Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Compartmentalized spatial profiling of the tumor microenvironment in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma identifies immune checkpoint molecules and tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily members as biomarkers of response to immunotherapy

Mucosal head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) are the seventh most common cancer, with approximately 50% of patients living beyond 5 years. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have shown promising results in patients with recurrent or metastatic (R/M) disease, however, only a subset of patients benefit from immunotherapy. Studies have implicated the tumor microenvironment (TME) of HNSCC as a major factor in therapy response, highlighting the need to better understand the TME, particularly by spatially resolved means to determine cellular and molecular components. Here, we employed targeted spatial profiling of proteins on a cohort of pre-treatment tissues from patients with R/M disease to identify novel biomarkers of response within the tumor and stromal margins. By grouping patient outcome categories into response or non-response, we show that immune checkpoint molecules, including PD-L1, B7-H3, and VISTA, were differentially expressed. Patient responders possessed significantly higher tumor expression of PD-L1 and B7-H3, but lower expression of VISTA. Analysis of response subgroups by Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) criteria indicated that tumor necrosis factor receptor (TNFR) superfamily members including OX40L, CD27, 4-1BB, CD40, and CD95/Fas, were associated with immunotherapy outcome. OX40L expression in tumor regions was higher in patient-responders than those with progressive disease (PD), while other TNFR members, CD27 and CD95/Fas were lower expressed in patients with a partial response (PR) compared to those with PD. Furthermore, we found that high 4-1BB expression in the tumor compartment, but not in the stroma, was associated with better overall survival (OS) (HR= 0.28, p-adjusted= 0.040). Moreover, high CD40 expression in tumor regions (HR= 0.27, p-adjusted= 0.035), and high CD27 expression in the stroma (HR= 0.2, p-adjusted=0.032) were associated with better survival outcomes. Taken together, this study supports the role of immune checkpoint molecules and implicates the TNFR superfamily as key players in immunotherapy response in our cohort of HNSCC. Validation of these findings in a prospective study is required to determine the robustness of these tissue signatures.
Patterns of Choice : The Prix Ars Electronica

This article investigates the social structures reflected in the annual jury sessions of the Prix Ars Electronica, a major media art competition—the composition, the temporal evolution and ultimately the decisions of these juries. The author focuses on three different structures: the network of co-jurors across different categories and years, the co-artist network formed by the jury decisions, and finally the interaction between these two networks. The results not only reveal different roles of individuals in the jury process but also reflect the evolution of the field in general. Based solely on public data, the results show a multifaceted picture of a dynamic field. article Frontispiece. (top) topology of the complete jury network covering the period 1987–2009. (bottom) Detail view. (© Dietmar Offenhuber)
Title Bounding the Optimal Rate of the ICSI and ICCSI Problems

In this work we study both the index coding with side information (ICSI) problem introduced by Birk and Kol in 1998 and the more general problem of index coding with coded side information (ICCSI), described by Shum et al in 2012. We estimate the optimal rate of an instance of the index coding problem. In the ICSI problem case, we characterize those digraphs having minrank one less than their order and we give an upper bound on the min-rank of a hypergraph whose incidence matrix can be associated with that of a 2-design. Security aspects are discussed in the particular case when the design is a projective plane. For the coded side information case, we extend the graph theoretic upper bounds given by Shanmugam et al in 2014 on the optimal rate of index code.
Explorer Ensemble Clustering for Result Diversification

This paper describes the participation of the University of Twente in the Web track of TREC 2012. Our baseline approach uses the Mirex toolkit, an open source tool that sequantially scans all the documents. For result diversification, we experimented with improving the quality of clusters through ensemble clustering. We combined clusters obtained by different clustering methods (such as LDA and K-means) and clusters obtained by using different types of data (such as document text and anchor text). Our twolayer ensemble run performed better than the LDA based diversification and also better than a non-diversification run.
Star formation in low density HI gas around the elliptical galaxy NGC 2865

