Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cancer antigen 125 and prognosis

Purpose of review This review addresses recently reported progress in cancer antigen 125 as a prognostic marker in patients with ovarian cancer. Recent findings Serum cancer antigen 125 levels measured preoperatively in both early and late stage ovarian cancer may be of prognostic value. Before cancer antigen 125 determination may be implemented into clinical practice, cut-off levels must be evaluated and internationally defined. Studies examining serum cancer antigen 125 levels after surgery but before, during, or after treatment confirmed that changes in serum levels are of prognostic value. Furthermore, recent studies have shown that the level of expression of cancer antigen 125 in tissue may be an independent prognostic indicator in late stage ovarian cancer. Summary Prognostic markers may potentially help to individualize treatment within subgroups of patients. In a recent study the level of cancer antigen 125 expression was consistently found to be of prognostic value. This finding supports implementation of cancer antigen 125 measurement in future clinical ovarian cancer trials to clarify whether this marker has value in selecting candidates for individually based treatments.
A Common Substrate for Cluster Computing

The success of MapReduce has sparked many efforts to design cluster computing frameworks. We argue that no single framework will be optimal for all applications, and that we should instead enable organizations to run multiple frameworks effciently in the same cloud. Furthermore, to ease development of new frameworks, it is critical to identify common abstractions and modularize their architectures. To achieve these goals, we propose Nexus, a low-level substrate that provides isolation and efficient resource sharing across frameworks running on the same cluster, while giving each framework freedom to implement its own programming model and fully control the execution of its jobs. Nexus fosters innovation in the cloud by letting organizations run new frameworks alongside existing ones and by letting framework developers focus on specific applications rather than building one-size-fits-all frameworks.
Benefits of different postoperative treatments in patients undergoing knee arthroscopic debridement

Purpose To assess the effectiveness of viscosupplementation or platelet-rich plasma (PRP), compared to standard care, for pain relief after knee arthroscopic debridement in patients with meniscal pathology and osteoarthritis (OA), under normal clinical practice conditions. Patients and methods We conducted a prospective, randomized, evaluator-blind, pilot study. After arthroscopy, patients were randomized to receive 1) five injections of HA1 (Suprahyal®/Adant®); 2) four injections of HA2 (Orthovisc®); 3) three injections of HA3 (Synvisc®); 4) a single injection of PRP (GPS™ II); or 5) standard care (control). Patients were followed up for 18 months. Clinical outcomes were evaluated using the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC) at 3, 6, 12, and 18 months. Minimally Clinical Important Improvement (MCII), as relative improvement ≥20 for pain and function, was also calculated. Results Fifty patients were included. At early follow-up (3 months), total WOMAC scores improved in all groups compared to baseline with reductions of 44.79% (HA1), 24.02% (HA2), 40.38% (HA3), 39.77% (PRP), and 27.64% (control) (p=0.002 HA1 compared to HA2). At 18 months, the higher improvement in total WOMAC was in HA1 with a 65.20% reduction, followed by PRP (55.01%), HA3 (49.57%), and HA2 (29.82%), whereas the control group had a 14.55% increase over baseline (p=0.001 control compared to HA1 and HA3). The percentage of patients achieving the MCII for both pain and function at 18 months was 100% (HA1), 80% (HA3), 60% (HA2), and 60% (PRP), whereas, in the control group, all patients returned to pre-arthroscopy levels. There were no adverse events attributable to surgery or to intraarticular administration. Conclusion Viscosupplementation following arthroscopy is more effective than PRP in adequately selected patients with meniscal lesions occurring concomitantly with OA. Further controlled studies with a larger sample size and/or alternative regimens would be of interest for the scientific community.
Auxin, the organizer of the hormonal/environmental signals for root hair growth

The root hair development is controlled by diverse factors such as fate-determining developmental cues, auxin-related environmental factors, and hormones. In particular, the soil environmental factors are important as they maximize their absorption by modulating root hair development. These environmental factors affect the root hair developmental process by making use of diverse hormones. These hormonal factors interact with each other to modulate root hair development in which auxin appears to form the most intensive networks with the pathways from environmental factors and hormones. Moreover, auxin action for root hair development is genetically located immediately upstream of the root hair-morphogenetic genes. These observations suggest that auxin plays as an organizing node for environmental/hormonal pathways to modulate root hair growth.
Evaluating a meta-knowledge annotation scheme for bio-events

