichlorodiphenylamine-2- carboxylate (300 microM) reduces the Ca(2+)-activated current by 90%. Odorants induce a Ca2+ influx in some olfactory receptor neurons, but the consequences of this influx for neuronal function are not well understood. Our findings allow us to predict that a Ca2+ influx would increase the permeability of the olfactory cilia to Cl-. How this would affect the neuronal potential is uncertain, since the equilibrium potential for Cl- in olfactory receptor neurons is unknown.
Structuring Peer-to-Peer Networks Using Temporal and Semantic Locality

Current resource locating algorithms either cannot yield good lookup performance,or incur high search cost and system maintenance overhead.The poor search efficiency of these approaches may seriously limit the scalability of current P2P systems.In this paper,we propose to exploit two-dimensional locality to improve P2P system search efficiency. We present a locality-aware P2P system architecture called Forecast, which explicitly exploits temporal locality and semantic locality by constructing a temporal neighbor overlay and a semantic friend overlay, respectively. Given a query, Forecast first looks for the target resource among the query generator's temporal neighbors, and if it fails to hit the targets,the query will be forwarded to the relevant semantic friend overlay for the second search.Simulation results show that our scheme can greatly improves the system performance.
Synaptic plasticity in the molluscan peripheral nervous system: physiology and role for peptides

The plasticity of a synapse in the molluscan peripheral nervous system was examined under a variety of experimental, physiological, and pharmacological conditions. These studies employed the isolated salivary glands and attached buccal ganglia of the freshwater snail Helisoma. Action potentials evoked in buccal neuron 4 normally evoke a large excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP) which drives an action potential in gland secretory cells. In order to measure modulation of the EPSP, action potential generation in gland cells was prevented by bathing the preparation in low calcium, high magnesium salines. The relationship between the gland EPSP amplitude and specific physiological properties of neuron 4 was analyzed. In common with some central molluscan synapses, the EPSP was found to be strongly influenced by the membrane potential of neuron 4. Specifically, its amplitude was reduced by hyperpolarization of the neuron 4 soma. The relationship between EPSP amplitude and somatic potential of neuron 4 was linear in the range from resting potential (-47 +/- 6mV) to -100 mV. Furthermore, the EPSP amplitude was directly proportional to the action potential half-width of neuron 4. In order to evaluate the possible physiological role of this action potential/EPSP relationship, we examined whether gland EPSPs are modulated during the spike broadening that occurs in both spontaneous burst activity and imposed impulse trains. The preceding action potential/EPSP relationship was maintained under both of these conditions, i.e., EPSP magnitude increased as spikes broadened during bursts or trains. The peptidergic modulation of neuroglandular transmission was also examined. The molluscan peptide SCPB was found to depolarize neuron 4 and an increase in EPSP amplitude was concomitantly observed. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Genetic Variation in the Multidrug and Toxin Extrusion 1 Transporter Protein Influences the Glucose-Lowering Effect of Metformin in Patients With Diabetes: A Preliminary Study

OBJECTIVE— Metformin, an oral glucose-lowering drug, is taken up in hepatocytes by the organic cation transporter (OCT) 1 and in renal epithelium by OCT2. In these cells, the multidrug and toxin extrusion (MATE) 1 protein, encoded by the SLC47A1 gene, is responsible for the excretion of metformin into the bile and urine, respectively. We studied the effect of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the SLC47A1 gene on the A1C-lowering effect of metformin. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS— We identified all incident metformin users in the Rotterdam Study, a population-based cohort study. Associations between 12 tagging SNPs in the SLC47A1 gene and change in A1C level were analyzed. RESULTS— One hundred and sixteen incident metformin users were included in the study sample. The rs2289669 G>A SNP was significantly associated with metformin response. For the other SNPs, no associations were found. For each minor A allele at rs2289669, the A1C reduction was 0.30% (95% CI −0.51 to −0.10; P = 0.005) larger. After Bonferroni correction for multiple testing, the P value was 0.045. CONCLUSIONS— The rs2289669 G>A SNP is associated with a reduction in A1C level, consistent with a reduction in MATE1 transporter activity. These results suggest that the transporter MATE1, encoded by SLC47A1, may have an important role in the pharmacokinetics of metformin, although replication is necessary.
O the Origin of Pluto, Charon, and the Pluto-Charon Binary

