Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cancer Incidence and Mortality in Firefighters: A State-of-the-Art Review and Meta-Analysis

Objective: A systematic literature review and meta-analysis was conducted on the association between firefighting and cancer. Methods: A comprehensive literature search of databases including Medline, EMBASE, Biosis, NIOSHTIC2, Web of Science, Cancerlit, and HealthStar, for the period between 1966 to January 2007, was conducted. We also retrieved additional studies by manual searching. Results: A total of 49 studies were included in the meta-analysis. We found statistically significant associations between firefighting and cancers of bladder, brain and CNS, and colorectal cancers, consistent with several previous risk estimates. We also found statistically significant associations of firefighting with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, skin melanoma, prostate, and testicular cancer. For kidney, Hodgkin’s lymphoma, leukemia, lymphosarcoma and reticulosarcoma, multiple myeloma, and pancreatic cancer, we found some statistically significant but less consistent results. For all other cancers evaluated (esophageal, laryngeal, oral and pharyngeal, liver and gallbladder, lung, lymphatic and hematopoietic, non-melanoma skin cancer, stomach, and urinary cancer) we did not find any statistically significant associations. Conclusions: Although our meta-analysis showed statistically significant increased risks of either cancer incidence or mortality of certain cancers in association with firefighting, a number of important limitations of the underlying studies exist, which, precluded our ability to arrive at definitive conclusions regarding causation.
Chronically Depressed Mood and Cancer Risk in Older Persons

Background: Depression has been proposed as a predisposing factor for cancer, but prospective studies have been inconclusive. We examined whether a high level of depressive symptoms, present for a long time, is associated with increased risk of cancer in the elderly. Methods: Data were obtained and analyzed from persons who lived in three communities (Massachusetts, Iowa, and Connecticut) of the Established Populations for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly, a prospective cohort study with a mean follow-up of 3.8 years that included 4825 persons (1708 men and 3117 women) aged 71 years and older. Chronically depressed mood was defined as present when the number of depressive symptoms exceeded specific cut points on the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression scale at baseline (1988) and 3 and 6 years before baseline. New cases of cancer were identified from Medicare hospitalization records and death certificates. Results: Of the 4825 persons studied, 146 (3.0%) were chronically depressed. The incidence rate of cancer was 30.5 per 1000 person-years for the 146 persons with chronic depression and 21.9 per 1000 person-years for the 4679 nonchronically depressed persons. After adjustment for age, sex, race, disability, hospital admissions, alcohol intake, and smoking, the hazard ratio for cancer associated with chronically depressed mood was 1.88 (95% confidence interval = 1.13-3.14). The excess risk of cancer associated with chronic depression was consistent for most types of cancer and was not specific to cigarette smokers. Conclusion: When present for at least 6 years, depression was associated with a generally increased risk of cancer.
A Preprocess Method of External Disturbance Suppression for Carotid Wall Motion Estimation Using Local Phase and Orientation of B-Mode Ultrasound Sequences

Estimating the motions of the common carotid artery wall plays a very important role in early diagnosis of the carotid atherosclerotic disease. However, the disturbances caused by either the instability of the probe operator or the breathing of subjects degrade the estimation accuracy of arterial wall motion when performing speckle tracking on the B-mode ultrasound images. In this paper, we propose a global registration method to suppress external disturbances before motion estimation. The local vector images, transformed from B-mode images, were used for registration. To take advantage of both the structural information from the local phase and the geometric information from the local orientation, we proposed a confidence coefficient to combine them two. Furthermore, we altered the speckle reducing anisotropic diffusion filter to improve the performance of disturbance suppression. We compared this method with schemes of extracting wall displacement directly from B-mode or phase images. The results show that this scheme can effectively suppress the disturbances and significantly improve the estimation accuracy.
Challenges in China’s Private higher education, a comparative study on Minban and Independent colleges