The correct interpretation of biomedical texts by text mining systems requires the recognition of a range of types of high-level information (or meta-knowledge) about the text. Examples include expressions of negation and speculation, as well as pragmatic/rhetorical intent (e.g. whether the information expressed represents a hypothesis, generally accepted knowledge, new experimental knowledge, etc.) Although such types of information have previously been annotated at the text-span level (most commonly sentences), annotation at the level of the event is currently quite sparse. In this paper, we focus on the evaluation of the multi-dimensional annotation scheme that we have developed specifically for enriching bio-events with meta-knowledge information. Our annotation scheme is intended to be general enough to allow integration with different types of bio-event annotation, whilst being detailed enough to capture important subtleties in the nature of the meta-knowledge expressed in the text. To our knowledge, our scheme is unique within the field with regards to the diversity of meta-knowledge aspects annotated for each event, whilst the evaluation results have confirmed its feasibility and soundness.
Residual Stress Effects on Fatigue Crack Growth in a Ti-6Al-4V Friction Stir Weld

Recent studies have illustrated a predominant role of the residual stress on the fatigue crack growth in friction stir welded joints. In this study, the role of the residual stress on the propagation of fatigue cracks orthogonal to the weld direction in a friction stir welded Ti-6Al-4V joint was investigated. A numerical prediction of the fatigue crack growth rate in the presence of the residual stresses was carried out using AFGROW software; reasonable correspondence between the predictions and the experimental results were observed when the effects of residual stress were included in the simulation.
Joint Optimization of Precoder and Equalizer in MIMO VLC Systems

Recently, visible light communication (VLC) has attracted much attention as a possible candidate technology to meet the ever growing demand in wireless data. However, current low-cost white LED has limited modulation bandwidth, which limits the throughput of the VLC. Optical MIMO can provide spatial diversity and thus achieve high data rate. Traditional multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) techniques used in wireless communications cannot be directly applied to VLC. This paper studies the precoder and equalizer design of optical wireless MIMO system for VLC. First, we propose a MIMO VLC system, which can effectively support the flickering/dimming control and other VLC-specific requirements. Second, besides the transceiver design with perfect channel state information, we also take into account channel uncertainties for joint optimization in the MIMO VLC system. Numerical results show that the proposed MIMO solution for VLC is robust to combat the influence caused by the channel estimation imperfection. By taking into account the channel estimation errors, the proposed joint optimization method demonstrates the bit error rate (BER) improvements in the scenario of imperfect channel estimation.
Is the alpha-2A adrenergic receptor gene (ADRA2A) associated with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder?

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a complex childhood-onset psychiatric disorder characterized by marked symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. The role of genetic factors in its etiology is strongly supported by family, adoption, and twin studies. Although most of the molecular studies have investigated the dopamine D4 receptor gene (DRD4) and the dopamine transporter gene (DAT1) genes in its etiology, pharmacological and brain imaging evidences seem to indicate that genes of the adrenergic system could also be attractive for association studies. We investigated a sample of 96 Brazilian ADHD children and adolescents and their parents for the ADRA2A MspI polymorphism. Although no association with either MspI allele was observed through the haplotype relative risk (HRR) analysis, effects of the ADRA2A gene on inattention and combined (inattention + hyperactivity/impulsivity) symptom scores were detected (U = 222.5, z = 2.19, P = 0.03; and U = 208.5, z = 2.32, P = 0.02, respectively). Our results suggest that the ADRA2A gene might have a small effect on ADHD susceptibility or that this gene might modulate the severity of the disorder. They are also consistent with the noradrenergic theories of ADHD, suggesting a role for the alpha2A adrenergic receptors in the disorder.
Studies on Mechanical Properties of Wood-Polymer Composites

Composite plates of wood chips and high density polyethylene (HDPE) matrix were prepared and characterized. Mechanical properties of these composites were evaluated by tensile, static 3-point bending and nail withdrawal tests according to ASTM-D1037-89 (for wood-base fiber and particle panel materials). The tensile strength and break strain of the composites were obtained from the tensile test; and the modulus of rupture (MOR), stiffness and peak load (P) were obtained from the static 3-point bending test. Nail pull-out tests were carried out to obtain information on the adhesion of nail in the composites. It was found that these wood-polymer composites exhibit attractive mechanical properties for application as particle board. The effect of wood chip size and volume percentage on the mechanical properties of these composites was also studied. The resultant fracture surfaces of stretched and bent samples were analyzed using an environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM)
Double EWMA controller for semiconductor manufacturing processes with time-varying metrology delay

Double Exponentially weighted moving average (dEWMA) is a typical Run-to-run (RtR) control in the semiconductor manufacturing process. The performance of dEWMA is determined by the measurement of process output real-time. However, it is impossible to obtain the output online owing to restriction of measurement tool and cost. Based on the logical relationship among the wafer quality, actually measured time-delay, estimated time-delay and the drift of process, a estimated algorithm for time-varying metrology delay is proposed by using the Bayesian statistical analysis. The simulated example demonstrates the performance of the presented algorithm.
The use of low-intensity ultrasound to accelerate the healing of fractures.

