Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Use of Human Epididymis 4 and Cancer Antigen 125 Tumor Markers in the Benign or Malignant Differential Diagnosis of Pelvic or Adnexal Masses

Background: Ovarian cancer is one of the highest mortality cancers in gynaecology. Discrimination of benign masses from malignant ones may sometimes become a challenge for the clinician since there is not a reliable tumour marker, thus some unnecessary, highly morbid operations can be performed. Aims: To explore the efficacy of human epididymis 4 (HE 4) and cancer antigen 125 (CA 125) markers in differentiating malignant and benign pelvic masses of ovarian origin and to identify the cut-off points for those markers. Study Design: Prospective study. Methods: Fifty-one patients who were diagnosed and planned to undergo surgery for ovarian mass between June 2008 and December 2008 were enrolled into this study. Preoperative venous blood samples were taken and frozen for marker investigation and final diagnoses were concluded by histopathological examination. After recruitment of all cases CA 125 and HE 4 levels were evaluated. Results: The statistical analysis did not indicate any statistically significant difference between the CA 125 levels of the patients with malignant and benign adnexal masses (p=0.105). The HE 4 levels of the patients with malignant adnexal masses were higher at a statistically significant level compared to the patients with benign adnexal masses (p=0.002). For HE 4 tumour marker and at the cut-off point of >25 pM, sensitivity was 1, specificity 0.40, positive cut-off value 0.19, negative cut-off value 1, accuracy 0.47 and positive likelihood ratio 1.65. Conclusion: Human epididymis 4 is a better diagnostic tool than CA 125 in benign-malignant discrimination of adnexal masses. The cut-off value of 25 pmol/L for human epididymis 4 will contribute to providing proper guidance to patients with adnexal masses and applying the proper treatment method.
Assessing the Genetic Diversity in Crops with Molecular Markers: Theory and Experimental Results with CIMMYT Wheat and Maize Elite Germplasm and Genetic Resources

Abstract A proper choice of a dissimilarity measure is important in surveys investigating genetic relationships amonggermplasm with molecular marker data. The objective of our study was to examine 10 dissimilarity coef-cients widely used in germplasm surveys, with special focus on applications in plant breeding and seedbanks. Inparticular,we (i)investigated the genetical and mathematical properties of these coefcients, (ii)ex-amined consequences of these properties for different areas of application in plant breeding and seed banks,and (iii)determined relationships between these 10 coefcients. The genetical and mathematical concepts ofthe coefcients were described in detail. A Procrustes analysis of a published data set consisting of sevenCIMMYTmaize populations demonstrated close afnity between Euclidean, Rogers', modied Rogers', andCavalli-Sforza and Edwards' dissimilarity on one hand and Nei's standard and Reynolds dissimilarity on theother hand. Our investigations show that genetical and mathematical properties of dissimilarity measuresare of crucial importance when choosing a genetic dissimilarity coefcient for analyzing molecular markerdata. Thepresented results assist experimenters toextractthe maximum amount of information from geneticdataand, thus, facilitate the interpretation of ndings from molecular marker studies on atheoretically soundbasis.
LOGICAL REASONING ABOUT PROGRAMMING OF MATHEMATICAL MACHINES

SUMMARY We always start the solving of a problem with the formulation of its theoretical foundations. If we would like to use mathematical machines (computers) in problem solving, we need to formalize its theoretical foundations as logical reasoning because the programs should really prove the correctness of their results. In our paper we present central ideas of our approach regarding programming as logical reasoning. Our first idea is that the theory in which we reason is the type theory starting with basic types. Our second idea is that the running program is actually a proof in the theory above formulated as the intuitionistic linear version of Gentzen’s calculus. We show that such a synthesis of categorical and linear logic forms a theoretical foundations of programming for mathematical machines.
HCI practices in Malaysia: A reflection of ICT professionals' perspective

Although Human Computer Interaction (HCI) has been practised by Western countries over the last 40 years, very little is known about how HCI is being incorporated in Malaysian practices. We undertook a 12-week ethnographical study aimed at revealing HCI perceptions at different managerial levels in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) departments and agencies in Malaysia. We describe and discuss the factors that either drive or impede technology managers towards HCI awareness, based on the nature of ICT-related/software development in Malaysia. The result of the study indicates that the developers and corporations' overall perception of HCI is influenced by their national and organizational culture. The lack of emphasis on usable interface design and scarce information regarding user studies and evaluation are major concerns. Within this context of developing countries, the difficulty of creating HCI awareness and adopting usability may be due to the complexity of the government's bureaucracy systems. We suggest that stakeholders and policy makers such as the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and the Malaysian Administrative Modernization and Management Planning Unit (MAMPU) are more relevant in influencing and/or reinforcing the incorporation of HCI in the workplace and enhancing the usability of the products and software created in the organization at the managerial level.
An efficient data cleaning algorithm based on attributes selection

