Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Matrix metalloproteinase-9 as a prognostic factor in gastric cancer: a meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) is associated with disruption of basement membranes of blood vessels and promotion of metastasis through the lymphatics. However, its prognostic value for survival in patients with gastric cancer remains controversial. METHOD We therefore conducted a meta-analysis of the published literature in order to clarify the impact of MMP-9. Clinical studies were selected for further analysis if they provided an independent assessment of MMP-9 in gastric cancer and reported analysis of survival data according to MMP-9 expression. RESULTS A total of 11 studies, covering 1700 patients, were included for meta- analysis. A summary hazard ratio (HR) of all studies and sub-group hazard ratios were calculated. The combined HR suggested that a positive MMP-9 expression had an impact on overall survival: 1.25 (95% confidence interval 1.11-1.40) in all eligible studies; 1.13 (1.06-1.20) in 8 studies detecting MMP-9 by immunohistochemistry; 1.36 (1.12-1.65) in 7 studies from Asia. Only one study for DFS showed a significant impact on disease free survival (HR 1.73, 95%CI 1.27-2.34). CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggested that MMP-9 protein expression might be a factor for a poor prognosis in patients with gastric cancer. However, the association was rather weak, so that more prospective studies should further explore the prognostic impact of MMP-9 mRNA and correlations between MMP-9 and clinicopathological characteristics.
Diet, Microbiota, Obesity, and NAFLD: A Dangerous Quartet

Recently, the importance of the gut-liver-adipose tissue axis has become evident. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the hepatic disease of a systemic metabolic disorder that radiates from energy-surplus induced adiposopathy. The gut microbiota has tremendous influences in our whole-body metabolism, and is crucial for our well-being and health. Microorganisms precede humans in more than 400 million years and our guest flora evolved with us in order to help us face aggressor microorganisms, to help us maximize the energy that can be extracted from nutrients, and to produce essential nutrients/vitamins that we are not equipped to produce. However, our gut microbiota can be disturbed, dysbiota, and become itself a source of stress and injury. Dysbiota may adversely impact metabolism and immune responses favoring obesity and obesity-related disorders such as insulin resistance/diabetes mellitus and NAFLD. In this review, we will summarize the latest evidence of the role of microbiota/dysbiota in diet-induced obesity and NAFLD, as well as the potential therapeutic role of targeting the microbiota in this set.
Using biologic and ecologic factors to identify vulnerable infants and toddlers

The primary purpose of this study was to evaluate the outcomes of a population based screening model designed to identify developmentally disabled and substantially at-risk infants and toddlers. Data indicated that while child and family centered screening components each made a unique contribution to the identification of vulnerable children, parental factors within the algorithm accounted for a greater portion of those children who performed poorly on follow-up examination. Additionally, the prevalence of vulnerable children identified, and the factors that accounted for positive identification, varied considerably by chronologic age.
Does missing the maturity gap predict drug abstention among adolescents?: An analysis of Moffitt's developmental taxonomy

Moffitt’s developmental taxonomy (1993) has generated considerable empirical research over the past two decades, most of which has centered on life-course persistent and adolescence-limited offenders. In an effort to expand the literature, this study examined the taxonomy’s maturity gap hypothesis which links this developmental event to deviance and delinquency. Using this theoretical framework, I tested Moffitt’s hypothesis to determine if those who “miss” the maturity gap are more likely to abstain from the drug use. Using data drawn from the National Longitudinal Study for Adolescent Health (Add Health), and employing the Barnes and Beaver (2009) statistical model, this study assessed the likelihood of drug abstention among male and female adolescents. Utilizing logistic regression, this analysis examined the impact of the maturity gap on drug abstention while controlling for other known correlates of drug use (e.g., age, self-control). The findings partially supported the taxonomy, indicating that the maturity gap was significantly and negatively related to minor drug use abstention for males, but not for females. Implications for Moffitt’s theory and suggestions for future research are discussed. key words: adolescent, delinquency, drug use, maturity gap
Quantitative assessment of applications for cloud bursting

Cloud bursting is a deployment model in cloud computing that allows organizations to utilize additional computing resources temporarily from the public cloud, for running certain heavy-duty applications. However, not all applications in an organization are suitable for cloud bursting, due to several reasons. Cloud bursting of applications is constrained by the way those applications are built and deployed inside an organization's internal IT infrastructure. While certain applications may allow cloud bursting from an architecture perspective, they may not yield the anticipated business outcomes. Thus, without a formal assessment of applications, organizations cannot identify the ones that could produce maximum business benefits from the cloud bursting model. In this paper, we discuss an assessment framework that we could use to evaluate applications for their suitability for cloud bursting. The framework makes use of a parameter based approach where an application's cloud bursting suitability is measured using a number of relevant parameters. We also present three case studies where we have applied this framework and scored the applications using a selected set of assessment parameters.
Enhancement of Error-Correction Coding of Spatial Watermarks in Gray Code

