Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Circulating Tumor Cells as a Biomarker for Preoperative Prognostic Staging in Patients With Esophageal Cancer.

OBJECTIVE We evaluated the prognostic significance of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in patients with esophageal cancer (EC). BACKGROUND Despite the availability of several preoperative diagnostic techniques, accurate pretreatment staging of EC remains challenging. METHODS In this single-center, prospective study, peripheral blood samples for CTC analyses were obtained preoperatively from 100 patients who were judged to have resectable EC. CTC detection was performed using the CellSearch System. Data were correlated with clinicopathological parameters and patient outcomes. RESULTS CTCs were detected in 18% (18/100) of all eligible patients. Patients with CTCs showed significantly shorter relapse-free (P < 0.001) and overall survival (P < 0.001) than CTC-negative patients. Even in patients with lymph node invasion and without distant metastases (pN+, M0, N = 45), CTC detection indicated significantly worse relapse-free (P < 0.001) and overall survival (P = 0.007). Multivariate analyses of eligible patients identified CTCs as a strong, independent, prognostic indicator of tumor recurrence (hazard ratio, 5.063; 95% confidence interval, 2.233-11.480; P < 0.001) and overall survival (hazard ratio, 3.128; 95% confidence interval, 1.492-6.559; P = 0.003). CONCLUSIONS This is the first study to report that CTCs detected by an automated immunomagnetic detection system are independent, prognostic indicators of patients' outcome in EC. Thus, implementation of CTCs may improve accuracy of preoperative staging in EC.
Learning assistance by demonstration

In this paper, we present a framework, probabilistic model, and algorithm for learning shared control policies by observing an assistant. This is a methodology we refer to as Learning Assistance by Demonstration (LAD). As a subset of robot Learning by Demonstration (LbD), LAD focuses on the assistive element by explicitly capturing how and when to help. The latter is especially important in assistive scenarios---such as rehabilitation and training---where there exists multiple and possibly conflicting goals. We formalize these notions in a probabilistic model and develop an efficient online mixture of experts (OME) algorithm, based on sparse Gaussian processes (GPs), for learning the assistive policy. Focusing on smart mobility, we couple the LAD methodology with a novel paired-haptic-controllers setup for helping smart wheelchair users navigate their environment. Experimental results with 15 able-bodied participants demonstrate that our learned shared control policy improved driving performance (as measured in lap seconds) by 43 s (a speedup of 191%). Furthermore, survey results indicate that the participants not only performed better quantitatively, but also qualitatively felt the model assistance helped them complete the task.
α-PNA: A Novel Peptide Nucleic Acid Analogue of DNA.

Peptide nucleic acid (PNA) analogues of DNA have attracted interest as potential pharmacological regulators of gene expression since they have the capacity to invade duplex DNA forming Watson−Crick base paired PNA:DNA heteroduplexes. Unfortunately, strand invasion is limited to homopurine and homopyrimidine sequences and there is the need to explore further PNA analogues for the purpose of expanding the strand invasion alphabet. Accordingly, we have designed a true peptide mimic of DNA (designated α-PNA) involving novel l-α-amino acids, with side chains comprising the four DNA bases attached via an ethylene linkage, interspaced with glycine. The four base-containing amino acids have been synthesized from N-Boc-l-homoserine, via alkylation of the appropriate base with the key intermediate (S)-2-(N-Boc-amino)-4-bromobutyric acid methyl ester followed by hydrolysis. These amino acids have been incorporated into α-PNA oligomers using both solution and solid phase methods.
Determination of simian immunodeficiency virus production by infected activated and resting cells

