Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Oral calcium suppresses increased rectal epithelial proliferation of persons at risk of colorectal cancer.

Dietary calcium may inhibit colonic carcinogenesis promoted by high fat, phosphate, and low fibre diets. In persons at risk for colon cancer oral calcium supplements significantly suppress increased rectal epithelial proliferation. This was studied in a cohort of 35 volunteers: 26 first degree relatives of colorectal cancer patients and nine who had had colonic adenomas (mean age 51.6 years, 17 (49%) men, all negative for large bowel neoplasia). 1.25-1.5 g elemental calcium was given in divided daily doses for three months. Rectal pinch biopsies were taken without bowel preparation, before and mean 8.4 weeks during and 7.2 weeks after treatment and incubated with tritiated thymidine. The mean number of labelled cells, as a ratio of the total number of crypt cells (labelling index-LI), and their crypt position, were determined. The mean number of labelled cells decreased during treatment by 29%, especially in the basal three-fifths of crypts. There was also a significant 10% increase in mean number of crypt cells during treatment. [Mean LI decreased by 36% (p less than 0.001) during calcium treatment and almost returned to basal values after cessation. ] If a raised LI is a marker of potential malignancy and a randomised clinical trial confirms that calcium suppresses it, dietary intervention studies in high risk persons are indicated.
Optimized execution of business processes on crowdsourcing platforms

Crowdsourcing in enterprises is a promising approach for organizing a flexible workforce. Recent developments show that the idea gains additional momentum. However, an obstacle for widespread adoption is the lack of an integrated way to execute business processes based on a crowdsourcing platform. The main difference compared to traditional approaches in business process execution is that tasks or activities cannot be directly assigned but are posted to the crowdsourcing platform, while people can choose deliberately which tasks to book and work on. In this paper we propose a framework for adaptive execution of business processes on top of a crowdsourcing platform. Based on historical data gathered by the platform we mine the booking behavior of people based on the nature and incentive of the crowdsourced tasks. Using the learned behavior model we derive an incentive management approach based on mathematical optimization that executes business processes in a cost-optimal way considering their deadlines. We evaluate our approach through simulations to prove the feasibility and effectiveness. The experiments verify our assumptions regarding the necessary ingredients of the approach and show the advantage of taking the booking behavior into account compared to the case when it is partially of fully neglected.
Novel prognostic prediction models for patients with stage IV colorectal cancer after concurrent curative resection.

BACKGROUND We developed a prediction tool for recurrence and survival in patients with stage IV colorectal cancer (CRC) following surgically curative resection. PATIENTS AND METHODS From January 1983 to December 2012, 113 patients with CRC and synchronous liver and/or lung metastatic CRC were investigated at the Osaka Medical Center for Cancer and Cardiovascular Diseases. All patients underwent curative resection of primary and metastatic lesions. In the group of patients who underwent surgery from 1983 to 2008, a Cox regression model was used to develop prediction models for 1-year, 3-year and 5-year cancer-specific survival (CSS) and relapse-free survival (RFS). In the other group of patients who underwent surgery from 2009 to 2012, the developed prediction model was validated. RESULTS Univariate analysis of clinicopathological factors showed that the following factors were significantly correlated with CSS and RFS: preoperative serum carcinoembryonic antigen level, tumour location, pathologically defined tumour invasion and lymph node metastasis, and synchronous metastatic lesions. Using these variables, novel prediction models predicting CSS and RFS were constructed using the Cox regression model with concordance indexes of 0.802 for CSS and 0.631 for RFS. The prediction models were validated by external data sets in an independent patient group. CONCLUSIONS We developed novel and reliable personalised prognostic models, integrating tumour, node, metastasis (TNM) factors as well as the preoperative serum carcinoembryonic antigen level, tumour location and metastatic lesions, to predict patients' prognosis following surgically curative resection. This individualised prediction model may help clinicians in the treatment of postoperative stage IV CRC following surgically curative resection.
Learning to Rank Questions for Community Question Answering with Ranking SVM

This paper presents our method to retrieve relevant queries given a new question in the context of Discovery Challenge: Learning to Re-Ranking Questions for Community Question Answering competition. In order to do that, a set of learning to rank methods was investigated to select an appropriate method. The selected method was optimized on training data by using a search strategy. After optimizing, the method was applied to development and test set. Results from the competition indicate that the performance of our method outperforms almost participants and show that Ranking SVM is efficient for retrieving relevant queries in community question answering.
Polya-gamma augmentations for factor models