Context. Interacting galaxies surrounded by Hi tidal debris are ideal sites for the study of young clusters and tidal galaxy formation. The process that triggers star formation in the low-density environments outside galaxies is still an open question. New clusters and galaxies of tidal origin are expected to have high metallicities for their luminosities. Spectroscopy of such objects is, however, at the limit of what can be done with existing 8−10 m class telescopes, which has prevented statistical studies of these objects. Aims. NGC 2865 is a UV-bright merging elliptical galaxy with shells and extended Hi tails. In this work we aim to observe regions previously detected using multi-slit imaging spectroscopy. Methods. We obtained new multi-slit spectroscopy of six young star-forming regions around NGC 2865, to determine their redshifts and metallicities. Results. The six emission-line regions are located 16−40 kpc from NGC 2865 and they have similar redshifts. They have ages of ~10 Myr and an average metallicity of ~ 12 +log (O/H)~ 8.6, suggesting a tidal origin for the regions. We note that they coincide with an extended Hi tail, which has projected density of N HI 19 cm -2 , and displays a low surface brightness counterpart. These regions may represent the youngest of the three populations of star clusters already identified in NGC 2865. Conclusions. The high, nearly-solar, oxygen abundances found for the six regions in the vicinity of NGC 2865 suggest that they were formed by pre-enriched material from the parent galaxy, from gas removed during the most recent major merger. Given the mass and the location of the Hii regions, we can speculate that these young star-forming regions are potential precursors of globular clusters that will be part of the halo of NGC 2865 in the future. Our result supports the use of the multi-slit imaging spectroscopy as a useful tool for finding nearly-formed stellar systems around galaxies.
GC-FID Method Development and Validation Parameters for Analysis of Palm Oil ( Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) Fatty Acids Composition

The variety of available techniques and analytical methods applied in laboratories calls for the need of defining the scope, range of application and quality of information obtained using each of them with reference to internationally agreed standards. Of these techniques, Gas Chromatography with Flame Ionization Detector (GC-FID) is most used in fatty acids analysis. Method development and validation is useful for GC and other analytical procedures. This paper outlines the importance of method validation and elaborates on typical validation parameters with special reference to their application in the analysis of fatty acids of palm oil. The first section presents background information on stages in analytical method processing, quantitative and qualitative analysis, GC and its use in the analysis of lipid extracts. Critical components for a method are highlighted such as sampling, sample preparation (FAME derivatization), instrument analysis conditions and method standardization. Validation characteristics like Specificity, Linearity and range, Accuracy, Precision, LOD, LOQ, Robustness, Ruggedness and System suitability are presented in the last section with a brief view on some statistical methods used in method validation. It is hoped that this review will facilitate the work of analysts and the scientific community by enhancing efficient method development and validation which matches international standards.
A primer on distributional assumptions and model linearity in repeated measures data analysis

Repeated measures data are widely used in social and behavioral sciences, e.g., to investigate the trajectory of an underlying phenomenon over time. A variety of different mixed-effects models, a type of statistical modeling approach for repeated measures data, have been proposed and they differ mainly in two aspects: (1) the distributional assumption of the dependent variable and (2) the linearity of the model. Distinct combinations of these characteristics encompass a variety of modeling techniques. Although these models have been independently discussed in the literature, the most flexible framework – the generalized nonlinear mixed-effects model (GNLMEM) – can be used as a modeling umbrella to encompass these modeling options for repeated measures data. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to explicate on the different mixed-effects modeling techniques guided by the distributional assumption and model linearity choices using the GNLMEM as a general framework. Additionally, empirical examples are used to illustrate the versatility of this framework.
A contingency approach to international marketing strategy and decision‐making structure among exporting firms

Purpose – Although the relation between standardization/adaptation strategy and performance has been extensively examined in the international marketing literature, the findings concerning these factors are still inconclusive. The conflicting results might relate to the analysis approach adopted in prior research, which tends to focus on the direct effect of marketing strategies. By utilizing the contingency theory, the purpose of this paper is to uncover the moderation factors for the strategy‐structure‐performance paradigm in the export sector. Internal, external and product‐related factors are explored.Design/methodology/approach – This study focuses on four strategy and structure combinations: The global approach (standardization‐centralization); the glocal approach (standardization‐decentralization); the regcal approach (adaptation‐centralization); and the local approach (adaptation‐decentralization). The interactive effect of the four approaches and a set of contingent factors are examined based on .
Periodic Patterns of Signed Shifts

The periodic patterns of a map are the permutations realized by the relative order of the points in its periodic orbits. We give a combinatorial description of the periodic patterns of an arbitrary signed shift, in terms of the structure of the descent set of a certain transformation of the pattern. Signed shifts are an important family of one-dimensional dynamical systems. For particular types of signed shifts, namely shift maps, reverse shift maps, and the tent map, we give exact enumeration formulas for their periodic patterns. As a byproduct of our work, we recover some results of Gessel and Reutenauer and obtain new results on the enumeration of pattern-avoiding cycles. Résumé. Les motifs périodiques d’une fonction sont les permutations réalisées par l’ordre relatif des points dans ses orbites périodiques. Nous donnons une description combinatoire des motifs périodiques d’un shift signé arbitraire, en termes de la structure de l’ensemble des descentes d’une certaine transformation du motif. Les shifts signés sont une familie importante de systèmes dynamiques unidimensionnels. Pour des types particuliers de shifts signés, comme les fonctions de shift, les fonctions de shift inversées, et la fonction de tente, nous donnons des formules exactes pour l’énumération de leurs motifs périodiques. Comme sous-produit de notre travail, nous retrouvons des résultats de Gessel et Reutenauer et obtenons de nouveaux résultats sur l’énumération de cycles qui évitent certain motifs.
Dense water formation in the coastal northeastern Adriatic Sea: the NAdEx 2015 experiment