Minban higher education in China faces several challenges but also has a great potential to develop. Independent colleges as a crucial part of today’s Chinese private higher education has been emphasized and the paper uses the example of Xi’an Jiaotong University City College to examine the development and issues in China’s private higher education. It analyses the experience of Xi’an Jiaotong University City College, a not untypical independent college (du li xue yuan), through an in-depth case study seeking to explore the question of how does the development of independent colleges.
Large-scale Land Acquisitions in Africa

• 51.8% of land sought after by foreign investors globally is located in sub-Saharan Africa. • The flow of land investments in Africa is mainly driven by land fees that are either minuscule or missing altogether. The land fees are in the range of USD 4.8-7.1/ ha in Sudan, USD 6-12/ha in Mali, and USD 6.5-10 /ha in Ethiopia while the comparable figure in Peru is USD 300/ha. • Most of the land contracts available publicly appear to be short and lacking specificity, but allocate extensive areas of land and in some instances priority rights over water, for limited public revenue and loose binding clauses on the size of investments and job creation. • Although large-scale land investments open opportunities in terms of job creation, technological transfer, and foreign exchange generation, these opportunities can only be realized under a set of institutional reforms that foster accountability, proper valuation of land, equitable compensation for the displaced, and guarantees to the social and environmental sustainability of the investments. Large-scale Land Acquisitions in Africa Daniel Zerfu Gurara and Dawit Birhanu1
THE ROLE OF COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS AND ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY IN ARITHMETIC ACHIEVEMENT: DOES L1/L2 STATUS MATTER?

The current research examined the role of different cognitive functions as well as the role of English language proficiency in the arithmetic performance of 91 Grade 5 Native English Speakers (EL1) and 172 Grade 5 English Language Learners (ELL). Cognitive profiles of normally achieving (NA) children and children at-risk (AR) for a mathematics learning disability (MLD) were examined in each language group. Findings revealed that nonverbal reasoning, working memory, and processing speed significantly predict Grade 5 arithmetic performance, regardless of language background. English language proficiency did not predict arithmetic performance in either language group. Children atrisk for MLD exhibited similar cognitive profiles and processing deficits regardless of language group. Results suggest that English language proficiency does not place ELL children at a greater risk for poor achievement in arithmetic. Implications for the assessment and diagnosis of MLD in children who are learning English as a second language are discussed.
Understanding achievement in PIRLS and TIMSS 2011

The achievement results from PIRLS and TIMSS 2011 (PT 2011) (Eivers & Clerkin, 2012; Martin, Mullis, Foy, & Stanco, 2012; Mullis, Martin, Foy, & Arora, 2012; Mullis, Martin, Foy, & Drucker, 2012) show that there are large differences within countries between the scores of individual pupils, and also that performance varies across the three domains (reading, mathematics and science). In individual countries/education systems, some of these differences can be associated with school and class characteristics, while others relate to pupil characteristics.
Desempenho de indicadores de processo do Programa de Humanização do Pré-natal e Nascimento no Brasil: uma revisão sistemática

The Program for Humanization of Prenatal and Childbirth Care (PHPN) was launched in Brazil in 2000, with quantitative criteria for obstetric care and SISPRENATAL as the database. The current study pooled the national data on prenatal care using SISPRENATAL and other data sources. This was a systematic review of prenatal care with an online search of articles in MEDLINE, EMBASE, and SciELO. The study compiled publications since 2001 that used PHPN process indicators. A meta-analysis was performed, estimating the mean proportion of each process indicator with its respective 95%CI. Process indicators increased over the target period, but SISPRENATAL showed low coverage for PHPN as compared to other data sources. The PHPN faces the challenge of proper data recording through SISPRENATAL. Priorities should include awareness-raising on the importance of data recording, training for inclusion of data in the system, and more accessible and less cumbersome data recording tools.
How to Decipher a Microbial Puzzle on Microbial Control: Hands On