Being small, binary, and in a highly unusual orbit, Pluto was long viewed as an enigma in the outer Solar System. Here we review the historical development of ideas concerning Pluto's origin and the origin of the Pluto-Charon Binary. We critically examine these theories in light of both recent advances about Pluto, and with regard to Pluto's broader context in the outer Solar System. Although Pluto no longer appears to be the stark anomaly it was in the years before the Kuiper Disk population was discovered, both its large comparative size and the presence of Charon continue to isolate Pluto as a \special" object in the present-day outer solar system. We examine various alternatives concerning how this circumstance came to be. These alternatives fall into two categories: either (i) Pluto was originally not unique, but became so as a result of the general dynamical evolution of the outer solar system, or (ii) Pluto was indeed unique (or nearly so) at the time of the formation epoch, perhaps due to some aspect of its special dynamical niche. These alternatives are discussed in light of both Pluto's cohort population in the Kuiper Disk, and the formation of the Pluto-Charon Binary. We then outline a preliminary paradigm for the origin of Pluto and the Pluto-Charon Binary. This paradigm intimately relates Pluto's origin and dynamical evolution both to Neptune, and to the recently-discovered objects populating the Kuiper Disk. Much work remains to be done to convert this scenario to a complete, quantitative theory, and major questions remain. Foremost among these are how quickly Pluto formed, and when in the sequence of events Charon was formed. The development presented below is constrained by the limited state of knowledge of the Pluto-Charon system, and the scant degree of attention the origin of this fascinating system has received. As such, we describe some of the most important improvements required to reach a better understanding of the origin of the Pluto-Charon system.
Students’ perceptions of creative teaching and facilitation techniques in asynchronous online courses.

With the development of educational technology, undergraduate students are presented with the opportunities to enroll in online university courses. The students recognize the advantages of studying from the comfort of the place of their choice and at their own productive time. However, online students may feel their interest and desire to study online decreases over time. Researchers argue that the online environment can be a big enabler of teachers’ creativity which can be the best solution to motivational issues and dropout. This thesis reports a qualitative case study that explores students’ understanding and perception of online teachers’ creativity and how it influences their motivation to learn in asynchronous online courses. Concordia’s undergraduate students who enrolled in and experienced the Discover Statistics course were invited to participate in this study. Seventeen student participants shared their experience during one online one-on-one interview each and completed the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (Pintrich & DeGroof, 1990). The findings identify six main themes: positive experience in the course, negative experience in the course, definition of creativity and creative teaching, creative teaching strategies, positive comparison with other classes and motivational effects. Answering the main question of the research, it was concluded that this course includes multiple creative strategies, such as gamification, authentic examples, different approaches to explanations, repetitive practical problems, and self-assessment among all. These strategies positively affect participants’ motivation to learn.
The detection of adult cortical auditory evoked potentials (CAEPs) using an automated statistic and visual detection

Abstract The detection of adult cortical auditory evoked potentials (CAEPs) can be challenging when the stimulus is just audible. The effectiveness of a statistic compared with expert examiners in (1) detecting the presence of CAEPs when stimuli were present, and (2) reporting the absence of CAEPs when no stimuli were present, was investigated. CAEPs recorded from ten adults, using two speech-based stimuli, five stimulus presentation levels, and non-stimulus conditions, were given to four experienced examiners who were asked to determine if responses to auditory stimulation could be observed, and their degree of certainty in making their decision. These recordings were also converted to multiple dependent variables and Hotelling's T2 was applied to calculate the probability that the mean value of any linear combination of these variables was significantly different from zero. Results showed that Hotelling's T2 was equally sensitive to the best of individual experienced examiners in differentiating a CAEP from random noise. It is reasonable to assume that the difference in response detection for a novice examiner and Hotelling's T2 would be even greater. Sumario La detección de los potenciales evocados auditivos corticales (CAEP) del adulto puede ser un desafío cuando el estímulo es apenas audible. Se investigó la efectividad de una comparación estadística con examinadores expertos para (1) detectar la presencia del CAEP cuando el estimulo estuvo presente, y (2) reportar la ausencia del CAEP cuando ningún estímulo estaba presente. Los CAEP registrados para diez adultos, usando dos estímulos con base en lenguaje, cinco niveles de presentación del estímulo, y condiciones sin estímulo, fueron presentados a cuatro examinadores con experiencia, a quienes se solicitó que determinaran si las respuestas a estímulos auditivos podían ser observadas y su grado de certeza en la toma de sus decisiones. Estos registros fueron también convertidos a múltiples variables dependientes y se aplicó el T2 de Hotelling para calcular la probabilidad de que el valor medio de una combinación lineal de estas variables fuera significativamente diferente de cero. Los resultados mostraron que el T2 de Hotelling era igualmente sensible que lo mejor de los examinadores experimentados individuales para diferenciar un CAEP de un ruido aleatorio. Es razonable asumir que la diferencia en detección de respuestas para un examinador novato y el T2 de Hotelling serían aún mayor.
Five-year changes in adiposity and cardio-metabolic risk factors among Guatemalan young adults

