Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The effect of fecal occult-blood screening on the incidence of colorectal cancer.

BACKGROUND Both annual testing for fecal occult blood and biennial testing significantly reduce mortality from colorectal cancer. However, the effect of screening on the incidence of colorectal cancer remains uncertain, despite the diagnosis and removal of precancerous lesions in many persons who undergo screening. METHODS We followed the participants in the Minnesota Colon Cancer Control Study for 18 years. A total of 46,551 people, most of whom were 50 to 80 years old, were enrolled between 1975 and 1978 and randomly assigned to annual screening, biennial screening, or usual care (the control group). Those assigned to the screening groups were asked to prepare and submit two samples from each of three consecutive stools for guaiac-based testing. Those with at least one positive slide in the set of six were offered a diagnostic examination that included colonoscopy. Screening was conducted between 1976 and 1982 and again between 1986 and 1992. Study participants have been followed with respect to newly diagnosed cases of colorectal cancer and deaths. Follow-up has been more than 90 percent complete. RESULTS During the 18-year follow-up period, we identified 1359 new cases of colorectal cancer: 417 in the annual-screening group, 435 in the biennial-screening group, and 507 in the control group. The cumulative incidence ratios for colorectal cancer in the screening groups as compared with the control group were 0.80 (95 percent confidence interval, 0.70 to 0.90) and 0.83 (95 percent confidence interval, 0.73 to 0.94) for the annual-screening and biennial-screening groups, respectively. For both screening groups, the number of positive slides was associated with the positive predictive value both for colorectal cancer and for adenomatous polyps at least 1 cm in diameter. CONCLUSIONS The use of either annual or biennial fecal occult-blood testing significantly reduces the incidence of colorectal cancer.
Ten-Year Follow-Up of a Consecutive Series of Children With Multichannel Cochlear Implants

Objectives: To assess a group of children who consecutively received implants more than 10 years after implantation with regard to speech perception, speech intelligibility, receptive language level, and academic/occupational status. Study Design: A prospective longitudinal study. Setting: Pediatric referral center for cochlear implantation. Patients: Eighty-two prelingually deafened children received the Nucleus multichannel cochlear implant. Interventions: Cochlear implantation with Cochlear Nucleus CI22 implant. Main Outcome Measures: The main outcome measures were open-set Phonetically Balanced Kindergarten word test, discrimination of sentences in noise, connective discourse tracking (CDT) using voice and telephone, speech intelligibility rating (SIR), vocabulary knowledge measured using the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (Revised), academic performance on French language, foreign language, and mathematics, and academic/occupational status. Results: After 10 years of implant experience, 79 children (96%) reported that they always wear the device; 79% (65 of 82 children) could use the telephone. The mean scores were 72% for the Phonetically Balanced Kindergarten word test, 44% for word recognition in noise, 55.3 words per minute for the CDT, and 33 words per minute for the CDT via telephone. Thirty-three children (40%) developed speech intelligible to the average listener (SIR 5), and 22 (27%) developed speech intelligible to a listener with little experience of deaf person's speech (SIR 4). The measures of vocabulary showed that most (76%) of children who received implants scored below the median value of their normally hearing peers. The age at implantation was the most important factor that may influence the postimplant outcomes. Regarding educational/vocational status, 6 subjects attend universities, 3 already have a professional activity, 14 are currently at high school level, 32 are at junior high school level, 6 additional children are enrolled in a special unit for children with disability, and 3 children are still attending elementary schools. Seventeen are in further noncompulsory education studying a range of subjects at vocational level. Conclusion: This long-term report shows that many profoundly hearing-impaired children using cochlear implants can develop functional levels of speech perception and production, attain age-appropriate oral language, develop competency level in a language other than their primary language, and achieve satisfactory academic performance.
Structural and Functional Analysis of the GRAS Gene Family in Grapevine Indicates a Role of GRAS Proteins in the Control of Development and Stress Responses