Microbiology/antibiotic use, we developeddifferent teaching activities, with 6 th and 9 th grade students. To assessthe impact of these activ ities and student learning, we applied a pre-validated questionnaire before and af ter completion of the activities (pre- and post-test). We observed that most student s had preconceived ideas that antibiotics were effective against viruses, however , after the implemented activities, the performance of students in the post-test improv ed significantly for both student grades. Regarding the use of antibiotics in specifi c diseases, students showed lack of knowledge concerning the treatment of cold, flu and tuberculosis, with some improvement in the post-test. Concerning antibiotic use, the initial knowledge of the 9 th grade students was better than the 6 th grade, nevertheless the highest improvement in knowledge was observed for the 6 th grade students. Our results support the use of teaching activities on Microbiology/antibiotic use that promote the development of critical thinking, analyze and solve problems. Our results support the need to educate students/commun ities on the proper use of antibiotics.
Long-Run Productivity Risk

The examination of the intertemporal distribution of US productivity risk suggests that the conditional mean of productivity growth is an important determinant of macro quantities and asset prices. After establishing this empirical link, I rationalize it in a production economy featuring long-run productivity risk, Epstein and Zin (1989) preferences, and investment frictions. Both convex capital adjustment costs and convex reallocation costs across consumption and investment produce an annual equity premium as sizeable as in the data. JEL Codes: E2, E3, G12.
School Principals’ Work Stress in an Era of New Education Governance

Abstract The worldwide implementation of school governance reforms over the last decades has changed the function and roles of school principals. Now identified as key players, these changes expose them to new health risks. International research has established the principalship to be highly demanding and stressful. This study addresses work stress, its main causes and coping strategies among school principals in French-speaking Switzerland. While they are most frequently bothered by time stressors, coping efforts are primarily directed at reducing or preventing conflictual interpersonal relations.
ANALGESIC AND ANTI INFLAMMATORY EFFICACY ON SIDDHA DRUG RASA CHENDOORAM

Rasa Chendooram (RC) is one of the herbo mineral preparations, traditionally used in Siddha medicine, which has been indicated for Vadha diseases. The use of metals and minerals particularly mercury in medicine is ancient practice in India, which is unique to Siddha system. The aim of this present study is to validate Analgesic and Anti inflammatory efficacy of RC at the doses of 50 mg/kg and 100 mg/kg of body weight in experimental animals. Analgesic activity was evaluated by Chemical induction method and Anti inflammatory activity was evaluated by Carrageenan induced paw edema in rats. Diclofenac sodium 50 mg/kg of body weight was employed as standard drug for both studies. Animals were randomized into 4 group (n=6). Control group receives vehicle only. RC treated with low and high dose which produced significant inhibition of edema and pain. This study confirms RC possesses significant Analgesic and Anti inflammatory efficacy.
Increased CD8 Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocytes in Colorectal Cancer Microenvironment Supports an Adaptive Immune Resistance Mechanism of PD-L1 Expression

Background: Tumor cells express programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) through several biological processes, thereby having different clinical significance depending on the underlying mechanism of expression. Currently, mechanisms leading to PDL1 gene expression in colorectal cancer (CRC) are not fully understood. Methods: We investigated 98 Indonesia CRC patients to determine PD-L1 protein expressions and their correlations with PD-L1 gene copy number status, tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), tumor mutational profile, as well as clinicopathologic features. Results: Our investigation demonstrated that 18% of patients positively expressed PD-L1. Further analysis on PD-L1 copy number revealed that all PD-L1+ tumors had normal copy number, indicating that the expression of PD-L1 was not a consequence of genetic amplification of PD-L1. From TILs analysis, there was a significant increase of CD8 in all tumor cells expressing PD-L1 (P=0.0051), indicating that the inducible PD-L1 expression was the prominent mechanism occurred in CRC. Furthermore, the expression of PD-L1 in this CRC population was significantly associated with high frequency of MSI compared to the remainder PD-L1- tumors (P=0.0001), suggesting the natural immunogenicity of tumors via MSI status plays role in attracting immune response. On the other hand, p53 mutations which were frequently observed within Indonesian CRCs (76.5%), they were not associated with PD-L1 expression (p=0.1108), as well as KRAS gene (29.6%; p=0.5772) and BRAF gene mutations (5%; p=0.2171). Conclusion: Our study demonstrated that PD-L1 expressions in CRC were predominantly found as a consequence of infiltrating CD8 T lymphocytes that in part arise in the setting of microsatellite instability. Taken together, our findings further support the role of adaptive immune resistance to drive PD-L1 induction in tumor microenvironment and may provide important rationale for strategy implementation of immunotherapy for CRC cases.
Association of
biomarkers in pre-invasive and invasive cervical carcinoma

