Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Machine Learning Approaches for Biomarker Discovery Using Gene Expression Data

: Biomarkers are of great importance in many fields, such as cancer research, toxicology, diagnosis and treatment of diseases, and to better understand biological response mechanisms to internal or external intervention. High-throughput gene expression profiling technologies, such as DNA microarrays and RNA sequencing, provide large gene expression data sets which enable data-driven biomarker discovery. Traditional statistical tests have been the mainstream for identifying differentially expressed genes as biomarkers. In recent years, machine learning techniques such as feature selection have gained more popularity. Given many options, picking the most appropriate method for a particular data becomes essential. Different evaluation metrics have therefore been proposed. Being evaluated on different aspects, a method’s varied performance across different datasets leads to the idea of integrating multiple methods. Many integration strategies are proposed and have shown great potential. This chapter gives an overview of the current research advances and existing issues in bio-marker discovery using machine learning approaches on gene expression data.
High‐heat flux flow and heat transfer transitions in a supercritical loop: Numerical verification and correlation

Supercritical heat transfer loops are widely used in large‐scale thermal equipment, which development is restricted by the thermal‐hydraulic characteristics, especially the safety and thermal efficiency under high‐heat fluxes. This study is focused on numerical simulation for a 4‐m test section of the loop and further analyzes the flow transitions and heat transfer mechanisms from subcritical to supercritical. The heat transfer characteristics of supercritical water in the vertical loop were simulated for conditions: P = 24 MPa, Tin = 320°C, 340°C, mass flux (G) = 1000 kg/m2s, 1500 kg/m2s, and heat fluxes varied from 100 to 1200 kW/m2. The heat transfer transitions are analyzed from the perspective of local parameters that affect the status of both core flow and boundary layers. The empirical correlation and the error backpropagation (BP) neural network prediction model are proposed and compared with experimental and numerical results. The results show that transitions of both boundary layer and core flow from subcritical to supercritical contribute to the heat transfer behaviors: normal heat transfer, heat transfer deterioration, and heat transfer enhancement. The zero‐velocity gradient (∂u/∂r = 0) on the M‐shaped velocity curve causes the turbulent shear stress near the wall to be close to zero, which leads to the suppression of the turbulence. At the same time, the thickness of the thermal boundary layer reaches the maximum, resulting in a large thermal resistance, which affects the heat transfer from the wall to the core area.
Wake position tracking using dynamic wake meandering model and rotor loads

The wake position is crucial feedback information for closed loop wind farm control. This paper presents a wake center position tracking approach based on turbine rotor loads, which is feasible to track the wake position while the wake is impinging on the downstream wind turbine. The rotor equivalent wind characteristics are estimated based on the blade root bending moments. Furthermore, a wake-wind model is developed to describe the relationship between rotor averaged wind characteristics and wake position, in which the velocity deficit profile of the wake is defined by the Gaussian model. An adaptive extended Kalman filter is proposed to estimate the lateral and vertical wake position states, in which wake dynamics is described by the dynamic wake meandering model. The wake meandering is driven by a colored noise with a covariance matrix that is gain scheduled according to the rotor averaged wind characteristic. Uncertainties of wake position detection are discussed in various combinations of the ambient atmospheric condition. Simulation results show that the proposed tracking method achieves good estimates in low ambient turbulence intensity, while, for a wind condition with high turbulence intensity, relatively longer time averaging needs to be applied to smooth out short-term fluctuations and highlight longer-term wake trends.
Biostatistical Considerations When Using RWD and RWE in Clinical Studies for Regulatory Purposes: A Landscape Assessment

Abstract Real-world evidence (RWE), derived from data from “real-world” clinical practice and medical product utilization, is an increasingly important source of evidence that holds great potential to increase efficiency and improve clinical development and life cycle management of medical products. Regulatory agencies, public-private partnerships, and health technology assessment organizations have launched major initiatives and released guidance to address considerations in the use of RWE to inform regulatory decision making. However, many challenges remain on how RWE could be best used for various types of regulatory decisions from statistical perspectives. To address the relevant statistical challenges, a working group under the auspices of the ASA Biopharmaceutical Section was established. This article reviews the biostatistical challenges and methods for the use of RWE for medical product development. There are two companion articles as the output from the same working group that address focused topics. The article by Chen et al. provides the current landscape on the use of RWE to inform clinical study design and analysis, and the article by Ho et al. presents a review of causal inference framework for design and analysis of studies using RWE.
Long-noncoding RNA NBR2 via targeting miR-19a-3p regulates pancreatic β cell function and provides novel biomarkers for type 2 diabetes mellitus