Abstract Background Rapidly transitioning societies are experiencing dramatic increases in obesity and cardio-metabolic risk; however, few prospective studies from developing countries have quantified these increases or described their joint relationships. Methods We collected dietary, physical activity, demographic, anthropometric and cardio-metabolic risk factor data from 376 Guatemalan young adults in 1997–98 (aged 20–29 years) and in 2002–04 (aged 25–34 years). Results In total, 42 % of men and 56 % of women experienced weight gain >5 kg in 5 years. Percent body fat (%BF) and waist circumference (WC) increased by 4·2 % points and 5·5 cm among men, and 3·2 % points and 3·4 cm among women, respectively. Five-year increases in both %BF and WC were associated with lower physical activity, urban residence and shorter height among men but not among women (test for heterogeneity P < 0·05 for residence and physical activity). Changes in %BF and WC and concomitant changes in cardio-metabolic risk factors were similar for men and women. In standardised regression, change in %BF was associated with changes in TAG (β=0·19; 95 % CI 0·08, 0·30), total:HDL cholesterol (β=0·22; 95 % CI 0·12, 0·33) and systolic (β=0·22; 95 % CI 0·12, 0·33) and diastolic (β=0·18; 95 % CI 0·08, 0·28) blood pressure, but not with glucose; associations were similar for WC. Conclusions Over 5 years this relatively young population of Guatemalan adults experienced rapid increases in multiple measures of adiposity, which were associated with adverse changes in lipid and blood pressure levels.
Modeling of Reinforcement in Concrete Beams Using Machine Learning Tools

— The paper discusses the results obtained to predict reinforcement in singly reinforced beam using Neural Net (NN), Support Vector Machines (SVM’s) and Tree Based Models. Major advantage of SVM’s over NN is of minimizing a bound on the generalization error of model rather than minimizing a bound on mean square error over the data set as done in NN. Tree Based approach divides the problem into a small number of sub problems to reach at a conclusion. Number of data was created for different parameters of beam to calculate the reinforcement using limit state method for creation of models and validation. The results from this study suggest a remarkably good performance of tree based and SVM’s models. Further, this study found that these two techniques work well and even better than Neural Network methods. A comparison of predicted values with actual values suggests a very good correlation coefficient with all four techniques.
Fourth Human Parechovirus Serotype

We identified a novel human parechovirus (HPeV) type (K251176-02) from a neonate with fever. Analysis of the complete genome showed K251176-02 to be a new HPeV genotype. Since K251176-02 could not be neutralized with antibodies against known HPeV serotypes 1–3, it should be classified as a fourth HPeV serotype.
OBSTACLE AVOIDANCE OF REDUNDANT DISCRETELY-ACTUATED MANIPULATORS USING WORKSPACE DENSITY FUNCTIONS

This paper presents an obstacle avoidance method for discretely-actuated planar manipulators with a large number of serially connected modules. The method uses a direct combination of the manipulator workspace density functions and obstacle density maps to solve the inverse kinematics of the manipulator, thus avoiding the geometrical modelling of obstacles and the computation of the nearest point distance between the manipulator and the obstacles. Simulations on a seventeen-module planar manipulator operating in a workspace with circular obstacles have demonstrated the viability of the obstacle avoidance algorithm. This paper presents a detailled description of the proposed method and a summary of the results.