Introduction: Various reports suggest linkage of protein expression to HPV status in cervical carcinomas. The aim of this study was to determine a possible association between HPV type, protein expression and DNA content in both preinvasive (CIN III) and invasive squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the cervix, as well as differences between the studied groups in these parameters. Materials and methods: Sections of formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tumor tissue from 47 cases of CIN III and 60 cases of invasive SCC of the cervix were subjected to HPV genotyping using LiPA (Line immuno-probe assay) and Flow cytometry for DNA content analysis. Also, immunohistochemical staining was performed. Obtained data were analyzed in SPSS using the Chi square test. Results: The major difference (p=0.007) between CIN III and invasive SCC of the cervix was found in DNA content - more aneuploid and tetraploid cases in invasive SCC of the cervix compared to CIN III. Although we observed a similar distribution of studied parameters in both groups, no statistically significant association was found between these parameters, except for p53 and pRb (p=0.018). Conclusion: The studied groups differ in DNA content. A significant association between analyzed parameters was observed in Invasive SCC of the cervix between p53 and pRb expression.
The Synergistic Cytotoxic Effect of Laser-Irradiated Gold Nanoparticles and Sorafenib Against the Growth of a Human Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cell Line

Gold nanoparticles are the most promising candidate in cancer treatment due to their physiochemical properties and increased use in photothermal therapy (PTT). In the present study, spherical gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) were synthesized using citrate reduction method. The particles were then characterized using UV-VIS spectroscopy and transmission electron microscope. A hepatocellular carcinoma cell line (HepG2) was incubated with sorafenib and/or non-irradiated or laser-irradiated AuNPs for 48 hrs. The cytotoxic effect of different treatment modalities was determined using MTT assay. Furthermore, apoptosis was determined by flow cytometry using annexin V/propidium iodide, as well as estimating the level of caspases. Results showed that AuNPs and sorafenib reduced HepG2 cell viability, and the cytotoxicity was associated with increased release of LDH in the culture medium. The recorded cytotoxicity was attributed to enhanced apoptosis as revealed by increased cellular caspases (3, 8 and 9), that was further confirmed by flow cytometry. The most notable cytotoxic effect was recorded when combining sorafenib with laser-irradiated AuNPs. In conclusion, a synergistic cytotoxic effect was observed between sorafenib and laser-irradiated AuNPs against the growth of HepG2, suggesting the potential substitution of large toxic doses of sorafenib by lower doses in combination with photothermal therapy.
Evaluation Design Report for the National Cancer Institute's Community Cancer Centers Program (NCCCP)

1.3. 1 Step 1: Pilot Site Evaluability Assessment (September 2007 –June 2008) 1-9 1.3. 2 Step 2: Engage Stakeholders (September 2007 –September 2008). 1-10 1.3. 3 Step 3: Describe the NCCCP Pilot Program (October 2007–June 2008) 1-11 1.3. 4 Step 4: Focus and Finalize Evaluation Plan (March 2008–November 2008) 1-11
Numerical Investigation of the Direct Initiation Mechanism of Double Point Laser Ignition

