Early Postoperative Serum Carcinoembryonic Antigen Is a Stronger Independent Prognostic Factor for Stage II Colorectal Cancer Patients Than T4 Stage and Preoperative CEA

BackgroundSerum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) is an important biomarker for diagnosis, prognosis, recurrence, metastasis monitoring, and the evaluation of the effect of chemotherapy in colorectal cancer (CRC). However, few studies have focused on the role of early postoperative CEA in the prognosis of stage II CRC.MethodsPatients with stage II CRC diagnosed between January 2007 and December 2015 were included. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to obtain the cutoff value of early postoperative CEA, CEA ratio and CEA absolute value. The areas under curves (AUCs) were used to estimate the predictive abilities of the CEA and T stage. The stepwise regression method was used to screen the factors included in the Cox regression analysis. Before and after propensity score (PS) - adjusted Cox regression and sensitivity analysis were used to identify the relationship between early postoperative CEA and prognosis. Meta-analysis was performed to verify the results. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were used to estimate the effects of CEA on prognosis.ResultsWe included 1081 eligible patients. ROC curves suggested that the cutoff value of early postoperative CEA was 3.66 ng/ml (P <0.001) and the AUC showed early postoperative CEA was the most significant prognostic marker in stage II CRC (P = 0.0189). The Cox regression and sensitivity analysis before and after adjusting for PS both revealed elevated early postoperative CEA was the strongest independent prognostic factor of OS, DFS, and CSS (P < 0.001). Survival analysis revealed that patients with elevated early postoperative CEA had lower OS (53.62% VS 84.16%), DFS (50.03% VS 86.75%), and CSS (61.77% VS 90.30%) than patients with normal early postoperative CEA (P < 0.001). When the postoperative CEA was positive, the preoperative CEA level showed no significant effect on the patient’s prognosis (all P-values were > 0.05). Patients with a CEA ratio ≤0.55 or CEA absolute value ≤-0.98 had a worse prognosis (all P-values were < 0.001). Survival analysis suggested that adjuvant chemotherapy for stage II CRC patients with elevated early postoperative CEA may improve the CSS (P = 0.040).ConclusionsEarly postoperative CEA was a better biomarker for prognosis of stage II CRC patients than T stage and preoperative CEA, and has the potential to become a high-risk factor to guide the prognosis and treatment of stage II CRC patients.

Simpson’s Second-Type Inequalities for Co-Ordinated Convex Functions and Applications for Cubature Formulas

Inequality theory has attracted considerable attention from scientists because it can be used in many fields. In particular, Hermite–Hadamard and Simpson inequalities based on convex functions have become a cornerstone in pure and applied mathematics. We deal with Simpson’s second-type inequalities based on coordinated convex functions in this work. In this paper, we first introduce Simpson’s second-type integral inequalities for two-variable functions whose second-order partial derivatives in modulus are convex on the coordinates. In addition, similar results are acquired by considering that powers of the absolute value of second-order partial derivatives of these two-variable functions are convex on the coordinates. Finally, some applications for Simpson’s 3/8 cubature formula are given.

Finding the parameters of a Bernoulli-Gaussian Model

<div><div><div><p>A transmission medium perturbed by an additive noise from which the estimated noise power is all information known, is better modeled as a Gaussian channel. Since the Gaussian channel is, according to Information Theory, the worst channel to transmit information through, this is the most pessimistic assumption. When noise samples are available though, choosing to model the transmission medium using a more sophisticated model pays off. The Bernoulli-Gaussian channel, would be one such a choice. Finding the three parameters that characterize the Bernoulli-Gaussian stochastic process which mathematically models the noise is a task of paramount importance. Many algorithms can be used to estimate the parameters of this model based on numerical methods. In the current work a closed form expression to estimate the model parameters is presented. All that is required besides the estimation of the power of Bernoulli-Gaussian process from the available noise samples is the estimation of two additional quantities: the expected value of the absolute value of the amplitude of the process—the first absolute moment—plus the third absolute moment, viz., the expected value of the third power of the absolute value of the process. An alternative option, often used for power line communication, is to model the transmission medium as a channel in which the noise is represented by a three parameter stochastic process called Middleton Class A. Other models (like generalized-Bernoulli-Gaussian, or Bernoulli- Gaussian with memory) might render a better medium model than the Bernoulli-Gaussian channel. Estimating the parameters of these processes is however a cumbersome task and, as we show in the current work, the rate harvested by using the simple, yet more sophisticated, Bernoulli-Gaussian channel is increased as compared to the, more pessimistic, Gaussian channel, allowing one thus to more closely approach the true capacity. The communication system design can be much improved if a well fit Bernoulli-Gaussian stochastic process is selected to model the true noise. The incorporation of the Bernoulli-Gaussian channel in the communication system model leads to a better design as corroborated by the computer simulation results presented.</p></div></div></div>