Objective:To determine the relative amount of virus produced by activated and resting CD4+ T cells. Design:The total quantity of virus produced by an activated cell relative to a resting cell in vivo was estimated from ‘snap-shots’ of virus production by infected cells at one time point. Methods:Bayesian statistical methods were used to determine a credible interval for the desired ratio. Results:The posterior mean of the ratio of virus produced by a typical activated cell to a typical resting cell is 0.82 to 4.28, depending on the half-lives of the resting infected cells. Simian immunodeficiency virus-infected resting cells could accordingly be responsible for 70 to 93% of peak virus production in the acute stage of infection. Conclusions:Whereas in ‘snap-shots’ the infected resting cells apparently produce much less virus than infected activated CD4+ T cells, the coincidence of peak SIV production with predominant infection of resting cells along with longer half-lives for productively infected resting cells point to a major contribution to virus production in early infection.
Analysis of HER-3, insulin growth factor-1, nuclear factor-kB and epidermal growth factor receptor gene copy number in the prediction of clinical outcome for K-RAS wild-type colorectal cancer patients receiving irinotecan-cetuximab.

BACKGROUND A large proportion of colorectal cancer patients does not benefit from the use of anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) treatment although in the absence of a mutation of the K-RAS gene. Preliminary observations suggested that HER-3, insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), nuclear factor-kB (NF-kB) and EGFR gene copy number (GCN) might identify patients not likely to benefit from anti-EGFR therapy. We tested the interaction between HER-3, IGF-1, NF-kB, EGFR GCN and K-RAS mutational analysis to verify the relative ability of these variables to identify a subgroup of patients more likely to benefit from EGFR-targeted treatment among those harbouring a K-RAS wild-type status. PATIENTS AND METHODS We retrospectively collected tumours from 168 patients with metastatic colorectal cancer treated with irinotecan-cetuximab. K-RAS was assessed with direct sequencing, EGFR amplification was assessed by chromogenic in situ hybridisation (CISH) and HER-3, IGF-1 and NF-kB were assessed by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS In patients with K-RAS wild-type tumours, the following molecular factors resulted independently associated with response rate: HER-3 [odds ratio (OR)=4.6, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.8-13.6, P=0.02], IGF-1 (OR=4.2, 95% CI 2-10.2, P=0.003) and EGFR GCN (OR=4.1, 95% CI 1.9-26.2, P=0.04). These factors also independently correlated with overall survival as follows: HER-3 [hazard ratio (HR)=0.4, 95% CI 0.28-0.85, P=0.008], IGF-1 (HR=0.47, 95% CI 0.24-0.76, P<0.0001) and EGFR GCN (HR=0.59, 95% CI 0.22-0.89, P=0.04). DISCUSSION We believe that our data may help further composing the molecular mosaic of EGFR-resistant tumours. The role of HER-3, IGF-1 and CISH EGFR GCN should be prospectively validated in clinical trials investigating anti-EGFR treatment strategies in colorectal cancer patients.
Effect of Facetectomy on Lumbar Spinal Stability Under Sagittal Plane Loadings

Study Design. A study using an anatomically accurate finite-element model of a L2–L3 motion segment to investigate the biomechanical effects of graded bilateral and unilateral facetectomies of L3 under flexion and extension loadings. Objective. To predict the amount of facetectomy on lumbar motion segment that would cause segmental instability, therefore enhancing the understanding concerning the role of the facet under sagittal loadings. Summary of Background Data. This study provides a quantitative study on the role of facets in preserving segmental lumbar stability. Previous analytical models lack of three-dimensional structural characterization and insufficient element representation for facet joints. Methods. A validated finite-element L2–L3 model was subjected to sagittal loadings at 7.5 Nm. Effects of ligaments and facets were examined to establish their relative importance on segment response. The effect of iatrogenic changes (graded unilateral and bilateral facetectomy) was then investigated under these loadings to predict the alterations in terms of gross external (angular and coupled) responses, flexibilities, and facet load. Results. This study shows the importance of preserving ligaments to prevent rotational instabilities for motion segment under flexion. The effect of the facetectomy on the motion segment is insignificant under flexion. In extension, unilateral facetectomy and resection on contralateral facet markedly alters the rotational motion and flexibilities as well as coupled motions. Also, unilateral complete facetectomy with resection of less than 100% on contralateral facet generates high facet load. Conclusions. Clinically, this study suggests that it may be appropriate to incorporate additional stabilization procedure in restoring the spinal strength and stability for surgical intervention of unilateral complete facetectomy and resection on contralateral facet. The exploitation of the finite-element method to simulate clinically related situations permits an improved understanding of lumbar spinal stability to assist in defining clinical expectation for various forms of surgical intervention of the operative procedures.
NEM relay based memory architectures for low power design