Introduction Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a major kind of diabetes mellitus. This study aimed to analyze the regulatory effect of long noncoding RNA NBR2 on pancreatic  cell function and the related mechanisms, and to analyze the clinical significance of abnormal NBR2 expression in patients with T2DM. Material and methods The expression levels of NBR2 and microRNA-19a-3p (miR-19a-3p) were measured using quantitative Real-Time PCR. The glucose-stimulated insulin secretion was measured using ELISA kit, and cell proliferation was examined using Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay. A dual-luciferase reporter assay was used to confirm the relationship between NBR2 and miR-19a-3p. The diagnostic values of NBR2, miR-19a-3p and NBR2 combined with miR-19a-3p were assessed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Results The insulin secretion and proliferation of INS-1 cells were inhibited by NBR2 overexpression, and were promoted by NBR2 knockdown. MiR-19a-3p, which was inhibited by NBR2 overexpression, directly mediated the regulatory effects of NBR2 on INS-1 cell function. Increased serum NBR2 level and decreased serum miR-19a-3p level were found in T2DM patients, and a negative correlation was found between NBR2 and miR-19a-3p. The fasting plasma glucose of T2DM patients was positively correlated with serum NBR2 and negatively correlated with serum miR-19a-3p. Both serum NBR2 and miR-19a-3p had certain diagnostic accuracy, whereas, the combined detection of the serum NBR2 and miR-19a-3p showed more considerable diagnostic accuracy. Conclusions Our findings indicated that NBR2/miR-19a-3p axis regulates pancreatic β cell function, while may be novel biomarkers for the diagnosis of T2DM. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org) Pr ri t Long-noncoding RNA NBR2 via targeting miR-19a-3p regulates pancreatic β cell function and provides novel biomarkers for type 2 diabetes mellitus Short title: Role of the NBR2/miR-19a-3p axis in T2DM Lei Wan, Xinying Song*, Baoqing Zhu Endocrinology Department, Affiliated Hospital of Weifang Medical University, Weifang 261021, Shandong, China. Endocrinology Department, Zhucheng People's Hospital, Zhucheng 262200, Shandong, China. *The author is the corresponding author. *Corresponding Author Xinying Song, Endocrinology Department, Zhucheng People's Hospital, No. 59, South Ring Road, Zhucheng, 262200, Shandong, China. E-mail: songxy_zcph@163.com; Tel/Fax: 0536-6026176.
A multivariate analysis of workplace mentoring and socializing in the wake of #MeToo

ABSTRACT This paper examines workplace mentoring and socializing behaviours in the wake of #MeToo and whether these practices might be associated with women’s career trajectories. To address this important and timely topic, we fielded two surveys, one to managers (n = 203) and the other to female employees (n = 1,847), asking several questions about mentoring and male/female work interactions. Descriptive statistics show that 32% of the female employee sample report that their views on male/female work interactions are different today than they were 1–2 years ago. Multivariate analyses of the manager sample indicate that male managers are significantly less likely than female managers to mentor or interact one-on-one with female employees. The implication of these findings is that female employees may face a mentoring disadvantage in the wake of #MeToo. The adverse effects for career growth and advancement for female employees could be profound.
Assessment of Life Cycle Environmental Benefits in Monosodium Glutamate Production in China

Purpose As a process with high water consumption, high energy consumption and high pollutant discharge, monosodium glutamate (MSG) production has long attracted the attention of environmental protection authorities. In view of its significant environmental influence and enormous output, life cycle environmental impacts of MSG should be assessed to identify environmental hot spots and promote environmental improvements, and to update the life cycle inventory database of MSG production. Methods A life cycle assessment (LCA) framework is conducted to evaluate the environmental impacts of MSG production by the use of eBalance software. In addition, the environmental impacts associated with the application of typical cleaner production techniques over the past decade in MSG production are evaluated by LCA to quantitatively demonstrate the importance of implementing cleaner production measures. Results and discussion The results indicate that maize planting and tail liquid utilization have the largest environmental impacts within the life cycle of MSG. The former is the most important driver of impacts such as eutrophication (90.37%), respiratory inorganic formation (34.04%) and primary energy demand (26.60%). The latter contributes to 96.72% of the photochemical oxide formation and 20.12% of the global warming potential. In addition, glutamate extraction and refining processes also contribute significantly to the global warming potential, acidification and respiratory inorganics. The results also show that the application of cleaner production technologies over the past decade has driven the reductions in photochemical oxide formation (92.40%) and water use (66.00%). Conclusion Based on the research findings, several suggestions, such as green raw material utilization, green supply chain construction and industrial symbiosis network establishment, are proposed to further reduce the overall environmental impacts of MSG.
Optimization and Experimental Validation of Automotive Bulbs