Double-blind, prospective, placebo-controlled clinical trials demonstrate that healing times of fresh fractures of the radius and tibia are reduced by up to 40% with the use of low-intensity ultrasound. Animal studies indicate that low-intensity ultrasound exposure results in stronger and stiffer callus formation and in acceleration of the endochondral ossification process. Extensive clinical evidence demonstrates that ultrasound represents a safe, noninvasive method of accelerating the healing of fresh fractures of the tibia, the distal aspect of the radius, the scaphoid, and the metatarsals. Clinical studies indicate that ultrasound reduces the confounding effect of smoking and patient age on the fracture-healing process. Ultrasound requires a brief, twenty-minute, daily at-home treatment regimen and has no known contraindications. The effectiveness of low-intensity ultrasound has also been demonstrated in the clinical treatment of delayed unions and nonunions. Fracture-healing is a complex biological process that involves the spatial and temporal orchestration of numerous cell types, hundreds if not thousands of genes, and the intricate organization of an extracellular matrix, all working toward restoring the bone's mechanical strength and rapid return to full function. It has often been argued that nature has optimized this process and thus it would be difficult to interventionally accelerate or augment fracture-healing. How can science conceivably improve upon 600 million years of vertebrate evolution? Nevertheless, it is just this goal that has inspired an intense effort among basic-science and clinical investigators from a vast array of biotechnology and bioengineering disciplines at academic as well as industrial laboratories, to seek a means of accelerating the healing of fractured bones. In this article, the basic-science and clinical evaluation of the use of low-intensity ultrasound is reviewed and the case is made that nature's process of fracture-healing, while elegant, can be accelerated with respect to achieving the ability to support clinically relevant loads. The …
Stochastic Model and Connectivity Dynamics for VANETs in Signalized Road Systems

The space and time dynamics of moving vehicles regulated by traffic signals governs the node connectivity and communication capability of vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs) in urban environments. However, none of the previous studies on node connectivity has considered such dynamics with the presence of traffic lights and vehicle interactions. In fact, most of them assume that vehicles are distributed homogeneously throughout the geographic area, which is unrealistic. We introduce in this paper a stochastic traffic model for VANETs in signalized urban road systems. The proposed model is a composite of the fluid model and stochastic model. The former characterizes the general flow and evolution of the traffic stream so that the average density of vehicles is readily computable, while the latter takes into account the random behavior of individual vehicles. As the key contribution of this paper, we attempt to approximate vehicle interactions and capture platoon formations and dissipations at traffic signals through a density-dependent velocity profile. The stochastic traffic model with approximation of vehicle interactions is evaluated with extensive simulations, and the distributional result of the model is validated against real-world empirical data in London. In general, we show that the fluid model can adequately describe the mean behavior of the traffic stream, while the stochastic model can approximate the probability distribution well even when vehicles interact with each other as their movement is controlled by traffic lights. With the knowledge of the mean vehicular density dynamics and its probability distribution from the stochastic traffic model, we determine the degree of connectivity in the communication network and illustrate that system engineering and planning for optimizing both the transport (in terms of congestion) and communication networks (in terms of connectivity) can be carried out with the proposed model.
Variation of somatic cell count (SCC) of dairy cattle in conditions of Mediterranean region in Croatia