The paper investigates wintertime dynamics of the coastal northeastern Adriatic Sea, and is based on numerical modelling and in situ data collected through field campaigns executed during the winter and spring of 2015. The data have been collected by a variety of instruments and platforms (ADCPs, CTDs, glider, profiling float), and have been accompanied with a one-way coupled ALADIN/ROMS modelling effort. Research focus has been put on dense water formation (DWF), thermal changes and circulation, and water exchange between the coastal and open Adriatic. According to both observations and modelling results, dense waters are formed in the northeastern coastal Adriatic during cold bora outbreaks, even during milder-than-average winters (as was the winter of 2015). However, dense water formed in this coastal region has, due to lower salinities, lower densities than dense water formed at the open Adriatic. Since the sea is deeper in the coastal area than at the open Adriatic, dense waters from the open Adriatic occasionally enter the coastal area near the bottom of the connecting passages, while the surface flow is mostly outward from the coastal area. Median residence time of the coastal area is estimated to about 1–2 months, indicating that the coastal area may be relatively quickly renewed by the open Adriatic waters. The model significantly underestimates currents and transports in connecting channels, which may be a result of a too coarse resolution of atmospheric forcing, misrepresentation of bathymetry or absence of the air-sea feedback in the model. Obtained data represents a comprehensive marine dataset, pointing to a number of interesting phenomena to be investigated in the future.
Optical properties of one-dimensional exciton systems: Beyond the Heitler-London approximation

We study the properties of one-dimensional exciton systems in which the commonly made Heitler-London approximation (HLA) is relaxed. The nonresonant interaction terms which then exist, mix the multi-exciton bands of the HLA. Our approach is based on the exact diagonalization of the Hamiltonian, which is possible using the Jordan-Wigner and Bogoliubov transformations. Exact expressions for transition dipoles between multi-particle states are given. Results of our exact theory for the ground state and one-particle energies, the superradiant enhancement, the pump-probe spectrum, and the linear absorption to multi-particle states are compared quantitatively to the HLA, to the Bose approximation (where the excitons are treated as bosons), and to perturbation theory. In this comparative study, we use parameter values that are relevant to much studied quasi-one-dimensional J aggregates, such as PIC and TDBC. We find that for these systems the strongest effects of the HLA occur in the oscillator strengths of the .
Data Processing Methodologies Applied to Dynamic PRA : an Overview

The use of dynamic event trees (DETs) can serve as a powerful tool for the dynamic probabilistic risk assessment (DPRA) of nuclear power plants. The DETs have the capability to more accurately model the complex interactions and events which may occur during a transient. One of the challenges of DPRA through DETs is the management of the resulting very large data sets. Hence, the need for a methodology able to handle high volumes of data in terms of both cardinality (due to the high number of uncertainties included in the analysis) and dimensionality (due to the complexity of systems) arises. Hierarchical and partitional clustering methodologies are compared and evaluated with regard to their potential to analyze large scenario datasets generated by DETs using several different data sets.
Hidden Markov Model for Predicting the Turning Points of GDP Fluctuation

At present, the methods of predicting the turning points of GDP fluctuation is difficult to choose suitable influence indexes, and emphasize static function dependency or dynamic propagation of time series so that the static and dynamic information can not be consistently combined. In this paper, hidden Markov model is introduced for predicting the turning points of GDP fluctuation. The real GDP data of China from 1990 to 2013 is used for modeling and the experimental results show that hidden Markov model has good practicability and reliability. Index Terms - GDP, turning point, hidden Markov model, dynamic Bayesian network
A Measurement Setup for Radiated EMI of Un-buffered DRAM Modules

As clock frequency and switching current of DRAM (dynamic random access memory) modules are ever increasing, electromagnetic interference (EMI) of such modules is gaining a very high degree of importance. Normally EMI measurements of memory modules are performed implementing complete motherboards or PCs. This makes it very difficult to only separate the radiated EMI of the memory module with a single EMI measurement. This is the first attempt to construct a shielded measurement setup for radiated EMI for DRAM PCBs. The measurement setup is fabricated and tested for un-buffered double data rate (DDR) modules and gives excellent results. This is very helpful in EMI and electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) investigation of memory modules. Although the measurement setup is just implemented for memory modules, the approach can be used for other types of PCBs too.
Scheduling Parallel Jobs with Monotone Speedup 1

We consider a scheduling problem where a set of jobs is a-priori distributed over parallel machines. The processing time of any job is dependent on the usage of a discrete renewable resource, e.g. personnel. An amount of k units of that resource can be allocated to the jobs at any time, and the more of that resource is allocated to a job, the smaller its processing time. The objective is to find a resource allocation and a schedule that minimizes the makespan. In contrast to previous approaches, we explicitly allow for succinctly encodable time-resource tradeoff functions. This assumption calls for mathematical programming techniques other than those that have been used before. Utilizing a (nonlinear) integer mathematical program, we obtain the first polynomial time approximation algorithm for the scheduling problem, with performance bound (3 + ε) for any ε > 0. Our approach relies on a fully polynomial time approximation scheme to solve the mathematical programming relaxation. This result is interesting in itself, because we also show that the underlying mathematical program is NP-hard to solve. We also derive lower bounds for the approximation.
The Role of Transformational and Transactional Leadership in Creating, Sharing and Exploiting Organizational Knowledge

Strategy scholars have argued that managing knowledge effectively can provide firms with sustainable competitive advantages. Leaders are central to the process of managing knowledge effectively. Managing knowledge includes three key processes: creating, sharing, and exploiting knowledge. Leaders are central to each of these processes at multiple levels of the firm. Examining the role of leadership in converting knowledge into competitive advantages is important to our understanding of leaders and organizations. Transformational leadership may be more effective at creating and sharing knowledge at the individual and group levels, while transactional leadership is more effective at exploiting knowledge at the organizational level. This paper begins to integrate the transformational leadership literature with the organizational knowledge literature.
Robust Portfolio Optimization with Time Varying Uncertain Parameters

We give explicit solutions for utility optimization problems in the presence of Knightian uncertainty in continuous time with nondominated priors and finite time horizon in a diffusion model. We assume that the uncertainty set is compact and time dependent on [0, T ]. We solve the robust optimization problem explicitly both when the investor has logarithmic and exponential utility. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work in deriving explicit solutions for utility maximization problems in a diffusion setting with time varying uncertainty sets both on drift and volatility. Mathematics Subject Classification: 91B28;93E20
Assay development for monitoring intramembrane (Rhomboid) serine protease substrate cleavage and inhibition

Rhomboids are a familiy of intramembrane serine proteases whose active site is located inside the lipid bilayer of a bmembrane. In this work, new mass spectrometry-based methods were established and applied to identify new rhomboid inhibitors and to measure rhomboid enzyme kinetics. The successful analysis of new inhibitors and activity-based probes revealed new functional insights into these enzymes.
Building word embeddings from dictionary definitions

We present an experimental method for mapping English words to realvalued vectors using entries of a large crowd-sourced dictionary. Intuition tells us that most of the information content of the average utterance is encoded by word meaning (Kornai (2010) posits 85%), and mappings of words to vectors (commonly known as word embeddings) have become a core component of virtually all natural language processing (NLP) applications over the last few years. Embeddings are commonly constructed on the basis of large corpora, approximating the semantics of each word based on its distribution. In a set of pilot experiments we hope to demonstrate that dictionaries, the most traditional genre of representing lexical semantics, remain an invaluable resource for constructing formal representations of word meaning.
Is spousal support always helpful to patients with asthma or diabetes? A prospective study

The current study examined effects of three ways of providing spousal support (active engagement, protective buffering, and overprotection) on self-efficacy and physical and mental health in patients with diseases imposing a high demand on self-management routines (36 asthma patients and 21 diabetic patients). Employing a nine-month prospective design, we hypothesized that active engagement would be positively related to health and self-efficacy, that overprotection would have a negative impact, and that the impact of protective buffering would depend on symptom level at baseline. Results confirmed the latter hypothesis while either positive or negative effects of active engagement and overprotection were absent. These findings are discussed with respect to the role of spousal support in diseases requiring self-management behaviour.
3D Printing of Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering

Three-dimensional (3D) printing has demonstrated its great potential in producing functional scaffolds for biomedical applications. To facilitate tissue regeneration, scaffolds need to be designed to provide a suitable environment for cell growth, which generally depends on the selection of materials and geometrical features such as internal structures and pore size distribution. The mechanical property match with the original tissue to be repaired is also critical. In this chapter, the specific request of materials and structure for tissue engineering is briefly reviewed, and then an overview of the recent research in 3D printing technologies for tissue engineering will be provided, together with a discussion of possible future directions in this area.