Gaseous detonation is one type of combustion phenomena in premixed gas, and has an aspect of selfsustaining propagation with interacting between shock and combustion waves. Detonation combustion has been paid much attention in the field of propulsion because of its high energy release rate and high thermal efficiency [1]. At present, pulse detonation engine, oblique detonation engine, rotating detonation engine and so on are widely studied in the world. One common feature of the detonation engine is that the airflow entering the combustor is supersonic and the residence time in the combustor is very short, so direct initiation is one of the effective ways to realize detonation combustion.
A FAST ALGORITHM FOR PHASED ARRAY IMAGE RECONSTRUCTION IN MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING

Radiofrequency receiver coils in magnetic resonance imaging systems are used to pick up the signals emitted by the nuclei. Surface coils provide a high signal-to-noise ratio because of their small sensitive region but the usable field of view is also limited to the size of the sensitive region. Using coil array permits to obtain high SNR and a large region of sensitivity: the outputs from the receiver channels are combined in order to construct a single composite image from the data of many coils. For the image construction, usually sum-of-squares (SoS) method is used, which combines data without the knowledge of the coils sensitivity but it is known to provide low contrast images. In this work we investigate and test on MR images a simple method (SUPER algorithm) which uses an estimation of coils field maps to combine the data from the phased array elements to yield an image with higher contrast respect to the usual SoS.
Correlation Analysis

Correlation is another way of assessing the relationship between variables. To be more precise, it measures the extent of correspondence between the ordering of two random variables. There is a large amount of resemblance between regression and correlation but for their methods of interpretation of the relationship. For example, a scatter diagram is of tremendous help when trying to describe the type of relationship existing between two variables.
Exploring Spatial Patterns of Uranium Distribution in Ukraine

Geovisualization and spatial statistical methods are widely used in environmental studies. The paper illustrates the use of several modelling techniques to reveal spatial patterns in distribution of uranium in groundwater in Ukraine. A comparative study of factor, correlation, and regression analyses, including their spatial implementations, has been carried out to describe the impact of several environmental variables on spatial distribution of uranium. Local factor analysis (or geographically weighted factor analysis, GWFA) was also proposed to supplement the study.
Equitable persistent coverage of non-convex environments with graph-based planning

In this article, we tackle the problem of persistently covering a complex non-convex environment with a team of robots. We consider scenarios where the coverage quality of the environment deteriorates with time, requiring every point to be constantly revisited. As a first step, our solution finds a partition of the environment where the amount of work for each robot, weighted by the importance of each point, is equal. This is achieved using a power diagram and finding an equitable partition through a provably correct distributed control law on the power weights. Compared with other existing partitioning methods, our solution considers a continuous environment formulation with non-convex obstacles. In the second step, each robot computes a graph that gathers sweep-like paths and covers its entire partition. At each planning time, the coverage error at the graph vertices is assigned as weights of the corresponding edges. Then, our solution is capable of efficiently finding the optimal open coverage path through the graph with respect to the coverage error per distance traversed. Simulation and experimental results are presented to support our proposal.
Attenuation of Glucan-binding Protein C Reduces the Cariogenicity of Streptococcus mutans: Analysis of Strains Isolated from Human Blood

A blood isolate of Streptococcus mutans strain TW871 shows relatively low homology with MT8148, a reference oral isolate strain, and lacks the serotype-specific polysaccharide antigen, suggesting that other cell-surface structures correlate with cariogenicity. We compared cariogenicity of TW871 with MT8148 (serotype c) and blood isolate TW964 (serotype f) in rats. Strain TW871 showed significantly lower cariogenicity than MT8148 or TW964 and expressed significantly lower sucrose-independent cellular adhesion to saliva-coated hydroxyapatite and dextran-binding activity than strain MT8148. Strains TW871 and TW964 showed a defect in the gbpA gene by Southern hybridization analysis, while sequencing analysis revealed gbpC variation in TW871. These results suggest that variation in GbpC may alter cellular adherence properties and can be correlated with the cariogenicity of S. mutans in this strain.