This paper demonstrates how channel coding can improve the robustness of spatial image watermarks against signal distortion caused by lossy data compression such as the JPEG scheme by taking advantage of the properties of Gray code. Two error-correction coding (ECC) schemes are used here: One scheme, referred to as the vertical ECC (VECC), is to encode information bits in a pixel by error-correction coding where the Gray code is used to improve the performance. The other scheme, referred to as the horizontal ECC (HECC), is to encode information bits in an image plane. In watermarking, HECC generates a codeword representing watermark bits, and each bit of the codeword is encoded by VECC. Simple single-error-correcting block codes are used in VECC and HECC. Several experiments of these schemes were conducted on test images. The result demonstrates that the error-correcting performance of HECC just depends on that of VECC, and accordingly, HECC enhances the capability of VECC. Consequently, HECC with appropriate codes can achieve stronger robustness to JPEG—caused distortions than non-channel-coding watermarking schemes.
Loose Synchronization for Large-Scale Networked Systems

Traditionally, synchronization barriers ensure that no cooperating process advances beyond a specified point until all processes have reached that point. In heterogeneous large-scale distributed computing environments, with unreliable network links and machines that may become overloaded and unresponsive, traditional barrier semantics are too strict to be effective for a range of emerging applications. In this paper, we explore several relaxations, and introduce a partial barrier, a synchronization primitive designed to enhance liveness in loosely coupled networked systems. Partial barriers are robust to variable network conditions; rather than attempting to hide the asynchrony inherent to wide-area settings, they enable appropriate application-level responses. We evaluate the improved performance of partial barriers by integrating them into three publicly available distributed applications running across PlanetLab. Further, we show how partial barriers simplify a re-implementation of MapReduce that targets wide-area environments.
Outdoor air pollution, climatic changes and allergic bronchial asthma

Both the prevalence and severity of respiratory allergic diseases such as bronchial asthma have increased in recent years. Among the factors implicated in this “epidemic” are indoor and outdoor airborne pollutants. Urbanisation with its high levels of vehicle emissions and Westernised lifestyle parallels the increase in respiratory allergy in most industrialised countries, and people who live in urban areas tend to be more affected by the disease than those of rural areas. In atopic subjects, exposure to air pollution increases airway responsiveness to aeroallergens. Pollen is a good model with which to study the interrelationship between air pollution and respiratory allergic diseases. Biological aerosols carrying antigenic proteins, such as pollen grains or plant-derived paucimicronic components, can produce allergic symptoms. By adhering to the surface of these airborne allergenic agents, air pollutants could modify their antigenic properties. Several factors influence this interaction, i.e., type of air pollutant, plant species, nutrient balance, climatic factors, degree of airway sensitisation and hyperresponsiveness of exposed subjects. However, the airway mucosal damage and the impaired mucociliary clearance induced by air pollution may facilitate the penetration and the access of inhaled allergens to the cells of the immune system, and so promote airway sensitisation. As a consequence, an enhanced immunoglobulin E-mediated response to aeroallergens and enhanced airway inflammation favoured by air pollution could account for the increasing prevalence of allergic respiratory diseases in urban areas.
Super‐resolution track‐density imaging of thalamic substructures: Comparison with high‐resolution anatomical magnetic resonance imaging at 7.0T

The thalamus is one of the most important brain structures, with strong connections between subcortical and cortical areas of the brain. Most of the incoming information to the cortex passes through the thalamus. Accurate identification of substructures of the thalamus is therefore of great importance for the understanding of human brain connectivity. Direct visualization of thalamic substructures, however, is not easily achieved with currently available magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), including ultra‐high field MRI such as 7.0T, mainly due to the limited contrast between the relevant structures. Recently, improvements in ultra‐high field 7.0T MRI have opened the possibility of observing thalamic substructures by well‐adjusted high‐resolution T1‐weighted imaging. Moreover, the recently developed super‐resolution track‐density imaging (TDI) technique, based on results from whole‐brain fiber‐tracking, produces images with sub‐millimeter resolution. These two methods enable us to show markedly improved anatomical detail of the substructures of the thalamus, including their detailed locations and directionality. In this study, we demonstrate the role of TDI for the visualization of the substructures of the thalamic nuclei, and relate these images to T1‐weighted imaging at 7.0T MRI. Hum Brain Mapp 34:2538–2548, 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Cardiovascular magnetic resonance at 3 Tesla: advantages, limitations and clinical potential.