In a vehicle, bulbs called the P-group are responsible for warning other drivers or pedestrians and they are known as signal bulbs. Signal bulbs have been used to emit warning and hazard signs in parts such as brake lights, direction indicator, hazard lights (night vision) as well as tail bulbs and car park alarms. There has been limited researches on the photometric characteristics of these lamps, but a review of these studies revealed that no detailed research has yet been done on optimizing these characteristics, and there is a scientific gap. In this study, factors affecting the service life and luminous flux were evaluated by using Taguchi design of experiments method. The results showed that the two factors of weight percent composition of bubble filling neutral gases and the volumetric efficiency of gases injected into the bubble had the most influence on the target parameters. Experimental results showed that the optimum composition of neutral gases injected into the bulb bubble can extend the bulb service life to approximately 341 h, which is three times the service life of a bulb with the inappropriate composition of fill gases. Then the optimum state of the service life and the luminous flux were determined to meet the reference standards. Although the service life and luminous flux parameters were able to reach 341 h and 513 lumens in the maximized state, however, in the optimum state with satisfying reference standards, the service life and luminous flux were 330 h and 463 lumens, respectively. Then, the bulb bubble filling with inert neutral gases and its effect on the bulb service life was investigated. The results showed that if the volumetric efficiency of gas injection increased from the normal 75%–100%, the service life of the test lamps would be improved by about 10%.
The Role of CEO Power on CSR Reporting: The Moderating Effect of Linking CEO Compensation to Shareholder Return

The aim of this research was to provide further evidence of the impact of the power of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) on corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure. Additionally, we explore the moderating role of CEO compensation linked to shareholder return on the association between CEO power and CSR disclosure. The theories used follow agency theory and stakeholder theory and the sample comprised 9182 international firm-year observations collected from the Thomson Reuters database from 2009 to 2018. Our model was estimated using the generalized method of moments (GMM) estimator. The results found that CEO power was positively associated with CSR disclosure, contrary to our expectations. Additionally, our evidence also shows that CEO compensation linked to shareholder return plays a positive moderating role on the relationship between CEO power and CSR reporting.
Watershed and Lake Attributes Dictate Landscape Patterns of Resource Flows in Mountain Lakes

The extent to which terrestrial organic matter supports aquatic consumers remains uncertain because factors regulating resource flows are poorly understood. We sampled 12 lakes throughout the Sierra Nevada (California, USA) spanning large gradients in elevation and size to evaluate how watershed attributes and lake morphometry influence resource flows to lake carbon pools and zooplankton. We found that the size and composition of carbon pools in lakes were often more strongly determined by watershed or lake features rather than by elevational position. Using three different tracers of resource origin (δ13C, Δ14C, C:N ratio), we found terrestrial contributions to most lake resource pools (dissolved organic carbon, particulate organic matter (POM), sediments) and pelagic consumers (zooplankton) were more strongly related to local‐scale watershed features such as vegetation cover or watershed area: lake area rather than to elevation. Landscape patterns in multiple tracers indicated consistent contribution of within‐lake C sources to bulk resource pools across elevations (POM, sediments, zooplankton). δ13C‐enrichment of lake C pools and overlap with δ13C of terrestrial resources can arise due to reduced fractionation of 13C by phytoplankton under CO2 limitation, therefore we recommend careful consideration of potential environmental drivers when interpreting among‐lake patterns in δ13C. Our findings emphasize the importance of local‐scale variation in mediating terrestrial contributions to lake food webs.
International spillovers of corporate scandal: evidence from the Harvey Weinstein event

ABSTRACT Exploiting a representative survey which overlapped with the revelation of the Harvey Weinstein scandal, we firstly discover that the scandal in the United States causally increased the preference for gender equality in Italy. Consistent with prospect theory, we then show that firms in the entertainment industry experienced excess loss in share value compared to their peers in other industries immediately following the revelation of the scandal. Further analyses suggest that this value impact is stronger for firms with a higher percentage of women executives. Our results are thus relevant for institutional investors holding a global portfolio.
FEEdBACk: An ICT-Based Platform to Increase Energy Efficiency through Buildings’ Consumer Engagement

Energy efficiency in buildings can be enhanced by several actions: encouraging users to comprehend and then adopt more energy-efficient behaviors; aiding building managers in maximizing energy savings; and using automation to optimize energy consumption, generation, and storage of controllable and flexible devices without compromising comfort levels and indoor air-quality parameters. This paper proposes an integrated Information and communications technology (ICT) based platform addressing all these factors. The gamification platform is embedded in the ICT platform along with an interactive energy management system, which aids interested stakeholders in optimizing “when and at which rate” energy should be buffered and consumed, with several advantages, such as reducing peak load, maximizing local renewable energy consumption, and delivering more efficient use of the resources available in individual buildings or blocks of buildings. This system also interacts with an automation manager and a users’ behavior predictor application. The work was developed in the Horizon 2020 FEEdBACk (Fostering Energy Efficiency and BehAvioral Change through ICT) project.
Reported paranormal experiences associated with improved outcomes of personal development workshops