Bayesian inference for latent factor models, such as principal component and canonical correlation analysis, is easy for Gaussian likelihoods with conjugate priors using both Gibbs sampling and mean-eld variational approximation. For other likelihood potentials one needs to either resort to more complex sampling schemes or to specifying dedicated forms for variational lower bounds. Recently, however, it was shown that for specic likelihoods related to the logistic function it is possible to augment the joint density with auxiliary variables following a P olya-Gamma distribution, leading to closed-form updates for binary and over-dispersed count models. In this paper we describe how Gibbs sampling and mean-eld variational approximation for various latent factor models can be implemented for these cases, presenting easy-to-implement and ecient inference schemas.
Genetic and temporal aspects of protection by kanamycin against cochlear noise injury

Experiments explored the minimal kanamycin dosing regimen that renders protection against noise induced hearing loss in young CBA/J mice. We also tested the age-dependence of protection in CBA/J as well as the dependence of protection on a particular genetic background in experiments using young C57BL/6J and CBA/CaJ mice.
Characterization of an Extensive Transverse Tubular Network in Sheep Atrial Myocytes and its Depletion in Heart Failure

Background—In ventricular myocytes, the majority of structures that couple excitation to the systolic rise of Ca2+ are located at the transverse tubular (t-tubule) membrane. In the failing ventricle, disorganization of t-tubules disrupts excitation contraction coupling. The t-tubule membrane is virtually absent in the atria of small mammals resulting in spatiotemporally distinct profiles of intracellular Ca2+ release on stimulation in atrial and ventricular cells. The aims of this study were to determine (i) whether atrial myocytes from a large mammal (sheep) possess t-tubules, (ii) whether these are functionally important, and (iii) whether they are disrupted in heart failure. Methods and Results—Sheep left atrial myocytes were stained with di-4-ANEPPS. Nearly all control cells had an extensive t-tubule network resulting in each voxel in the cell being nearer to a membrane (sarcolemma or t-tubule) than would otherwise be the case. T-tubules decrease the distance of 50% of voxels from a membrane from 3.35±0.15 to 0.88±0.04 &mgr;m. During depolarization, intracellular Ca2+ rises simultaneously at the cell periphery and center. In heart failure induced by rapid ventricular pacing, there was an almost complete loss of atrial t-tubules. The distance of 50% of voxels from a membrane increased to 2.04±0.08 &mgr;m, and there was a loss of early Ca2+ release from the cell center. Conclusion—Sheep atrial myocytes possess a substantial t-tubule network that synchronizes the systolic Ca2+ transient. In heart failure, this network is markedly disrupted. This may play an important role in changes of atrial function in heart failure.
Mismatch negativity deficits are associated with poor functioning in schizophrenia patients.

BACKGROUND Schizophrenia patients exhibit widespread deficits in many domains, ranging from abnormalities in preattentional sensory processing to gross impairments in everyday functioning. Mismatch negativity (MMN) is an event-related potential measure that occurs in the absence of directed attention. While many studies have reported MMN deficits in schizophrenia patients, little is known about the functional significance of MMN deficits in schizophrenia patients. OBJECTIVE To determine if a schizophrenia-linked deficit in MMN, an "automatic" preattentional measure, is associated with impairments in everyday functional status, level of independence in living situation, and the ability to perform tasks routinely encountered in everyday situations. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS Twenty-five patients with a DSM-IV diagnosis of schizophrenia recruited from inpatient and outpatient community facilities affiliated with the University of California, San Diego, and 25 healthy, nonpsychiatric, comparison subjects. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Mismatch negativity, clinical symptoms, performance on a multidimensional laboratory-based functional skills assessment battery, clinician ratings on the Global Assessment of Functioning Scale, and level of independence in community living situation. RESULTS Schizophrenia patients had significantly reduced MMN (P<.001). Greater levels of MMN impairment were associated with lower Global Assessment of Functioning Scale ratings. Consistent with clinical ratings, patients with greater MMN impairments were more likely to live in highly structured vs independent settings. A regional analysis of MMN revealed that the largest correlations of MMN to everyday functioning were present at frontocentral recording sites (eg, r(s) = -0.65). In contrast, MMN deficits were not associated with symptom severity or performance on laboratory-based tasks measuring skills that are often considered necessary for independent living. CONCLUSIONS This pattern of results suggests that MMN deficits represent a core neurophysiological dysfunction that is linked to global impairments in everyday functioning in schizophrenia patients. These deficits in automatic preattentive information processing account for up to 42% of the variance in global functional status in schizophrenia patients. Thus, basic preattentional cognitive deficits may be excellent measures for predicting functional outcome. Longitudinal studies are needed to better understand the relationships between deficits in automatic sensory information processing, associated neural substrate dysfunctions, and deficits in everyday functioning across the course of the illness.
Exergame and Balance Training Modulate Prefrontal Brain Activity during Walking and Enhance Executive Function in Older Adults