GRAS transcription factors are involved in many processes of plant growth and development (e.g., axillary shoot meristem formation, root radial patterning, nodule morphogenesis, arbuscular development) as well as in plant disease resistance and abiotic stress responses. However, little information is available concerning this gene family in grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.), an economically important woody crop. We performed a model curation of GRAS genes identified in the latest genome annotation leading to the identification of 52 genes. Gene models were improved and three new genes were identified that could be grapevine- or woody-plant specific. Phylogenetic analysis showed that GRAS genes could be classified into 13 groups that mapped on the 19 V. vinifera chromosomes. Five new subfamilies, previously not characterized in other species, were identified. Multiple sequence alignment showed typical GRAS domain in the proteins and new motifs were also described. As observed in other species, both segmental and tandem duplications contributed significantly to the expansion and evolution of the GRAS gene family in grapevine. Expression patterns across a variety of tissues and upon abiotic and biotic conditions revealed possible divergent functions of GRAS genes in grapevine development and stress responses. By comparing the information available for tomato and grapevine GRAS genes, we identified candidate genes that might constitute conserved transcriptional regulators of both climacteric and non-climacteric fruit ripening. Altogether this study provides valuable information and robust candidate genes for future functional analysis aiming at improving the quality of fleshy fruits.
Interrelationships and Effects of Accelerated Rehabilitation Conditioning and Gene Polymorphism on Functional and Physical Responsiveness of People Recovering from Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction Surgery

Chapter one of this thesis offered a general insight on the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury and the outcome measures of ACL rehabilitation while chapter two was a systematic review on the effects of “accelerated rehabilitation” after ACL reconstruction surgery. The review concluded that 5 out of 10 randomised control trial studies had demonstrated moderate relative effect sizes in terms of improved knee laxity, neuromuscular performance, range of motion and some patient-reported outcome measures following accelerated rehabilitation for patients with ACL reconstruction. Chapter three was a systematic review in which the genetic influence on responsiveness to strength conditioning and the outcomes of knee after ACL reconstruction were investigated. The findings revealed that intra-genotypic responses to strength conditioning were heterogeneous and that duration, intensity and frequency of strength conditioning were factors that contributed to the differential responses of genotypes in regulating gains in strength.
Community Markets for Conservation (COMACO) links biodiversity conservation with sustainable improvements in livelihoods and food production

In the Luangwa Valley, Zambia, persistent poverty and hunger present linked challenges to rural development and biodiversity conservation. Both household coping strategies and larger-scale economic development efforts have caused severe natural resource degradation that limits future economic opportunities and endangers ecosystem services. A model based on a business infrastructure has been developed to promote and maintain sustainable agricultural and natural resource management practices, leading to direct and indirect conservation outcomes. The Community Markets for Conservation (COMACO) model operates primarily with communities surrounding national parks, strengthening conservation benefits produced by these protected areas. COMACO first identifies the least food-secure households and trains them in sustainable agricultural practices that minimize threats to natural resources while meeting household needs. In addition, COMACO identifies people responsible for severe natural resource depletion and trains them to generate alternative income sources. In an effort to maintain compliance with these practices, COMACO provides extension support and access to high-value markets that would otherwise be inaccessible to participants. Because the model is continually evolving via adaptive management, success or failure of the model as a whole is difficult to quantify at this early stage. We therefore test specific hypotheses and present data documenting the stabilization of previously declining wildlife populations; the meeting of thresholds of productivity that give COMACO access to stable, high-value markets and progress toward economic self-sufficiency; and the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices by participants and other community members. Together, these findings describe a unique, business-oriented model for poverty alleviation, food production, and biodiversity conservation.
Observers' Reactions to Attributors' Ascriptions of Causal Resposibility: Concordance of Causal Understanding