In data cleaning, detecting approximately duplicate records in data warehouse is an important task. However, due to the wide range of possible data inconsistencies and the sheer data volume, determining whether two records are equal is not a simple arithmetic predicate. This paper proposes an improved algorithm of approximately duplicate records cleaning based on attributes selection after analyzing the existing basic sorted-neighborhood method (SNM) and multi-pass sorted neighborhood method (MPN), which are widely used in this field.
Abstract Recommendation with Assistance of Interactive User Profile Extraction

Abstraction and user-profile-based search are two important topics in information retrieval. In this paper, we combine these two problems together, and present a user-profile-based meta search system with which the user can read the abstracts of preferred documents. The user profile is represented as list of words, which are either given directly by the user or generated automatically by the system from the user's reading history.
Supercloseness and superconvergence of stabilized low-order finite element discretizations of the Stokes Problem

The supercloseness and superconvergence properties of stabilized finite element methods applied to the Stokes problem are studied. We consider consistent residual based stabilization methods as well as inconsistent local projection type stabilizations. Moreover, we are able to show the supercloseness of the linear part of the MINI-element solution which has been previously observed in practical computations. The results on supercloseness hold on three-directional triangular, axiparallel rectangular, and brick-type meshes, respectively, but extensions to more general meshes are also discussed. Applying an appropriate postprocess to the computed solution, we establish superconvergence results. Numerical examples illustrate the theoretical predictions.
Autonomous wireless sensor network based Building Energy and Environment Monitoring system design

Wireless sensor network technology emerged in recent years with numerous potential applications. The building environment and energy monitoring (BEEM) is among the most important ones. The design of such smart wireless sensing system is presented in this paper. The proposed system consists of low power Tyndall wireless sensor node hardware with light energy harvesting featured power supply and energy management system for long-term deployment. Energy consumption, light level, temperature and humidity parameters are measured and transmitted via a 2.4GHz Zigbee wireless network. Evaluations of the system are conducted in a local office building with a total of 62 nodes operating with varying functions. The evaluation results of the system including the measured energy and environmental data are presented. The evaluation results show that this design is world's first known indoor light energy harvesting powered BEEM system.
Subverting prediction in adversarial settings

We show that two mainstream prediction techniques, support vector machines and decision trees, are easily subverted by inserting carefully-chosen training records. Furthermore, the relationship between the properties of the inserted record(s) and the regions for which the predictor will subsequently misclassify can be inferred, so desired misclassifications can be forced. In adversarial settings, it is plausible that manipulation of this kind will be attempted, so this has implications for the design of prediction systems and the use of off-the-shelf technology, especially as support vector machines are one of the most powerful prediction algorithms known.
Role for ephrinB2 in postnatal lung alveolar development and elastic matrix integrity

Alveoli are formed in the lung by the insertion of secondary tissue folds, termed septa, which are subsequently remodeled to form the mature alveolar wall. Secondary septation requires interplay between three cell types: endothelial cells forming capillaries, contractile interstitial myofibroblasts, and epithelial cells. Here, we report that postnatal lung alveolization critically requires ephrinB2, a ligand for Eph receptor tyrosine kinases expressed by the microvasculature. Mice homozygous for the hypomorphic knockin allele ephrinB2ΔV/ΔV, encoding mutant ephrinB2 with a disrupted C‐terminal PDZ interaction motif, show severe postnatal lung defects including an almost complete absence of lung alveoli and abnormal and disorganized elastic matrix. Lung alveolar formation is not sensitive to loss of ephrinB2 cytoplasmic tyrosine phosphorylation sites. Postnatal day 1 mutant lungs show extracellular matrix alterations without differences in proportions of major distal cell populations. We conclude that lung alveolar formation relies on endothelial ephrinB2 function. Developmental Dynamics 237:2220–2234, 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Orofacial Neuropathic Pain Leads to a Hyporesponsive Barrel Cortex with Enhanced Structural Synaptic Plasticity