Different types of exercise training have the potential to induce structural and functional brain plasticity in the elderly. Thereby, functional brain adaptations were observed during cognitive tasks in functional magnetic resonance imaging studies that correlated with improved cognitive performance. This study aimed to investigate if exercise training induces functional brain plasticity during challenging treadmill walking and elicits associated changes in cognitive executive functions. Forty-two elderly participants were recruited and randomly assigned to either interactive cognitive-motor video game dancing (DANCE) or balance and stretching training (BALANCE). The 8-week intervention included three sessions of 30 min per week and was completed by 33 participants (mean age 74.9 ± 6.9 years). Prefrontal cortex (PFC) activity during preferred and fast walking speed on a treadmill was assessed applying functional near infrared spectroscopy pre- and post-intervention. Additionally, executive functions comprising shifting, inhibition, and working memory were assessed. The results showed that both interventions significantly reduced left and right hemispheric PFC oxygenation during the acceleration of walking (p < 0.05 or trend, r = 0.25–0.36), while DANCE showed a larger reduction at the end of the 30-s walking task compared to BALANCE in the left PFC [F(1, 31) = 3.54, p = 0.035, r = 0.32]. These exercise training induced modulations in PFC oxygenation correlated with improved executive functions (p < 0.05 or trend, r = 0.31–0.50). The observed reductions in PFC activity may release cognitive resources to focus attention on other processes while walking, which could be relevant to improve mobility and falls prevention in the elderly. This study provides a deeper understanding of the associations between exercise training, brain function during walking, and cognition in older adults.
Mechanisms of Resistance to PD-1 and PD-L1 Blockade

Abstract Cancer immunotherapy utilizing blockade of the PD-1/PD-L1 checkpoint has revolutionized the treatment of a wide variety of malignancies, leading to durable therapeutic responses not typically seen with traditional cytotoxic anticancer agents. However, these therapies are ineffective in a significant percentage of patients, and some initial responders eventually develop resistance to these therapies with relapsed disease. The mechanisms leading to both primary and acquired resistance to PD-1/PD-L1 inhibition are varied and can be both multifactorial and overlapping in an individual patient. As the mechanisms of resistance to PD-1/PD-L1 blockade continue to be further characterized, new strategies are being developed to prevent or reverse resistance to therapy, leading to improved patient outcomes.
Study On Damage Characteristics Of Concrete Under Impact Load

This article established strain characterization of damage factor equation of concrete in elastic stage, and completed the concrete specimens dynamic damage ‘freezing in’ test. A series of concrete under the strain rate had been gotten, and the damage characteristics of concrete under impact load was analysed. The damage evolution process of concrete material was related to both strain size and strain rate size, and the damage evolution and development and strain rate showedf a power function relation. Then the damage evolution equation used to describe concrete materials could be fitted.
Named Entity Extraction System and its Web extensions

In this work we describe a Named Entity Extraction system originally developed within the scope of the EU-funded FACILE project, and currently used within the CONCERTO project. The system has been rstly tested at the MUC-7 competition. The purpose of the system is to identify and classify proper names in free text. In the FACILE project these were mainly nancial news, however the system and resources are not domain speci c. Extensions to the resources are required only if new types of entities have to be captured. The architecture itself is language-neutral and resources have been developed for four European languages. Recent extensions include a Java-based client which allows access to the system via a conventional Web Browser.
Non-biased and efficient global amplification of a single-cell cDNA library

Analysis of single-cell gene expression promises a more precise understanding of molecular mechanisms of a living system. Most techniques only allow studies of the expressions for limited numbers of gene species. When amplification of cDNA was carried out for analysing more genes, amplification biases were frequently reported. A non-biased and efficient global-amplification method, which uses a single-cell cDNA library immobilized on beads, was developed for analysing entire gene expressions for single cells. Every step in this analysis from reverse transcription to cDNA amplification was optimized. By removing degrading excess primers, the bias due to the digestion of cDNA was prevented. Since the residual reagents, which affect the efficiency of each subsequent reaction, could be removed by washing beads, the conditions for uniform and maximized amplification of cDNAs were achieved. The differences in the amplification rates for randomly selected eight genes were within 1.5-folds, which could be negligible for most of the applications of single-cell analysis. The global amplification gives a large amount of amplified cDNA (>100 μg) from a single cell (2-pg mRNA), and that amount is enough for downstream analysis. The proposed global-amplification method was used to analyse transcript ratios of multiple cDNA targets (from several copies to several thousand copies) quantitatively.
Low human papillomavirus prevalence in head and neck cancer: results from two large case-control studies in high-incidence regions.