Framing Land Governance Issues in Indigenous and Settler Media within Canada

This comparative study examines how the framing of Indigenous land governance issues—such as resource extraction activities on Indigenous territory and treaty negotiation—in Indigenous media differs from that in corporate news. Methods of Critical Discourse Analysis were applied to 66 news texts published in 2018 in large corporate newspapers, such as the National Post, and small Indigenous news outlets, such as Eagle Feather News. Researchers found that Indigenous media connected land governance issues to contemporary issues, such as racism and control over child welfare, as well as historical colonialism and Indigenous-Settler relations, while corporate news generally excluded any discussion of these contextual factors. While the main news frame in the Indigenous press was Indigenous people were not consulted, the dominant frame in corporate news was Indigenous peoples have already been adequately consulted. Corporate news discourse valorized Indigenous traditional territory solely based on its presumed “economic value.” By contrast, Indigenous publications offered a counternarrative, one that positioned land and the rest of the natural environment as something that has absolute value, and as indivisible from all living things, including people.

Finding the parameters of a Bernoulli-Gaussian Model

<div><div><div><p>A transmission medium perturbed by an additive noise from which the estimated noise power is all information known, is better modeled as a Gaussian channel. Since the Gaussian channel is, according to Information Theory, the worst channel to transmit information through, this is the most pessimistic assumption. When noise samples are available though, choosing to model the transmission medium using a more sophisticated model pays off. The Bernoulli-Gaussian channel, would be one such a choice. Finding the three parameters that characterize the Bernoulli-Gaussian stochastic process which mathematically models the noise is a task of paramount importance. Many algorithms can be used to estimate the parameters of this model based on numerical methods. In the current work a closed form expression to estimate the model parameters is presented. All that is required besides the estimation of the power of Bernoulli-Gaussian process from the available noise samples is the estimation of two additional quantities: the expected value of the absolute value of the amplitude of the process—the first absolute moment—plus the third absolute moment, viz., the expected value of the third power of the absolute value of the process. An alternative option, often used for power line communication, is to model the transmission medium as a channel in which the noise is represented by a three parameter stochastic process called Middleton Class A. Other models (like generalized-Bernoulli-Gaussian, or Bernoulli- Gaussian with memory) might render a better medium model than the Bernoulli-Gaussian channel. Estimating the parameters of these processes is however a cumbersome task and, as we show in the current work, the rate harvested by using the simple, yet more sophisticated, Bernoulli-Gaussian channel is increased as compared to the, more pessimistic, Gaussian channel, allowing one thus to more closely approach the true capacity. The communication system design can be much improved if a well fit Bernoulli-Gaussian stochastic process is selected to model the true noise. The incorporation of the Bernoulli-Gaussian channel in the communication system model leads to a better design as corroborated by the computer simulation results presented.</p></div></div></div>

Senior high school students’ understanding of mathematical inequality

Mathematics inequality is an essential concept that students should fully understand since it is required in mathematical modeling and linear programming. However, students tend to perceive the solution of the inequalities problem without considering what the solution of inequality means. This study aims to describe students’ mistakes variations in solving mathematical inequality. It is necessary since solving inequality is a necessity for students to solve everyday problems modeled in mathematics. Thirty-eight female and male students of 12th-grade who have studied inequalities are involved in this study. They are given three inequality problems which are designed to find out students’ mistakes related to the change of inequality sign, determine the solution, and involve absolute value. All student work documents were analyzed for errors and misconceptions that emerged and then categorized based on the type of error, namely errors in applying inequality rules, errors in algebraic operations, or errors in determining the solution set, then described. The result shows that there were some errors and misconceptions that students made caused by still bringing the concept of equality when solving the inequalities problem. It made them did not aware of the inequality sign. Students are still less thorough in operating algebra and do not understand the number line concept in solving inequalities. The other factor was giving “fast strategy” to the students without considering the students’ understanding.