We explored personal development workshops’ transformative effects by evaluating participants’ transformative, noetic, transpersonal, and relational experiences during workshops and their association with interconnectedness, well-being, and extended perception measure changes in a prospective, uncontrolled, within-participant design study. Participants reported positive changes that a majority felt would affect their behavior and relationships. Perceived contact with the dead was associated with an increased interconnectedness, as was a meaningful experience with wildlife or animals. A meaningful experience with a person, place, or thing was associated with increased well-being. These analyses support the idea that engaging in personal development workshops is positively transformative.
Melting Dynamics of Late Cretaceous Lamprophyres in Central Asia Suggest a Mechanism to Explain Many Continental Intraplate Basaltic Suite Magmatic Provinces

Intraplate small‐volume mafic magmatism is spatially and temporally widespread in central and eastern Asia, but the relevant melting dynamics have remained enigmatic. Here, we report Ar‐Ar ages, mineral and whole‐rock compositions on newly found ∼81 Ma lamprophyre dykes from central Asia, aiming to constrain the source characteristics and the melting dynamics in this intraplate setting. Mineral chemistry of the lamprophyres shows that pre‐emplacement magmas equilibrated at 970–1060°C (probably at the base of the crust) and contained 1.4–2.1 wt% water. The source region of the lamprophyres is shown to have H contents equivalent to H2O = ∼150 ppm, and to be lithologically heterogeneous with silica‐deficient pyroxenite embedded in peridotite. Because of the thermodynamic complexities involved in calculating melting scenarios with major elements for such mantle domains, we have conducted a grid search with a forward‐modeling methodology that can simulate the adiabatic decompression melting of a lithologically heterogeneous mantle using incompatible trace elements. The modeling results indicate that original melting occurred at a potential temperature of ∼1400°C under a thinned lithosphere (∼70 km, corresponding to a final melting pressure of 2.3 GPa). Combining these conditions with constraints from regional geology and the tectonic history, the lamprophyres are inferred to have formed by decompression melting induced by small‐scale asthenospheric upwellings due to the edge effects under a corrugated lithospheric lower boundary. We suggest that this scenario has global relevance and represents a likely mechanism for the initiation of relatively small‐scale intraplate magmatism within continents.
Resilience Assessment in Electricity Critical Infrastructure from the Point of View of Converged Security

In terms of service provision, the electricity sector is the most important critical infrastructure sector, on the supply of which the vast majority of society and its basic vital functions depend. Extensive disruption of these supplies would have negative effects not only on basic human needs, but also on the economy and security of the state. For this reason, it is necessary to ensure permanent and comprehensive monitoring of the infrastructure elements resilience level, especially against threats with a multispectral impact on several areas of security. For this reason, the authors of the article developed the Converged Resilience Assessment (CRA) method, which enables advanced assessment of the electricity critical infrastructure elements resilience from the converged security point of view. Converged security in this case combines (converges) physical, cyber and operational security into a complementary unit. This reflects the integral determinants of resilience across related areas of security/safety. The CRA method focuses mainly on information and situation management, which integrates and correlates information (signals) from systems and sensors in order to obtain an overview of the situation and the subsequent effective management of its solution. The practical use of the proposed method is demonstrated on a selected element of the Czech Republic transmission system. The CRA method is currently embodied in a functional sample that has been piloted on several TSO elements. Further development of this method is seen mainly in fulfilling the logic of network infrastructure and reflection between elementary and intersectoral links in the context of synergistic and cascading effects in a broader context.
Liver Histopathological Measurement Due to Maximum Dosage for Acute Oral Toxicity Test Using Ethanol Extract Of Coffee Pulp In Female Mice

Coffee processing into fast food ingredients that must be done in order to get maximum results. Behind the processing there are various problems that arise, one of them are the presence of solid waste in the form of pulp coffee. Based on several studies, coffee pulp turned out to have high antioxidants.This research was conducted an acute oral toxicity test of the maximum dose (2000 mg/kg BW) of ethanol extract of coffee pulp was tested on mice for 24 hours. Acute oral toxicity studies of coffee pulp based on guidelines for National Drug and Food Control in female mice. The study was conducted in 2 groups of test animals consisting of a negative control group and an acute oral treatment group. Each group of 5 mice were treated for 24 hours. After treatment, the object was analyzed by histological observations descriptively. Descriptive histological analysis (qualitative analysis) of the liver of female mice showed no difference between the study groups. The treatment group that was given ethanol extract of coffee pulp showed a normal nucleus which was shown by the appearance of scattered chromatin beads. This is in line with the description of the normal cytoplasm like a group of normal mice. The maximum dose of 2,000 mg / kg for acute oral testing for 24 hours does not show microscopic changes in female mice.Recommendation for further research is to conduct oral subchronic and chronic toxicity testing in the normal group and in groups given free radical-producing compounds with various examinations of other organs.