Nano-electromechanical (NEM) relays are a promising class of emerging devices that exhibit zero leakage operation. This work proposes three new NEM relay based parallel readout memory bitcell architectures that have faster access time, and remove the reliability issues associated with previously reported serial readout architectures. Accurate Verilog-A models were developed based on published fabrication results of NEM relays operating at 1V with a nominal air gap of 5 - 10nm. Bitcell stability and access time analysis are performed for all the proposed architectures and the results are presented.
Evaluation of wound healing process based on texture analysis

The proposed work is to study a standardized and ob jective technique to assess the progress of wound h ealing in foot by means of texture analysis. The methods of i mage pre-processing, segmentation and texture analy sis together with visual expert’s evaluation were used to assess the wound healing process. The images were intensi ty normalized, and wounds were automatic segmented usi ng a snake’s segmentation system. We found texture characteristics that may indicate the progression o f wound healing process. More specifically, some te xture features increase (mean, contrast), while some other texture features decrease (entropy, sum of squares varianc e, sum average, sum variance) with the progression of the wound healing process. Some of these features were found to be significantly different in a specific time point and this could be used to indicate the rate of wound healing. No significant differences were found for all geometri cal measures. The results of this study suggest tha t some texture features might be used to monitor the wound healing process, thus reducing the workload of experts, pr ovide standardization, reduce costs, and improve the qual ity for patients. The simplicity of the method also suggests that it may be a valuable tool in clinical wound evaluation .
Assessment and quantification of head motion in neuropsychiatric functional imaging research as applied to schizophrenia

Differing degrees of head motion have long been recognized as a potential confound in functional neuroimaging studies comparing neuropsychiatric populations to healthy normal volunteers, and studies often cite excessive head motion as a possible reason for the different patterns of functional activation frequently observed between groups. We empirically tested the degree of head motion in 16 patients with chronic schizophrenia and 16, age- and education-matched controls during the acquisition of functional magnetic resonance imaging data. We examined the degree of motion across three different indices (total motion, relative motion, task-correlated motion) during a complex attentional task and the effect of entering the motion parameters as additional regressors in a general linear model analysis. Results indicate that individuals with schizophrenia did not exhibit more task-correlated or total motion compared with controls. Moreover, the residual error term from the general linear model analysis was similar for both groups of subjects. In conclusion, current results suggest that stable patients with schizophrenia are capable of controlling head motion compared with matched normal controls. However, a direct comparison of the motion parameters is an essential step for any quality assurance protocol to determine whether additional corrective techniques need to be implemented. (JINS, 2007, 13, 839–845.)
A MIMO antenna for mobile applications

A multiband Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) antenna for mobile phones applications in the next generation is proposed. The proposed MIMO antenna consists of two identical elements, each having three branches to generate two frequency bands, a wide higher and narrow lower frequency bands. Simulation results show that these two frequency bands can cover the lower band for Long-Term Evolution (LTE), the DCS1800, PCS1900 and UMTS-2100 bands, the Wibro Band, the 2.4-GHz band for the WLAN system and also the upper band for the WiMAX. By cutting a slit on the printed circuit board (PCB) serving the ground plane, a great enhancement of isolation between the two antenna elements can be achieved for the two frequency bands.
University of Groningen Design and Evaluation of Tiled Parallel Coordinate Visualization of Multichannel EEG Data Caat