Recording the Fragrance of 15 Types of Medicinal Herbs and Comparing Them by Similarity Using the Electronic Nose FF-2A

Medical herbs have been recognized till now as having different constituents that act on the human body. However, the fragrance of herbs is a complex mixture of odors, which makes it difficult to qualify or quantify the scent objectively on the human sense of smell. In this study, aromas of 15 medicinal herbs were recorded using an electronic nose FF-2A, and their characteristics were compared with aroma samples of wine such as Le Nez du Vin, to determine which wine aromas are similar to each medicinal herb. Thereafter, the aromas of the 15 herbs were standardized to create a reference axis for the aroma of each herb, and the similarity of tea herbs to the reference axis was examined. Additionally, the results were compared with those obtained by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). In FF-2A, the measured scent is recorded as an absolute value. We succeeded in calculating the similarity of the scents of other herbs with the axes of the scent of each herb by standardizing their scents and creating new axis data. Conversely, although GC-MS is able to identify the components and concentrations of fragrances, an electronic nose can analyze fragrances in a way that is uncommon with GC-MS, such as comparison of similarities between fragrances.

Retinol and α-Tocopherol Contents, Fat Color, and Lipid Oxidation as Traceability Tools of the Feeding System in Suckling Payoya Kids

The effects of Payoya kid feeding systems on the fat-soluble vitamin (retinol/α-tocopherol) contents, fat content, fat color, and the oxidation index were evaluated to determine their potential for use as feeding system traceability tools. Four groups of Payoya kids (55 animals in total) fed milk exclusively were studied: a group fed a milk replacer (MR) and three groups fed natural milk from dams reared with different management systems (mountain grazing (MG), cultivated meadow (CM) and total mixed ration (TMR)). Kids were slaughtered around one month of age and 8 kg of live weight. Kids from the MG and CM groups presented lower retinol (5.56 and 3.72 µg/mL) and higher α-tocopherol plasma (11.43 and 8.85 µg/mL) concentrations than those from the TMR and MR groups (14.98 and 22.47 µg/mL of retinol; 2.49 and 0.52 µg/mL of α-tocopherol, respectively) (p < 0.001). With respect to fat, kids with a higher intramuscular fat percentage (CM and TMR groups) had lower retinol contents (16.52 and 15.99 µg/mL, respectively) than kids from the MG and MR groups (26.81 and 22.63 µg/mL, respectively) (p < 0.001). A dilution effect of vitamins on fat was shown: the higher the amount of fat, the lower the vitamin concentrations, the higher the lipid oxidation index (MDA), and the lower the SUM (absolute value of the integral of the translated spectra between 450 and 510 nm). A discriminant analysis that included all studied variables showed that 94.4% of the kids were classified correctly according to their feeding system and could allow traceability to the consumer.

Two Correlations with Enhancement Near the Proton Gyroradius Scale in Solar Wind Turbulence: Parker Solar Probe (PSP) and Wind Observations

Based on the Parker Solar Probe mission, this paper presents the observations of two correlations in solar wind turbulence near the Sun for the first time, demonstrating the clear existence of the following two correlations. One is positive correlation between the proton temperature and turbulent magnetic energy density. The other is negative correlation between the spectral index and magnetic helicity. It is found that the former correlation has a maximum correlation coefficient (CC) at the wavenumber k ρ p ≃ 0.5 (ρ p being the proton thermal gyroradius), and the latter correlation has a maximum absolute value of CC at k ρ p ≃ 1.8. In addition, investigations based on 11 yr of Wind observations reveal that the dimensionless wavenumbers (k ρ p ) corresponding to the maximum (absolute) values of CC remain nearly the same for different data sets. These results tend to suggest that the two correlations enhanced near the proton gyroradius scale would be a common feature of solar wind turbulence.

Some new (p, q)-Dragomir–Agarwal and Iyengar type integral inequalities and their applications

<abstract><p>The main objective of this paper is to derive some new post quantum analogues of Dragomir–Agarwal and Iyengar type integral inequalities essentially by using the strongly $ \varphi $-preinvexity and strongly quasi $ \varphi $-preinvexity properties of the mappings, respectively. We also discuss several new special cases which show that the results obtained are quite unifying. In order to illustrate the efficiency of our main results, some applications regarding $ ({\mathrm{p}}, {\mathrm{q}}) $-differentiable mappings that are in absolute value bounded are given.</p></abstract>