BACKGROUND Recent studies support an important role for human papillomavirus (HPV) in a subgroup of head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC). We have evaluated the HPV deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) prevalence as well as the association between serological response to HPV infection and HNSCC in two distinct populations from Central Europe (CE) and Latin America (LA). METHODS Cases (n = 2214) and controls (n = 3319) were recruited from 1998 to 2003, using a similar protocol including questionnaire and blood sample collection. Tumour DNA from 196 fresh tissue biopsies was analysed for multiple HPV types followed by an HPV type-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) protocol towards the E7 gene from HPV 16. Using multiplex serology, serum samples were analysed for antibodies to 17 HPV types. Statistical analysis included the estimation of adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and the respective 95% confidence intervals (CIs). RESULTS HPV16 E7 DNA prevalence among cases was 3.1% (6/196), including 4.4% in the oropharynx (3/68), 3.8% in the hypopharynx/larynx (3/78) and 0% among 50 cases of oral cavity carcinomas. Positivity for both HPV16 E6 and E7 antibodies was associated with a very high risk of oropharyngeal cancer (OR = 179, 95% CI 35.8-899) and hypopharyngeal/laryngeal cancer (OR = 14.9, 95% CI 2.92-76.1). CONCLUSIONS A very low prevalence of HPV DNA and serum antibodies was observed among cases in both CE and LA. The proportion of head and neck cancer caused by HPV may vary substantially between different geographical regions and studies that are designed to evaluate the impact of HPV vaccination on HNSCC need to consider this heterogeneity.
Optimal Pricing for an Unbounded Queue

The maximization of expected reward is considered for an Mp/M/s queuing system with unlimited queue capacity. The system is controlled by dynamically changing the price charged for the facility's service in order to discourage or encourage the arrival of customers. For the finite queue capacity problem, it has been shown that all optimal policies possess a certain monotonicity property, namely, that the optimal price to advertise is a non-decreasing function of the number of customers in the system. The main result presented here is that for the unlimited capacity problem, there exist optimal stationary policies at least one of which is monotone. Also, an algorithm is presented, with numerical results, which will produce an Ɛ-optimal policy for any Ɛ > 0, and an optimal policy if a simple condition is satisfied.
Imaging spectroscopy of geological samples and outcrops: Novel insights from microns to meters

Imaging spectroscopy is a powerful, non-destructive mineralogic tool that provides insights into a variety of geological processes. This remote measurement technique has been used for decades from orbital or aerial platforms to characterize surface compositions of Earth and other solar system bodies. These instruments have now been miniaturized for use in the laboratory and field, thereby enabling petrologic analyses of samples and outcrops. Here, we review the technique and present four examples showing the exciting science potential and new insights into geological processes.
The Illusion of Distribution-Free Small-Sample Classification in Genomics

Classification has emerged as a major area of investigation in bioinformatics owing to the desire to discriminate phenotypes, in particular, disease conditions, using high-throughput genomic data. While many classification rules have been posed, there is a paucity of error estimation rules and an even greater paucity of theory concerning error estimation accuracy. This is problematic because the worth of a classifier depends mainly on its error rate. It is common place in bio-informatics papers to have a classification rule applied to a small labeled data set and the error of the resulting classifier be estimated on the same data set, most often via cross-validation, without any assumptions being made on the underlying feature-label distribution. Concomitant with a lack of distributional assumptions is the absence of any statement regarding the accuracy of the error estimate. Without such a measure of accuracy, the most common one being the root-mean-square (RMS), the error estimate is essentially meaningless and the worth of the entire paper is questionable. The concomitance of an absence of distributional assumptions and of a measure of error estimation accuracy is assured in small-sample settings because even when distribution-free bounds exist (and that is rare), the sample sizes required under the bounds are so large as to make them useless for small samples. Thus, distributional bounds are necessary and the distributional assumptions need to be stated. Owing to the epistemological dependence of classifiers on the accuracy of their estimated errors, scientifically meaningful distribution-free classification in high-throughput, small-sample biology is an illusion.
Mechanical Properties of Natural Fiber Containing Polymer Composites

We have studied the mechanical properties of ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) and cellulose acetate (CA) composite containing cellulosic natural fibers (Sterculia villosa) and tried to explain with the help of mixing of fiber in the composite. It is observed that the tensile strength (TS) of EVA composite decreases with the addition of fiber. Whereas in a CA composite, TS increases or reinforcement happens with the fiber content. This anomalous trend could be explained with the adhesion of fiber with the polymer matrix in the composite. The composite shows the same increasing trend for flexural strength (FS) up to a certain composition of fiber. With the further addition of fiber, we have found decreasing FS for the EVA composite, but a gradual increase in the CA composite with the fiber content. It is thought that fiber is well distributed in the CA composite and that the fiber-matrix could bear the load resulting in an increase of FS. This consideration can be well explained from the SEM picture that shows fiber forms a domain in the EVA composite or coagulation of fiber, as a result the FS decrease, but there is no such type of coagulation in the CA composite, resulting in increasing TS and FS with the fiber content. Toughness of the composites are also compared. It is believed that the cellulose-containing EVA and CA composites will be environment-friendly. We also suggest that this composite could be used in a low weight application such as gasket materials, toothbrushes, spoon handles, mirror frames, partition panels, etc.