(CMR) imaging is playing a rapidly expanding role in twenty-first century cardiology, with extensive clinical applications for standard magnetic resonance (MR) systems operating at a field strength of 1.5 Tesla (T). Recently, there has been growing clinical and research interest in cardiac imaging at higher magnetic field strengths (3 T or more). High field imaging is attractive because it has the potential to improve the signal-tonoise ratio (SNR) significantly compared to imaging at 1.5 T, because of the increased polarisation of spins. With novel pulse sequence design, this SNR boost can be used to improve spatial and/or temporal resolution. In addition, the increased SNR allows one to take advantage of parallel imaging techniques, such as sensitivity encoding (SENSE), that have emerged as major tools for speeding up data acquisition. With respect to cardiac examinations, parallel imaging allows the use of shorter breath-holds; this in turn reduces the radiofrequency (RF) energy deposition in the subjects, which is a concern when imaging at a higher field strength. With parallel imaging, the gain in speed is traded for a reduced SNR, according to MR physics theory. The SNR loss with parallel imaging might be compensated for by the inherent gain in SNR at the higher static field strength. Apart from the advantages, several adverse effects of higher field strengths should be taken into account. These drawbacks include mainly increased static field (B0) inhomogeneities and shorter T2 * values, which may cause dark banding and susceptibility artefacts, and RF power deposition limitations which may remove flexibility for general sequence design (specific absorption rate should not exceed 4 W/Kg). Other potential impediments include increased T1 values, RF field (B1) distortions and changed tissue dielectric constants or body dielectric resonances. Furthermore, at higher field strengths efficient myocardial motion suppression (reliable R-wave triggering) becomes more challenging as a result of the amplified magneto-hydrodynamic effect. In terms of comparison between standard (1.5 T) and high field strength, morphological and functional cardiac imaging using spin-echo or conventional gradientecho sequences, respectively, show clearly improved results at 3 T. Currently, balanced steady-state free precession (SSFP) techniques represent the method of choice for assessing cardiac function at 1.5 T. SSFP techniques may also benefit considerably from the higher SNR at 3 T, despite the presence of artefacts (mainly dark bands) caused by disruption of the steady state due to static field inhomogeneity (Figures 1 and 2). Moreover, it has been demonstrated that the application of higher field strengths is beneficial for myocardial tagging techniques, since the saturation bands show prolonged duration compared to 1.5 T.
Controversies in Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation for the Treatment of Multiple Myeloma

The treatment paradigm for multiple myeloma has evolved considerably over the past three decades with the incorporation of autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) in upfront therapy for eligible patients, and the use of novel agents. As a result, although multiple myeloma remains an incurable disease, clinical outcomes have significantly improved. In this chapter we will review the seminal studies that established the role of ASCT in multiple myeloma and as well as the current controversies with regard to the role of ASCT in the management of myeloma in the era of novel agents. We will review conditioning regimens, post-transplant maintenance strategies with novel agents and immune modulation. We will summarize the current data on early versus late ASCT, single versus tandem transplant and the role of ASCT in patients with relapsed or progressive disease.
Limb Regeneration

The events leading to the formation of a normal limb during development have been studied and reviewed extensively (1-3). At the outset, the limb in the embryo is induced to begin its development by the somites in the future limb-forming region (4). The appearance of the limb is manifested by the formation of a small bump which contains a core of mesenchyme (loose embryonic connective tissue) covered by epithelium. The epithelium rapidly becomes specialized at the tip of the bump into a thickened ridge, usually called the apical ectodermal ridge (5). An epithelial–mesenchymal interaction ensues between the underlying tis sue and this ridge such that the ridge directs differentiation and outgrowth of the limb, while the underlying tissue produces a substance or substances that preserve the existence of the ridge. Much literature documents the details of this interaction (6-9). In addition, events occur which are not entirely understood, but which result in polarization of the outgrowing limb along the proximodistal, dorsoventral, and craniocaudal axes. The polarization of the craniocaudal axis has been ascribed to the activities of a caudal organizing region near the base of the limb (9). In any event, the limb continues to extend and the tip flattens into a paddle-shaped structure. Internally, some of the mesenchyme condenses into models for the future bones.
Negative inotropic effect of adrenomedullin in isolated adult rabbit cardiac ventricular myocytes.