An experiment was conducted to examine how observers respond to another's causal judgments for an event. Specifically, observer-subjects made causal attributions for a hypothetical actor's outcome and subsequently learned that their causal judgments were similar or dissimilar to another participant-observer's. The results indicate that similarity of causal judgments -engendered more positive evaluations of the second observer, regardless of the perceived importance of causal understanding. Moreover, the results suggest that the effects of concordance of causal judgments could not be explained by the perceived social desirability or correctness of the judgments. Experimentalfindings are discussed in terms of the interpersonal implications of expressed attributions.
Dual ferroelectric capacitor architecture and its application to TAG RAM

Transistor scaling has enabled more memory to be embedded on-chip to accelerate large scale applications. However, increased leakage current in scaled technologies resulted in higher standby power consumption in volatile memories. Nonvolatile memories have been researched and developed as solutions to these problems. However, non-volatile memories such as Flash or magnetic spin torque memories require large drive currents. On the other hand, ferroelectric capacitors take advantage of non-linear capacitance to store data and are compatible with CMOS fabrication process. Furthermore, dual ferroelectric capacitor (DFeCAP) architecture was developed to implement low-power logic/memory functional units. This paper evaluates a TAG RAM implementation based on DFeCAP architecture using a generic, HSPICE compatible ferroelectric capacitor model. The paper also discusses the impact of parametric process variations on the performance of DFeCAP cell and proposes design methodologies to achieve variation-tolerance. Our simulations demonstrate that compared to 130nm CMOS implementation, the ferroelectric memory architecture is 97% better in terms of power and 37% better in terms of area.
Beyond Grids: Interactive Graphical Substrates to Structure Digital Layout

Traditional graphic design tools emphasize the grid for structuring layout. Interviews with professional graphic designers revealed that they use surprisingly sophisticated structures that go beyond the grid, which we call graphical substrates. We present a framework to describe how designers establish graphical substrates based on properties extracted from concepts, content and context, and use them to compose layouts in both space and time. We developed two technology probes to explore how to embed graphical substrates into tools. Contextify lets designers tailor layouts according to each reader's intention and context; while Linkify lets designers create dynamic layouts based on relationships among content properties. We tested the probes with professional graphic designers, who all identified novel uses in their current projects. We incorporated their suggestions into StyleBlocks, a prototype that reifies CSS declarations into interactive graphical substrates. Graphical substrates offer an untapped design space for tools that can help graphic designers generate personal layout structures.
Rapid Software Development through Team Collocation

In a field study conducted at a leading Fortune 100 company, we examined how having development teams reside in their own large room (an arrangement called radical collocation) affected system development. The collocated projects had significantly higher productivity and shorter schedules than both the industry benchmarks and the performance of past similar projects within the firm. The teams reported high satisfaction about their process, and both customers and project sponsors were similarly highly satisfied. The analysis of questionnaire, interview and observational data from these teams showed that being "at hand," i.e. both visible and available, helped them to coordinate their work better and learn from each other. Radical collocation seems to be one of the factors leading to high productivity in these teams.
CONFRONTAÇÃO E CORDIALIDADE: ELEMENTOS PARA UMA COMPARAÇÃO ENTRE OS PENSAMENTOS AUTORITÁRIOS DE CARL SCHMITT E FRANCISCO CAMPOS CONFRONTATION AND CORDIALITY: NOTES ON THE AUTHORITARIAN THOUGHTS OF CARL SCHMITT AND