Chronic pain is a long-lasting debilitating condition that is particularly difficult to treat due to the lack of identified underlying mechanisms. Although several key contributing processes have been described at the level of the spinal cord, very few studies have investigated the supraspinal mechanisms underlying chronic pain. Using a combination of approaches (cortical intrinsic imaging, immunohistochemical and behavioural analysis), our study aimed to decipher the nature of functional and structural changes in a mouse model of orofacial neuropathic pain, focusing on cortical areas involved in various pain components. Our results show that chronic neuropathic orofacial pain is associated with decreased haemodynamic responsiveness to whisker stimulation in the barrel field cortex. This reduced functional activation is likely due to the increased basal neuronal activity (measured indirectly using cFos and phospho-ERK immunoreactivity) observed in several cortical areas, including the contralateral barrel field, motor and cingulate cortices. In the same animals, immunohistochemical analysis of markers for active pre- or postsynaptic elements (Piccolo and phospho-Cofilin, respectively) revealed an increased immunofluorescence in deep cortical layers of the contralateral barrel field, motor and cingulate cortices. These results suggest that long-lasting orofacial neuropathic pain is associated with exacerbated neuronal activity and synaptic plasticity at the cortical level.
The impact of subprime mortgage crisis on the short-run and long-run volatility components of the Malaysian stock market

This study investigates the long-run and short-run movements of two emerging stock market volatilities using a volatility decomposition methodology. We studied the impact of 2007–2008 subprime mortgage crisis on the transitory and permanent volatility components in terms of two empirical stylized facts, the leverage effect and volatility persistence. In order to do so, the long spanning data are separated into three different periods. For the former stylized fact, the crisis impact on the leverage effect is mainly temporary with no long-run effect to the stock markets. This finding explains that the leverage effect is mostly difficult to adjust in the short-run transitory volatility during the crisis periods. However with proper risk management and long term strategies, most of the market participants are able to anticipate and handle this news impact in the long-run. For the latter stylized fact, the crisis has slightly increased the volatility persistence in all the markets. From the viewpoint of heterogeneous market hypothesis, the higher intensity of volatility persistence implies the stock markets are less informational efficient.
A resource-based view on China strategy

The research suggests that Chinese companies do not subscribe to ‘western’ strategy theory. As they rapidly internationalise through massive Foreign Direct Investment, Chinese companies are developing new perspectives on achieving competitiveness. A comparison of the Resource-Based View of strategy (RBV) constructs from western literature with identified (indigent) Chinese business strategies found that competitive advantage (CA) was derived from an adherence to the Confucian doctrines. This adherence to Confucian doctrines produced constructs common to both Western and Chinese business strategies. The most successful companies in China actually combined eastern and western strategic approaches, but focussed on the development of relationships to create and maintain CA, instead of focussing on the development of actual resources as recommended by the RBV.
On Solar Cycle Predictions and Reconstructions

Abstract : Generally, there are two procedures for solar cycle predictions: the empirical methods - statistical methods based on extrapolations and precursor methods - and methods based on dynamo models. Aims. The goal of the present analysis is to forecast the strength and epochs of the next solar cycle, to investigate proxies for grand solar minima and to reconstruct the relative sunspot number in the Maunder minimum. Methods. We calculate the asymmetry of the ascending and descending solar cycle phases (Method 1) and use this parameter as a prow for solar activity on longer time scales. Further, we correlate the relative sunspot numbers in the epochs of solar activity minima and maxima (Method 2) and estimate the parameters of an autoregressive moving average model (ARMA, Method 3). Finally, the power spectrum of data obtained with the Method 1 is analysed and the Methods 1 and 3 are combined. Results. Signatures of the Maunder. Dalton and Gleissberg minima were found with Method 1. A period of about 70 years, somewhat shorter than the Gleissberg period was identified in the asymmetry data. The maximal smoothed monthly sunspot number during the Maunder minimum was reconstructed and found to be in the range 0-35 (Method 1). The estimated Wolf number (also called the relative sunspot number) of the next solar maximum is in the range 88-102 (Method 2). Method 3 predicts the next solar maximum between 2011 and 2012 and the next solar minimum for 2017. Also, it forecasts the relative sunspot number in the next maximum to be 90 +/- 27. A combination of the Methods 1 and 3 gives for the next solar maximum relative sunspot numbers between 78 and 99. Conclusions. The asymmetry parameter provided by Method 1 is a good proxy for solar activity in the past, also in the periods for which no relative sunspot numbers are available. Our prediction for the next solar cycle No. 24 is that it will be weaker than the last cycle, No. 23. This prediction is based on various independent methods.
Examining framings of geoengineering using Q methodology

Despite (or perhaps reflecting) widespread awareness of its ambiguity, the term ‘geoengineering’ has in recent years become massively more prominent. Academic, policy and civil society circles routinely use this term to describe, support or oppose a diverse range of techniques and ideas. This study aims to contribute to understandings of ways in which variously envisaged approaches to ‘geoengineering’ of the global climate are currently being framed. It asks not only about variously viewed implications of geoengineering itself, but also what these diverse framings can reveal about wider politics in contemporary debates around climate change, science and technology. The paper applies Q methodology to analyse geoengineering as a subjective discursive construct, the bounds of which are continually negotiated and contested. 35 participants from a variety of disciplinary and institutional backgrounds in the UK, US, Canada and Japan undertook a ‘Q sort’ of 48 opinion statements about geoengineering between December 2012 and February 2013. Four distinctive framings emerged from this analysis, labelled: ‘At the very least we need more research’; ‘We are the planetary maintenance engineers’; ‘Geoengineering is a political project’; and ‘Let’s focus on Carbon. ’ Results indicate a strong polarity around divergently-construed pros and cons of geoengineering as a whole – underscoring the political salience of this term. But additional axes of difference suggest a more nuanced picture than straightforward pro/anti positioning. The ambiguity of the term is argued to offer interpretive flexibility for articulating diverse interests within and across contending framings. The paper questions whether increasing terminological precision will necessarily facilitate greater clarity in governance discussions or public engagement, and argues that the merits of any given form of precision will depend on particular framings. Much ambiguity in this area may thus be irreducible, and hence the challenge lies rather in realising the wider implications of the political pluralities this reveals.
A dynamic mode of mitotic bookmarking by transcription factors

During mitosis, transcription is shut off, chromatin condenses, and most transcription factors (TFs) are reported to be excluded from chromosomes. How do daughter cells re-establish the original transcription program? Recent discoveries that a select set of TFs remain bound on mitotic chromosomes suggest a potential mechanism for maintaining transcriptional programs through the cell cycle termed mitotic bookmarking. Here we report instead that many TFs remain associated with chromosomes, and that the exclusion previously described is largely a fixation artifact. In particular, most TFs we tested are significantly enriched on mitotic chromosomes. Studies with Sox2 reveal that this mitotic interaction is more dynamic than in interphase and requires both DNA binding and nuclear import. Furthermore, this dynamic mode results from lack of transcriptional activation rather than decreased accessibility of underlying DNA sequences in mitosis. The nature of the cross-linking artifact prompts careful re-examination of the role of TFs in mitotic bookmarking. Highlights Many transcription factors bind to mitotic chromosomes Sox2 mitotic interaction is dynamic and requires DNA binding and nuclear import DNA remains highly accessible in mitotic chromosomes Formaldehyde-based cross-linking leads to mis-localization of TFs
Proactive Control Strategies for Overt and Covert Go/NoGo Tasks: An Electrical Neuroimaging Study

Proactive and reactive inhibition are generally intended as mechanisms allowing the withholding or suppression of overt movements. Nonetheless, inhibition could also play a pivotal role during covert actions (i.e., potential motor acts not overtly performed, despite the activation of the motor system), such as Motor Imagery (MI). In a previous EEG study, we analyzed cerebral activities reactively triggered during two cued Go/NoGo tasks, requiring execution or withholding of overt or covert imagined actions, respectively. This study revealed activation of pre-supplementary motor area (pre-SMA) and right inferior frontal gyrus (rIFG), key nodes of the network underpinning reactive inhibition of overt responses in NoGo trials, also during MI enactment, enabling the covert nature of the imagined motor response. Taking into account possible proactive engagement of inhibitory mechanisms by cue signals, for an exhaustive interpretation of these previous findings in the present study we analyzed EEG activities elicited during the preparatory phase of our cued overt and covert Go/NoGo tasks. Our results demonstrate a substantial overlap of cerebral areas activated during proactive recruitment and subsequent reactive implementation of motor inhibition in both overt and covert actions; also, different involvement of pre-SMA and rIFG emerged, in accord with the intended type (covert or overt) of incoming motor responses. During preparation of the overt Go/NoGo task, the cue is encoded in a pragmatic mode, as it primes the possible overt motor response programs in motor and premotor cortex and, through preactivation of a pre-SMA-related decisional mechanism, it triggers a parallel preparation for successful response selection and/or inhibition during the response phase. Conversely, the preparatory strategy for the covert Go/NoGo task is centered on priming of an inhibitory mechanism in rIFG, tuned to the instructed covert modality of motor performance and instantiated during subsequent MI, which allows the imagined response to remain a potential motor act.
Cost Savings, Market Performance, and Economic Benefits of the U.S. Acid Rain Program

This paper reports on four areas of research concerning Title IV of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments that regulates emissions of SO2 from electricity generation. The first is the costs of the program over the long-run as estimated from the current perspective taking into account recent changes in fuel markets and technology. We compare projected costs with potential cost savings that can be attributable to formal trading of emission allowances. The second area is an evaluation of how well allowance trading has worked to date. The third area is the relationship between compliance costs and economic costs from a general equilibrium perspective. The fourth area is a comparison of benefits and costs for the program.