The field of visualization assists data interpretation in many areas, but does not manage all types of data equally well. This holds in particular for time-varying multichannel EEG data. No existing method can successfully visualize simultaneous information from all channels in use at all time steps. To address this problem, a new visualization method is presented, based on the parallel coordinate method and making use of a tiled organization. This tiled organization employs a two-dimensional row-column representation, rather than a one-dimensional arrangement in columns as used for classical parallel coordinates. The usefulness of the new method, referred to as tiled parallel coordinates (TPC), is demonstrated by a particular type of EEG data. It can be applied to an arbitrary number of time steps, handling the maximum number of channels currently in use. An extensive user evaluation shows that, for a typical EEG assessment task, data evaluation by the TPC method is faster than by an existing clinical EEG visualization method, without loss of information. The generality of the TPC method makes it widely applicable to other timevarying multivariate data types.
Musculoskeletal disorders in the community

We noted with interest the recent findings of Urwin et al . 1 We have previously reported higher HAQ scores (poorer function) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients from more deprived areas.2 We subsequently wished to determine whether this difference in functional ability was a true difference or one of patient perception. A cross sectional study …
Effect of Mentat on Language and Learning Disabilities in Children with Mild Mental Deficiencies

Failure of a child to come up to expectations at school or at home is a crucial problem in present day society. This failure may be due to his or her inability to make progress in reading, spelling or arithmetic; or alternatively, it may involve poor work habits or memory and attention deficits. On the basis of the above facts a study was conducted on 60 children with mild mental deficiency exhibiting poor learning and language deficiency. Forty such children received Mentat, an Ayurvedic herbal preparation, in the dose of 2 tsp, twice daily for one year; the rest received a placebo in the same dose for the same duration. Neuropsychological assessments were made by using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (Revised) WISC-R. Children in the Mentat-treated group started showing improvement in learning and intelligence within six months of therapy, which rose to the level of statistical significance at the end of one year. There was considerable improvement in visual and auditory memory span. These children also exhibited remarkable ability to reproduce correctly the sequence of audiovisual stimuli. Mentat appeared to play a significant role in reducing fluctuation of attention and in increasing auditory and visual memory. The child was able to concentrate better in his studies, thus helping to improve his I.Q. and reduce the gap between his potential for learning and his actual achievements.
Speeding-up Document Scoring with Tree Ensembles using CPU SIMD Extensions

Scoring documents with learning-to-rank (LtR) models based on large ensembles of regression trees is currently deemed one of the best solutions to effectively rank query results to be returned by large scale Information Retrieval systems. This extended abstract shortly summarizes the work in [4] proposing V-QuickScorer (vQS), an algorithm which exploits SIMD vector extensions on modern CPUs to perform the traversal of the ensamble in parallel by evaluating multiple documents simultaneously. We summarize the results of a comprehensive evaluation of vQS against state-of-the-art scoring algorithms showing that vQS outperforms competitors with speed-ups up to a factor of 2.4x. Additive ensembles of regression trees, such as GBRT [2] and λ-MART [5], are nowadays considered among the most advanced LtR models for ranking documents in IR systems, although these require very efficient scoring algorithms for processing queries by strict time budgets [1]. The state-of-the-art algorithm for efficient scoring via additive ensemble of regression trees is QuickScorer (QS) [3]. In this extended abstract we shortly summarize the work in [4] where we introduce vQS, a parallelized version of QS that exploits the SIMD capabilities of mainstream CPUs. Streaming SIMD Extensions (SSE) and Advanced Vector Extensions (AVX) are sets of instructions exploiting wide registers of 128 and 256 bits that allow parallel operations to be performed on simple data types, e.g., a 128 bit containing four single precision or two double precision floats. Using SIMD capabilities of mainstream CPUs, namely SSE 4.2 and AVX 2, vQS can process up to 8 documents in parallel. Results of a comprehensive evaluation of vQS on public datasets against state-of-the-art scoring algorithms show that vQS outperforms competitors with speed-ups up to a factor of 2.4x.
Laccase isoenzymes of Pleurotus eryngii: characterization, catalytic properties, and participation in activation of molecular oxygen and Mn2+ oxidation