With the aim of analysing the variability of somatic cell count (SCC) of dairy cattle in conditions of Mediterranean region in Croatia, 217,509 test-day records, collected from January 2005 until April 2010, were extracted from HPA (Croatian Agricultural Agency) database. Milk recording in Croatia occurs according to the AT4 milk recording method. SCC in milk samples taken from each lactating cow was analyzed and determined values natural log-transformed (LSCC). The test-day records with SCC value above 200,000 cells/ml (LSCC >2.301) as well as the test-day records recorded after the 500th lactation day were deleted from the dataset. According to the parity, cows were divided into three classes, that is first calvers, cows in second lactation and cows in third and higher lactations. From the total number of cows 64.76% belonged to the Simmental breed, while 35.24% were Holsteins. According to the test date, four measuring season subgroups were created. Cows were also divided in two calving season subgroups regarding the calving date. The temperature and the relative humidity in stable were also recorded at each milk recording. Significant rise of average daily temperature, as expected, was observed from January till July. During summer season besides high temperatures, increased relative humidity produce stress microclimatic condition for dairy cows. For estimation of LSCC variability due to measuring season effect with particular regard to parity and breed a fixed-effect model that take into account the effects of lactation stage, calving and measuring season was used. The significance of differences between the means of the LSCC within the measuring season classes in regard to parity classes and animals' breed was tested with Scheffe test. An increasing trend of LSCC in summer and autumn season was noticed in both analysed breeds regardless the parity class. Regarding the measuring months, in both Simmental and Holstein first calvers, the highest value of LSCC was measured in October and November, while in cows in second as well as in third and higher lactations, the highest values of LSCC were noticed during September, October and November. Regarding the parity class the highest values of LSCC were obtained in both breeds in third and higher lactations. In all cows, regardless the breed and parity, the highest value of LSCC was determined during autumn period, while the lowest value occurred in spring season. In order to control and reduce the level of mastitis in a herd, udder health must be monitored. Somatic cell count measurements provide to breeders the opportunity to monitor and evaluate udder health.
A comparison of fitness functions in a genetic algorithm for acoustic-articulatory parameter inversion of vowels

Articulatory speech synthesis provides an alternative to the state of the art concatenative and formant systems, holding potential for more versatile and expressive artificial speech due to its physical modelling basis. However, a major limitation of practical articulatory synthesis is gaining adequate control of the complex underlying physical models, which stems from a lack of articulatory data. In an effort to procure more data, a Genetic Algorithm approach to Acoustic-Articulatory Parameter Inversion is taken. This paper presents the initial results from testing a number of fitness functions for the Acoustic-Articulatory Parameter Inversion of three vowels, /a/, /o/, and /e/. Three feature vector representations of the vowels were tested; Hertz, Mel-scale, and Cents, in conjunction with three distance metrics. The distance metrics defined the fitness score by calculating the similarity between a candidate and targets feature vector. A Voiced/Un-Voiced constraint was also added as a penalty function, and an indicator of loudness was implemented using a Root Mean Square based co-efficient. The results indicated that certain combinations of the above could lead to convergence towards all three vowels. However, the quality of convergence was not uniform.
A Set-Theoretic Approach to Automated Deduction in Graded Modal Logics

In the paper, we consider the problem of supporting automated reasoning in a large class of knowledge representation formalisms, including terminological and epistemic logics, whose distinctive feature is the ability of representing and reasoning about finite quantities. Each member of this class can be represented using graded modalities, and thus the considered problem can be reduced to the problem of executing graded modal logics. We solve this problem using a set-theoretic approach that first transforms graded modal logics into poly modal logics with infinitely many modalities, and then reduces derivability in such polymodal logics to derivability in a suitable first-order set theory.
Frequent PIK3CA gene amplification and its clinical significance in colorectal cancer

Using a DNA microarray approach to screen for gene copy number changes in 20 colorectal (CR) carcinoma samples and filtering for high‐level DNA copy number changes, we detected an amplicon at 3q26 containing the PIK3CA gene. Fluorescence in situ hybridization was employed for evaluation of PIK3CA amplification on a progression CR tissue microarray containing 448 CR carcinomas, normal mucosa, and adenomas with follow‐up information. PIK3CA amplification (ratio PIK3CA/centromere 3≥2.0) was found in 38% of cancers, while another 19% of tumours had PIK3CA gains (ratio >1.0 but <2.0). Both PIK3CA amplification and gains were associated with high levels of PIK3CA protein expression and no association was seen between PIK3CA amplification and PIK3CA mutation. In a subset of 220 patients who received adjuvant chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy, survival in patients with PIK3CA‐amplified cancers was significantly longer compared with patients with cancers without amplification. This association was independent of stage, grade, histology subtype, gender, and age categories. Interestingly, PIK3CA amplification was also seen in CR adenomas, indicating an early genetic alteration, and was also a frequent event in colorectal carcinogenesis. Furthermore, PIK3CA amplification is an independent prognostic marker for better survival and may be one of the promising markers to define CRC subsets that may maximally benefit from adjuvant therapy. Copyright © 2009 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Software systems through complex networks science: review, analysis and applications

Complex software systems are among most sophisticated human-made systems, yet only little is known about the actual structure of 'good' software. We here study different software systems developed in Java from the perspective of network science. The study reveals that network theory can provide a prominent set of techniques for the exploratory analysis of large complex software system. We further identify several applications in software engineering, and propose different network-based quality indicators that address software design, efficiency, reusability, vulnerability, controllability and other. We also highlight various interesting findings, e.g., software systems are highly vulnerable to processes like bug propagation, however, they are not easily controllable.