Propoe-se no presente artigo uma reflexao acerca dos elementos centrais presentes no bojo do pensamento autoritario de direita que se desenvolve entre as decadas de 1920 e 1930. Focado nos escritos de Carl Schmitt (Alemanha) e Francisco Campos (Brasil), o paper se pretende uma peca comparativa entre os dois, membros que sao de uma elite intelectual que acabaria por forjar a estrutura juridico-ideologica do Estado Novo e do Estado Nazista. As analises aqui propostas serao feitas em uma constante justaposicao das ideias da matriz europeia, especialmente com os escritos schmittianos O Conceito do Politico e Teologia Politica , com aquelas que resultaram na obra principal de Campos no periodo, O Estado Nacional . Tomando os escritos de Carl Schmitt em comparacao com os de Francisco Campos, dois juristas que atuaram em primeiro plano no campo dos debates politicos em seus paises e que foram decisivos na busca por legitimacao das ditaduras que os marcaram, as reflexoes aqui propostas buscam verificar as sincronias e os pontos de divergencia entre as estruturas teoricas de ambos os autores, resultando em uma caracterizacao global e qualitativa de seus pensamentos.
STAT4 Is Required for IFN-β-Induced MCP-1 mRNA Expression in Murine Mast Cells

Background: Mast cells are immunocompetent cells that are found in almost all tissues and function as sentinels of immune responses. Recently, it has been shown that mast cells play significant roles in innate immune responses. However, it is still largely unknown whether signal transducers and activators of transcription 4 (STAT4), one of the STAT proteins under type I IFN signaling, is involved in type I IFN-mediated gene expression in mast cells. Methods: We investigated the role of STAT4 in IFN-β-induced gene expression in mast cells by using STAT4-deficient (STAT4–/–) bone marrow-derived mast cells (BMMCs). Results: STAT4 was expressed in BMMCs and activated in response to IFN-β but not to IL-12 or IL-23. The development of BMMCs as well as IgE-induced degranulation of BMMCs was normal in STAT4–/– mice. On the other hand, while IFN-β-induced mRNA expression of interferon-induced protein with tetratricopeptide repeats 1 (IFIT-1), protein kinase interferon-inducible double stranded RNA dependent (PKR), and myxovirus resistance 1 (Mx1) was similar between STAT4–/– BMMCs and wild-type (WT) BMMCs, IFN-β-induced MCP-1 mRNA expression was severely diminished in STAT4–/– BMMCs as compared with WT BMMCs. Conclusions: STAT4 plays an essential role in IFN-β-induced MCP-1 mRNA expression in mast cells.
Creating Haptic Illusion of Compliance for Tangential Force Input using Vibrotactile Actuator

We demonstrate a haptic feedback method that generates a compliance illusion on a rigid surface with a tangential force sensor and a vibrotactile actuator. The method assumes a conceptual model where a virtual object is placed on a textured surface and stringed to four walls with four springs. A two dimensional tangential force vector measured from the rigid surface is mapped to the virtual position of the virtual object on the textured surface. By playing vibration patterns that simulate the friction-induced vibrations made from the movement of the virtual object, we could make an illusion that the rigid surface feels like moving. We also demonstrate that the perceptual properties of the illusion, such as the stiffness of the virtual spring and the maximum travel distance of the virtual object, can be programmatically controlled.
ndn||mem: an architecture to alleviate the memory bottleneck for named data networking

Named Data Networking (NDN), as one of the candidates for a future Internet, has the potential to overcome many of the current Internet's difficulties (e.g., security, mobility, multicasting, etc.). However, there are also many open problems to be taken care of before it becomes operational. One of the major concerns is that NDN may be memory intensive. Using the router's buffer as cache adds a search time to all requests. If the cache hit rate is not high enough (considering current buffer sizes and traffic rates), cache search time may be a burden on the system instead of solving any problems. Huge fast memories are not affordable yet. To balance the memory speed with incoming rate to a router, we propose a memory architecture, called ndn||mem, along with a content caching strategy, called CCndn. Using these two ideas, only a small fraction of packets need to engage in a time-intensive cache search process. Simulation results demonstrate the efficacy of our architecture
Graphs with complex stochastic increments

A new class of graphs is introduced in preferential attachment random graphs theory, these graphs are grown by adding an infinite number of complex stochastic increments, consisting of several interconnected vertices. The problems of final degree distributions for vertices and edges of growing graphs are solved by analytic methods. Analytic solution of a graph calibration (synthesis) problem due to the given final degrees distribution of vertices and edges is derived. Numerical method is developed for a complex graph calibration by vertex degree distributions together with edge degrees and clustering coefficient. The examples of the complex graph calibration in real network modeling are given.
History-Based Controller Design and Optimization for Partially Observable MDPs

Partially observable MDPs provide an elegant framework forsequential decision making. Finite-state controllers (FSCs) are often used to represent policies for infinite-horizon problems as they offer a compact representation, simple-to-execute plans, and adjustable tradeoff between computational complexityand policy size. We develop novel connections between optimizing FSCs for POMDPs and the dual linear programfor MDPs. Building on that, we present a dual mixed integer linear program (MIP) for optimizing FSCs. To assign well-defined meaning to FSC nodes as well as aid in policy search, we show how to associate history-based features with each FSC node. Using this representation, we address another challenging problem, that of iteratively deciding which nodes to add to FSC to get a better policy. Using an efficient off-the-shelf MIP solver, we show that this new approach can find compact near-optimal FSCs for severallarge benchmark domains, and is competitive with previous best approaches.
MUSIC algorithm for RSSI-based DoA estimation on standard IEEE 802 . 11 / 802 . 15 . x systems

Existing global positioning systems (GPS) applications are normally denied in indoor environments where, in spite of this limitation, a number of interesting applications are evolving into commercial products. At present, for indoor positioning, there are few cost-effective alternatives to GPS. One promising approach is based on the received signal strength indicator (RSSI) estimation, which is available in every IEEE standard compliant wireless transceiver, and includes useful information about the mutual positions between two position reference nodes. Extrapolating distance evaluation from RSSI is not reliable without the adoption of an accurate channel model [1],[2]. By using an anchor node/router with an array of directive antennas, it is possible to implement a spatial subdivision aimed at achieving an estimation of the direction of arrival (DoA) by evaluating the ratios between the single anchor’s antennas, and thus independently of the channel characteristics. This approach makes use of already existing spectral-based DoA localization algorithms ([3],[4]), but all of them assume a real-time analysis of both the amplitude and the phase of the received signals. In this article, we demonstrate analytically the capability of the MUSIC algorithm [3] to elaborate only the RSSI readings. We also compare the DoA localization performance using the classical information set (i.e., amplitude and phase) versus the use of the RSSI set (obtained simply by reading transceiver standard registers). In conclusion, we introduce some fundamental array design principles for optimal MUSIC RSSI implementation, with a real implementation tracking test. Key–Words: Indoor, positioning, tracking, WSN, DoA, RSSI, MUSIC, mobile devices, WiFi, Zigbee, Bluetooth
Enhancing gender classification by combining 3D and 2D face modalities

Shape and texture provide different modalities in face-based gender classification. While in the literature, the majority of works deal with shape or texture modality individually, only a few concern their combination. And to the best of our knowledge, no work considers the combination with the 3D meshes. Thus in this work, we combine shape and texture modalities for gender classification, with both the combination of range images and gray images, and the combination of 3D meshes and gray images. In 10-fold subject-independent cross-validation with Random Forest on the FRGC-2.0 dataset, we achieved a correctness of 93.27% ± 5.16%, which outperforms each individual modality and is comparable to the state-of-the-art. Results confirm that shape and texture modalities are complementary, and their combination enhances the performance of face-based gender classification.
An Efficient Prediction-Based Power Saving Mechanism for Mobile Devices

In order to reduce the power consumption of a mobile station and the air interface resources utilization of serving base stations, IEEE802.16e introduced the sleep mode during which a mobile station stops its normal service. By predicting the next downlink inter-packet arrival time, a novel efficient power saving mechanism (PSCI-ED) is proposed in this paper to improve both energy efficiency and packet delay. Simulation results reveal that the proposed mechanism can achieve much better results on reducing the power consumption and the packet delay due to the consideration of the traffic characteristics and rate changes, compared with the sleep mode algorithm recommended by IEEE802.16e.