Two laccase isoenzymes produced by Pleurotus eryngii were purified to electrophoretic homogeneity (42- and 43-fold) with an overall yield of 56.3%. Laccases I and II from this fungus are monomeric glycoproteins with 7 and 1% carbohydrate content, molecular masses (by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis) of 65 and 61 kDa, and pIs of 4.1 and 4.2, respectively. The highest rate of 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonate) oxidation for laccase I was reached at 65 degrees C and pH 4, and that for laccase II was reached at 55 degrees C and pH 3.5. Both isoenzymes are stable at high pH, retaining 60 to 70% activity after 24 h from pH 8 to 12. Their amino acid compositions and N-terminal sequences were determined, the latter strongly differing from those of laccases of other basidiomycetes. Antibodies against laccase I reacted with laccase II, as well as with laccases from Pleurotus ostreatus, Pleurotus pulmonarius, and Pleurotus floridanus. Different hydroxy- and methoxy-substituted phenols and aromatic amines were oxidized by the two laccase isoenzymes from P. eryngii, and the influence of the nature, number, and disposition of aromatic-ring substituents on kinetic constants is discussed. Although both isoenzymes presented similar substrate affinities, the maximum rates of reactions catalyzed by laccase I were higher than those of laccase II. In reactions with hydroquinones, semiquinones produced by laccase isoenzymes were in part converted into quinones via autoxidation. The superoxide anion radical produced in the latter reaction dismutated, producing hydrogen peroxide. In the presence of manganous ion, the superoxide union was reduced to hydrogen peroxide with the concomitant production of manganic ion. These results confirmed that laccase in the presence of hydroquinones can participate in the production of both reduced oxygen species and manganic ions.
Bayesian trio models for association in the presence of genotyping errors

Errors in genotyping can greatly affect family‐based association studies. If a mendelian inconsistency is detected, the family is usually removed from the analysis. This reduces power, and may introduce bias. In addition, a large proportion of genotyping errors remain undetected, and these also reduce power. We present a Bayesian framework for performing association studies with SNP data on samples of trios consisting of parents with an affected offspring, while allowing for the presence of both detectable and undetectable genotyping errors. This framework also allows for the inclusion of missing genotypes. Associations between the SNP and disease were modelled in terms of the genotypic relative risks. The performances of the analysis methods were investigated under a variety of models for disease association and genotype error, looking at both power to detect association and precision of genotypic relative risk estimates. As expected, power to detect association decreased as genotyping error probability increased. Importantly, however, analyses allowing for genotyping error had similar power to standard analyses when applied to data without genotyping error. Furthermore, allowing for genotyping error yielded relative risk estimates that were approximately unbiased, together with 95% credible intervals giving approximately correct coverage. The methods were also applied to a real dataset: a sample of schizophrenia cases and their parents genotyped at SNPs in the dysbindin gene. The analysis methods presented here require no prior information on the genotyping error probabilities, and may be fitted in WinBUGS. Genet Epidemiol 26:70–80, 2004. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Coalition Formation Game Based Relay Selection and Frequency Sharing for Cooperative Relay Assisted Wireless D2D Networks with QoS Constraints

With device-to-device (D2D) communications, an inactive user terminal can be utilized as a relay node to support multi-hop communication so that connective experience of the cell-edge user as well as the capacity of the whole system can be significantly improved. In this paper, we investigate the spectrum sharing for a cooperative relay assisted D2D communication underlying a cellular network. We formulate a joint relay selection and channel assignment problem to maximize the throughput of the system while guaranteeing the quality of service (QoS) requirements of cellular users (CUs) and D2D users (DUs). By exploiting coalition formation game theory, we propose two algorithms to solve the problem. The first algorithm is designed based on merge and split rules while the second one is developed based on single user’s movement. Both of them are proved to be stable and convergent. Simulation results are presented to show the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms.