Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Kidney Cancer in Canada: The Rapidly Increasing Incidence of Adenocarcinoma in Adults and Seniors

Purpose: To examine kidney cancer incidence and mortality patterns since 1969 in Canada.Method: Linear regression of the log rates was used to estimate secular trends by age group and sex, and age-period-cohort models were fitted to examine changes in kidney cancer and renal adenocarcinoma incidence rates.Results: A substantial increase in incidence rates was observed among those 35 years and older, with average increases of 2.5% or more annually for both sexes. Age-period-cohort modelling suggested that much of this increase resulted from a period effect. Changes in mortality were much more modest, especially among those aged 0–34, for whom mortality rates actually declined by an average of 4.2% and 5.4% annually for males and females respectively.Conclusions: Kidney cancer incidence rates have increased significantly, especially renal adenocarcinoma among adults and seniors. Diagnostic improvements and increasing levels of obesity in the Canadian population may have contributed to these trends. RésuméObjectif: Étudier l’incidence du cancer du rein et les tendances de la mortalité au Canada depuis 1969. Méthode: La régression linéaire des logarithmes de taux a été utilsée pour estimer les tendances générales en fonction des groupes d’âge et de sexe. Des modèles de cohorte par âge ont été ajustés en vue d’étudier la variation des taux d’incidence du cancer du rein et de l’adénocarci-nome rénal. Résultats: L’étude a révélé une augmentation importante du taux d’incidence chez les personnes âgées de 35 ans et plus. L’augmentation moyenne est de 2,5 % par an ou plus pour les deux sexes. Cette modélisation semble indiquer que l’augmentation des taux est due avant tout à un effet lié à des périodes. Les variations des taux de mortalité étaient beaucoup moins importantes, surtout chez les personnes âgées de 0 à 34 ans. Dans cette tranche d’âge, le taux de mortalité a diminué en moyenne de 4,2 % par an chez les hommes et de 5,4 % par an chez les femmes.Conclusions: Les taux d’incidence du cancer du rein ont augmenté de façon significative, surtout ceux de l’adénocarcinome rénal chez les personnes d’âge moyen et les personnes âgées. Il est possible que de meilleures méthodes diagnostiques et un accroissement de l’obésité dans la population canadienne aient influé sur les tendances observées.
Hapten–protein binding: from theory to practical application in the in vitro prediction of skin sensitization

In view of the forthcoming European Union ban on in vivo testing of cosmetic and toiletry ingredients, following the publication of the 7th amendment to the Cosmetics Directive, the search for practical, alternative, non‐animal approaches is gathering pace. For the end‐point of skin sensitization, the ultimate goal, i.e. the development and validation of alternative in vitro/in silico assays by 2013, may be achieved through a better understanding of the skin sensitization process on the cellular and molecular levels. One of the key molecular events in skin sensitization is protein haptenation, i.e. the chemical modification of self‐skin protein(s) thus forming macromolecular immunogens. This concept is widely accepted and in theory can be used to explain the sensitizing capacity of many known skin sensitizers. Thus, the principle of protein or peptide haptenation could be used in in vitro assays to predict the sensitization potential of a new chemical entity. In this review, we consider some of the theoretical aspects of protein haptenation, how mechanisms of protein haptenation can be investigated experimentally and how we can use such knowledge in the development of novel, alternative approaches for predicting skin sensitization potential in the future.
Connection Assignments for Probabilistically Diagnosable Systems

This correspondence is concerned with probabilistic fault diagnosis for digital systems. A graph-theoretic model of a diagnosable system introduced by Preparata et al.[3] is considered in which a system is made up of a number of units with the probability of failure. The necessary and sufficient conditions are obtained for the existence of testing links (a connection) to form probabilistically t-diagnosable systems with and without repair. Methods for connection assignments are given for probabilistic fault diagnosis procedures with and without repair. Maheshwari and Hakimi [10] gave the necessary and sufficient condition for a system to be probabilistically t-diagnosable Without repair. In this correspondence, we show the necessary and sufficient condition for a system to be probabilistically t-diagnosable with repair.
Service Recovery Paradox: A Meta-Analysis

The Service Recovery Paradox (SRP) has emerged as an important effect in the marketing literature. However, empirical research testing the SRP has produced mixed results, with only some studies supporting this paradox. Because of these inconsistencies, a meta-analysis was conducted to integrate the studies dealing with the SRP and to test whether studies' characteristics influence the results. The analyses show that the cumulative mean effect of the SRP is significant and positive on satisfaction, supporting the SRP, but nonsignificant on repurchase intentions, word-of-mouth, and corporate image, suggesting that there is no effect of the SRP on these variables. Additional analyses of moderator variables find that design (cross-sectional versus longitudinal), subject (student versus nonstudent), and service category (hotel, restaurant, and others) influence the effect of SRP on satisfaction. Finally, implications for managers and directions for future research are presented.
Unambiguous detection of migrating targets with wideband radar in Gaussian clutter

In this paper the problem of unambiguous moving target detection using wideband radar is considered. Doppler ambiguities, which are present in the low pulse repetition frequency mode, are transformed into ambiguous sidelobes of targets and clutter using range migration effect. However, the level of these sidelobes is typically high, such that standard detectors suffer from false alarms generated by the ambiguous sidelobes of real targets. To remove these false alarms two new detectors assuming Gaussian distribution of clutter and exploiting high resolution spectral estimation are developed. These detectors are based on spectral estimation obtained with non-parametric Iterative Adaptive Approach from spectrum analysis and satisfy bounded false alarm condition. Approach to reduce the number of reference cells for covariance matrix estimation is discussed. The benefits of the proposed detectors are demonstrated via numerical simulations showing improvement over existing algorithms.
The time domain response of BCI transformers

A representative bulk current injection transformer is characterized experimentally in both the time and frequency domains with the goal of quantitatively predicting its time domain response to the trapezoidal pulse specified in MIL-STD 461E. The time domain responses of the representative transformer, as computed from the experimentally obtained frequency domain transfer function and measured directly in the time domain, are in good agreement. We present for the first time a figure of merit, the time-domain pulse injection efficiency, which indicates the fraction of the available pulse energy from the generator that is inductively coupled to a particular structure such as a test fixture. This concept is generalized to the time-gated pulse injection efficiency in order to account for a finite time window. It is seen that about 32.5 percent of the available energy in the trapezoidal pulse is delivered to the test fixture and that of this fraction most (30 percent of the total available energy) is delivered during a 30 nanosecond window, despite the overall extremely long time response of the probe. Finally, frequency domain power efficiency measurements are presented and compared with the time domain pulse injection efficiency.
The Adaptability of Pupils to Manuscript Writing

Many school superintendents are interested in introducing manuscript writing into their schools, but they frequently hesitate for fear that the sudden change from cursive writing to manuscript writing will be detrimental to the child's writing performance. Those who must assume the responsibility of recommending the change to manuscript writing wonder whether or not a stage of confusion will be produced in the child so that he can do neither manuscript nor cursive writing. The problem was especially acute in Shaker Heights, a rapidly growing suburb of Cleveland, where there is an increase in the school population of approximately five hundred pupils a year. The teachers and staff were not only disturbed over the possible effect incident to the wholesale adoption of manuscript writing on the current school population but were equally interested in the effect on the handwriting of those pupils who would be continuously entering the system from other schools in which only cursive writing was taught. No conclusive experimental data on this problem were found. The staff, however, decided to drop cursive writing and adopt manuscript writing in Grades I-VI, inclusive. This change was initiated through a series of teachers' meetings and class demonstrations by experts in manuscript writing. After manuscript writing had been taught for three and one-half years, a complete survey was made in December, 1929, to determine the success of the handwriting program. The data from this survey permitted the formulation of an answer to the original problem of the effect on the child's performance of changing from cursive writing to manuscript writing. This article presents this particular aspect of the survey results. The survey was carried on by the research department under 617
APPENDIX TO : “ Do Matching Frictions Explain Unemployment ? Not in Bad Times . ”

Condition (10) cannot hold for 0 < c < 1 l · (1 b). Thus limc! 0 q(c) = +• and limc! 0 f (q(c)) = 1. Equation (3) implies limc! 0 n(c) = 1. I use a similar argument to prove Proposition 3 but I exploit equilibrium condition (13) instead of condition (10). Finally, I use the same argument to prove Proposition 2 but I exploit equilibrium condition (12) instead of condition (10). (I also use the fact that n  1 such that n1 a  1). Proof of Proposition 4. When a aR, I follow the proof of Proposition 2 but I exploit equilibrium condition (14) instead of condition (12). When a < aR, the result follows from the continuity of all functions involved in equilibrium condition (14).
Rotation and Gray Scale Transform Invariant Texture Identification using Wavelet Decomposition and Hidden Markov Model

In this correspondence, we have presented a rotation and gray scale transform invariant texture recognition scheme using the combination of quadrature mirror filter (QMF) bank and hidden Markov model (HMM). In the first stage, the QMF bank is used as the wavelet transform to decompose the texture image into subbands. The gray scale transform invariant features derived from the statistics based on first-order distribution of gray levels are then extracted from each subband image. In the second stage, the sequence of subbands is modeled as a hidden Markov model (HMM), and one HMM is designed for each class of textures. The HMM is used to exploit the dependence among these subbands, and is able to capture the trend of changes caused by rotation. During recognition, the unknown texture is matched against all the models. The best matched model identifies the texture class. Up to 93.33% classification accuracy is reported. >
The Role of Reduced Fitness to Drive Due to Medical Impairments in Explaining Crashes Involving Older Drivers

Background. Medical conditions and associated impairments are known to be more prevalent with aging and can potentially impact the function and crash risk of older drivers. Objectives. To evaluate the impact of specific medical conditions and associated impairments on older driver crash risk. Methods. A search identified reports and peer-reviewed publications evaluating the risk for medical conditions and associated crash risk. Medical conditions associated with older persons were reviewed to determine the associated relative risk of crash. Results. The review identified three recent comprehensive reviews of medical conditions or chronic illnesses and crash risk: Dobbs (2005); Vaa (2003); Charlton et al. (2004). Comparison of the reviews reveals a relatively high agreement where medical conditions considered to be at slightly to moderately increased relative risk of crash include alcohol abuse and dependence, cardiovascular disease, cerebrovascular disease/TBI, depression, dementia, diabetes mellitus, epilepsy, use of certain medications, musculoskeletal disorders, schizophrenia, obstructive sleep apnea, and vision disorders. However, determining fitness to drive at the individual level based on diagnosis has significant limitations related to factors such as multiple medical conditions as well as varying severity of disease and associated functional impairments. Medical conditions that may affect driving can serve as “red flags” to assist health care professionals and driving administrators to identify drivers who may need further evaluation. Conclusions. Medical conditions overall, do impact the fitness to drive of older drivers; however, the crash risk tends to be only slightly to moderately increased. The conditions can serve as potential warnings for reduced fitness to drive, but many persons with these medical conditions would still be considered safe to continue driving.
The Interpersonal Interior of Psychotherapy

Narratives about interactions with other people constitute a significant part of patient talk during psychotherapy sessions. This article reviews our research on interpersonal narratives as a basic unit of analysis in psychotherapy research. Studies on the reliability of locating such narratives are reviewed, followed by a presentation of studies on the frequency and determinants of narratives. Narratives can also be used to examine the patient-therapist relationship, and a series of studies has suggested that while there is some degree of similarity of themes between outside of therapy relationships and the relationship with the therapist, not all patients evidence this “transference” effect. Therapists' ability to formulate and accurately interpret the relationship themes that are apparent in narratives has been found to be associated with outcome, retention, and the development of the therapeutic alliance over the course of treatment. The implications of these findings for research and practice are dis.
Mechanisms of early aphasia recovery

Background: The course of recovery of aphasia after stroke is highly variable. Some patients, even with severe aphasia, recover rapidly over the first days after onset. The mechanism of this early recovery (and later recovery) is unclear. Plausible accounts include reperfusion of ischaemic tissue surrounding the stroke, and rapid reorganisation of structure/function relationships. Aims: Based on a recent study showing that the severity of word comprehension impairment in acute stroke patients is strongly correlated with the severity of hypoperfusion (low blood flow) in Wernicke's area, we hypothesised that early recovery of spoken word comprehension is due to reperfusion (restored blood flow) to Wernicke's area. Our objective was to evluate this hypothesis using advanced magnetic resonance imaging techniques of perfusion-weighted imaging (PWI) and diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI). Methods and Procedures: A series of 100 patients with acute, left hemisphere ischaemic stroke were evaluated within 24 hours of onset or worsening of symptoms, and 3 days later, using PWI, DWI, and a battery of lexical tasks, including spoken word/picture verification. A subset of 18 patients with impaired spoken word comprehension at Day 1 were included in the study. Chi square analysis was used to identify the association between early recovery of spoken word comprehension and reperfusion of each of 10 Brodmann's areas (BA). Outcomes & Results: Early recovery of spoken word comprehension was significantly associated with reperfusion of BA 22 (Wernicke's area), but not with reperfusion of other BAs. All patients who showed early recovery of word comprehension also showed reperfusion of Wernicke's area, due to carotid endarterectomy, carotid stenting, induced blood pressure elevation, or spontaneous reperfusion. Conclusions: Tissue recovery, brought about by restored blood pressure elevation, likely accounts for cases of rapid resolution of aphasia in the first few days of stroke. Other mechanisms of recovery, including reorganisation of structure/function relationships, and learning of compensatory strategies, are likely important in later stages of recovery.
S+T: An algorithm for distributed multirobot task allocation based on services for improving robot cooperation

In this paper, we present a distributed market-based algorithm called S+T, which solves the multi-robot task allocation (MRTA) problem in applications that require the cooperation among the robots to accomplish all the tasks. If a robot cannot execute a task by itself, it asks for help and, if possible, another robot will provide the required service. In the paper, tasks consisting in transmitting data in real-time that could require communication relay services are considered. On the other hand, the parameters of the algorithm can be adapted to give priority to either the execution time or the energy consumption in the mission. The potential generation of deadlocks associated to the relation between tasks and services is studied, and as an original result, a distributed algorithm that prevent them is proposed. The algorithm has been tested in simulations that illustrate the main features of the S+T algorithm.
Public Key Cryptography Standards: PKCS

Cryptographic standards serve two important goals: making different implementations interoperable and avoiding various known pitfalls in commonly used schemes. This chapter discusses Public-Key Cryptography Standards (PKCS) which have significant impact on the use of public key cryptography in practice. PKCS standards are a set of standards, called PKCS #1 through #15. These standards cover RSA encryption, RSA signature, password-based encryption, cryptographic message syntax, private-key information syntax, selected object classes and attribute types, certification request syntax, cryptographic token interface, personal information exchange syntax, and cryptographic token information syntax. The PKCS standards are published by RSA Laboratories. Though RSA Laboratories solicits public opinions and advice for PKCS standards, RSA Laboratories retain sole decision-making authority on all aspects of PKCS standards. PKCS has been the basis for many other standards such as S/MIME.
Beyond the Awaking of a “Sleeping Beauty”: Toward Business Models Inclusive of the Emotional Dimension in Entrepreneurship

This guest editorial note is an invitation for further exploration of emotions in business models of entrepreneurship, beyond the awaking of the research community. A retrospective view of selected thoughts on the relation between emotion and rationality shows the shift from the traditional discrepancy between both concepts to underlying discussions on the alchemy operating between them in decision-making. The articles in this Special Issue and the latest developments in entrepreneurship indicate that the research gap on emotions has been significantly narrowed while contributing to enhancing our knowledge on different facets of the emotional dimension. Still, the increasing sophistication of business models across disciplines points out the need for thorough educational frameworks on emotions in entrepreneurship programs and opens challenging but inspirational avenues for the future.
A Randomized Trial of Telephonic Counseling Plus Walking for Depressed Diabetes Patients

BackgroundPatients with diabetes and depression often have self-management needs that require between-visit support. This study evaluated the impact of telephone-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) targeting patients' management of depressive symptoms, physical activity levels, and diabetes-related outcomes. MethodsTwo hundred ninety-one patients with type 2 diabetes and significant depressive symptoms (Beck Depression Inventory scores ≥14) were recruited from a community-based, university-based, and Veterans Affairs health care systems. A manualized telephone CBT program was delivered weekly by nurses for 12 weeks, followed by 9 monthly booster sessions. Sessions initially focused exclusively on patients' depression management and then added a pedometer-based walking program. The primary outcome was hemoglobin A1c levels measured at 12 months. Blood pressure was a secondary outcome; levels of physical activity were determined by pedometer readings; depression, coping, and health-related quality of life were measured using standardized scales. ResultsBaseline A1c levels were relatively good and there was no difference in A1c at follow-up. Intervention patients experienced a 4.26 mm Hg decrease in systolic blood pressure relative to controls (P=0.05). Intervention patients had significantly greater increases in step counts (mean difference, 1131 steps/d; P=0.0002) and greater reductions in depressive symptoms (58% remitted at 12 mo vs. 39%; P=0.002). Intervention patients also experienced relative improvements in coping and health-related quality of life. ConclusionsThis program of telephone-delivered CBT combined with a pedometer-based walking program did not improve A1c values, but significantly decreased patients' blood pressure, increased physical activity, and decreased depressive symptoms. The intervention also improved patients' functioning and quality of life.
Expression of angiotensin II and interleukin 6 in human coronary atherosclerotic plaques: potential implications for inflammation and plaque instability.

BACKGROUND Patients with an activated renin-angiotensin system (RAS) or genetic alterations of the RAS are at increased risk of myocardial infarction (MI). Administration of ACE inhibitors reduces the risk of MI, and acute coronary syndromes are associated with increased interleukin 6 (IL-6) serum levels. Accordingly, the present study evaluated the expression of angiotensin II (Ang II) in human coronary atherosclerotic plaques and its influence on IL-6 expression in patients with coronary artery disease. METHODS AND RESULTS Immunohistochemical colocalization of Ang II, ACE, Ang II type 1 (AT(1)) receptor, and IL-6 was examined in coronary arteries from patients with ischemic or dilated cardiomyopathy undergoing heart transplantation (n=12), in atherectomy samples from patients with unstable angina (culprit lesion; n=8), and in ruptured coronary arteries from patients who died of MI (n=13). Synthesis and release of IL-6 was investigated in smooth muscle cells and macrophages after Ang II stimulation. Colocalization of ACE, Ang II, AT(1) receptor, and IL-6 with CD68-positive macrophages was observed at the shoulder region of coronary atherosclerotic plaques and in atherectomy tissue of patients with unstable angina. Ang II was identified in close proximity to the presumed rupture site of human coronary arteries in acute MI. Ang II induced synthesis and release of IL-6 shortly after stimulation in vitro in macrophages and rat smooth muscle cells. CONCLUSIONS Ang II, AT(1) receptor, and ACE are expressed at strategic sites of human atherosclerotic coronary arteries, suggesting that Ang II is produced primarily by ACE within coronary plaques. The observation that Ang II induces IL-6 and their colocalization with the AT(1) receptor and ACE is consistent with the notion that the RAS may contribute to inflammatory processes within the vascular wall and to the development of acute coronary syndromes.