BACKGROUND Adrenomedullin (AM) is a potent vasodilator peptide. AM-induced vasodilatation is mediated by an increase of NO as well as cAMP. Both AM and binding sites for this peptide have been found in cardiac tissue, indicating the possible existence of an autocrine or paracrine system of AM in the heart. METHODS AND RESULTS Myocytes were isolated by use of retrograde coronary perfusion with physiological solution containing collagenase and hyaluronidase from adult rabbit ventricles. Contraction of cardiac myocytes was traced with a video motion detector, and [Ca2+]i was measured with indo 1 at 37 degrees C. The Ica was measured with a whole-cell patch clamp at 23 degrees C. AM and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), another member of the same peptide family, showed a concentration-dependent negative inotropic effect (10(-7) mol/L AM: contraction amplitude, 64 +/- 7% of control; [Ca2+]i, 52 +/- 5% of control; n = 10; 10(-6) mol/L CGRP: contraction amplitude, 64 +/- 25%; [Ca2+]i, 70 +/- 3%; n = 5; mean +/- SD). Ica was decreased to 60 +/- 39% by superfusion with AM after the cessation of NG-monomethyl-L-arginine (L-NMMA), an NO synthase inhibitor. Pretreatment with L-NMMA (10 mumol/L) abolished the negative inotropic effect of AM, whereas switching from AM+L-NMMA to AM+L-arginine (1 mmol/L) restored it. Superfusion with 8-bromo-cGMP also showed a negative inotropic effect. AM significantly increased the intracellular content of cGMP, a second messenger of NO, but not that of cAMP. AM (10 nmol/L) blunted the effect of 1 mumol/L forskolin. CONCLUSIONS AM has a negative inotropic effect and decreased both [Ca2+]i and Ica, with these effects being at least party mediated via the L-arginine-NO pathway in adult rabbit ventricular myocytes.
On-line fountain codes for semi-random loss channels

A fountain coding framework is proposed that endows receivers with the ability to monitor and control the decoding progress given the instantaneous network conditions. These online features allow an optimal recovery from losses manifested by adversarial or other not purely random processes. A uni-partite graph structure and accompanying algorithms are used to efficiently calculate optimal instantaneous degrees. Using analysis of random-graph processes, the average overhead of a simplified scheme is shown to be upper bounded by 0.236, significantly lower than any known on-line fountain scheme.
Party Elites and Women Candidates: The Shape of Bias

ABSTRACT Using a four state survey of party county chairs and locally elected women, this study finds support for the notion that potential women candidates are subject to bias in recruitment that hinders the cause of electing more women to state legislatures and Congress. It is hypothesized that bias is most likely due to one of two processes: one, the outgroup effect where negative evaluations of women as candidates are predicated on their lack of surface similarity to the predominantly male party elite, or two, the distribution effect where negative evaluations of women as candidates are predicated on the relative paucity of women in high status positions generally and politics specifically. Strong support was found for the outgroup effect, as party chairs consistently preferred candidates more like themselves. Given the ubiquity of men in the party elite, such outgroup biased attitudes represent a significant hurdle for prospective women candidates.
QoE-Driven Joint Radio and Transport Optimized EPS Bearer Rates of Multi-Services in LTE

This paper proposes an efficient optimization algorithm to dynamically control the Evolved Packet System (EPS) bearer rates to transport various services between the UE and Evolved Packet Core (EPC) in a LTE Femtocell network scenario. The algorithm is focused on improving the accumulated QoE in the networks and takes joint consideration of limited radio and transport resource so as to leverage the resource management in LTE Radio Access Network (RAN) and transport network. In case of link congestion applications running on TCP tend to share the capacity equally. However, different traffic types have different QoE behaviors and hence sharing the resource equally will lead to a non-optimal aggregated QoE. The proposed algorithm will solve this problem by considering the QoE of individual application flows. We formulate the problem as a convex optimization problem, which maximizes the aggregated QoE, represented by Mean Opinion Score (MOS) value, of all users using different applications, and then solve it using Lagrangian relaxation method. The performance of our algorithms is investigated and evaluated by simulations. The simulations show that our proposed QoE-driven rate shaping algorithm results in a significantly better aggregated QoE compared to the legacy scheme that with fixed rate shaping, especially in heavily congested scenarios. Moreover, a discussion on how often to adjust the shaping rates is given based on the complexity and performance investigations.
ITU-R and WINNER II path loss modeling of femtocells

As cellular network users continue to grow; there is a need for in-creased user capacity, higher throughput and improved system performance. An important issue affecting cellular networks is to make services available to re-gions of bad or no reception. Various standards and techniques such as, anten-nas, relays and hotspots are used in achieving this and one of the most reliable is a technique that involves bringing the transmitter and receiver closer to each other. This enhances the performance of the receiver by ensuring a high quality link. In this context, Femtocells are another promising technology to improve indoor coverage; these are short range low-powered base stations and usually installed by home users. However, the statistical analysis retrieved by deploying femtocells on a large scale does not reflect the behavior of a single femtocell. Moreover, the interference mitigation techniques employed take into considera-tion densely deployed FAPs which is not applicable in a scenario where there are only a handful of femtocells. This paper examines the influence of LTE-femtocells on a small scale in an indoor to indoor environment by comparing two well known path loss models ITU-R and WINNER II. To achieve this, a site specific scenario is modeled to investigate pathloss, received power, and SINR to show the behavior of a single femtocell as it experiences the abrupt fluctua-tions under the influence of co-tier interference.