Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Nuclear Medicine Studies in Metabolic Bone Disease

The principal application of nuclear medicine in metabolic bone disease is the isotope bone scan. Often, it is not a diagnostic tool but can be useful in clarifying the nature of a clinical problem. The best-established role for the bone scan in metabolic bone disease is in Paget's disease, in which it is diagnostic, provides definition of the extent of disease, and probably reflects disease activity. The isotope bone scan is also important in osteoporosis, for which it is not diagnostic but may often provide useful information to confirm that fracture has occurred, determine the age of the fracture, identify unsuspected fractures, and identify other causes for pain, for example, facet joint disease. The bone scan is less useful in other metabolic bone diseases, for example, renal osteodystrophy and osteomalacia, but will often have a characteristic appearance, with several metabolic features. The degree of positivity of the scan generally relates to the severity of the hyperparathyroidism. In patients with metabolic bone disease, other specific clinical problems may arise, such as osteomyelitis or avascular necrosis, and the bone scan may be diagnostic in these conditions. Nuclear medicine techniques are also of value in hyperparathyroidism and to localize the site of the adenoma where surgical treatment is being considered; the use of technetium Tc 99m sestamibi is now routine. More recently, positron emission tomography (PET) scanning has been found to be helpful in the more difficult cases.
Longer-term assessment of trastuzumab-related cardiac adverse events in the Herceptin Adjuvant (HERA) trial.

PURPOSE We investigated the incidence of cardiac adverse events in patients with early breast cancer in the Herceptin Adjuvant (HERA) trial who were treated with 1 year of trastuzumab after completion of (neo)adjuvant chemotherapy. PATIENTS AND METHODS The HERA trial is a three-group, randomized trial that compared 1 year or 2 years of trastuzumab with observation in women with human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2) -positive early breast cancer. Eligible patients had normal left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF; >or= 55%) after completion of (neo)adjuvant chemotherapy with or without radiotherapy. Cardiac function was monitored throughout the trial. This analysis considers patients randomly assigned to 1 year of trastuzumab treatment or observation. RESULTS There were 1,698 patients randomly assigned to observation and 1,703 randomly assigned to 1 year of trastuzumab treatment; 94.1% of patients had been treated with anthracyclines. The incidence of discontinuation of trastuzumab because of cardiac disorders was low (5.1%). At a median follow-up of 3.6 years, the incidence of cardiac end points remained low, though it was higher in the trastuzumab group than in the observation group (severe CHF, 0.8% v 0.0%; confirmed significant LVEF decreases, 3.6% v 0.6%) In the trastuzumab group, 59 of 73 patients with a cardiac end point reached acute recovery; of these 59 patients, 52 were considered by the cardiac advisory board (CAB) to have a favorable outcome from the cardiac end point. CONCLUSION The incidence of cardiac end points remains low even after longer-term follow-up. The cumulative incidence of any type of cardiac end point increases during the scheduled treatment period of 1 year, but it remains relatively constant thereafter.
Identification of nonlinear systems with nonlinear parameterization

A contraction based identification scheme for systems with nonlinear parameterizations is developed in this paper. Given a system with a general parameterization, an identification model is proposed such that time evolution of estimation error is composed by two blocks of parameterization: one linear and one nonlinear function of linear parameterization. A particular identification algorithm, based on the proportional-integral adaptive scheme, is then formulated. Exponential convergence among the underlined and desired identification systems trajectories is analyzed by means of an averaged version for contraction.
[Automated quantitative image cytometry of bronchial washings in suspected lung cancer: comparison with cytology, histology and clinical diagnosis].

INTRODUCTION Automated image cytometry represents a new method for the quantitative analysis of nuclear structure and DNA-content of exfoliative airway epithelial cells. In the present investigation, we examined the correlation between automated cytometry, conventional cytology and histopathology with the final diagnosis as the "gold standard". METHODS In 142 patients (100 males and 42 females) with suspected lung cancer and 50 controls (COPD, asthma), bronchial washings (5-10 ml) were obtained during bronchoscopy before taking biopsies for cytological and/or histological examinations. The washings were collected in 20 ml Saccomanno's fixative and centrifuged (500 g, 15 min). The cell pellet was resuspended in Saccomanno's solution. Two specimens were stained according to Papanicolaou and another two using the Feulgen reaction with thionine. Image cytometry was performed by means of a special, trainable classifier for exfoliative cells of the respiratory tract, using the Cyto-Sacant (Oncometrics, Vancouver). RESULTS In the patients with suspected lung cancer we found numerous abnormal nuclei in 97 samples, 36 samples contained normal cells only, and 9 samples were insufficient. In our control group there was no sample with abnormal nuclei, and all washings were evaluable. Compared to the final diagnosis of lung cancer, we found a sensitivity of 90% (92/102) and a specificity of 84% (26/31). For histology sensitivity was 91% (73/80) and specificity 100%, while we found a sensitivity of 92% (92/100) and specificity of 100% for cytology. For automated cytometry the positive predicted value was 95%, the negative predicted value 71%. CONCLUSIONS In the investigation of patients with suspected lung cancer, automated image cytometry of bronchial washings is a sensitive and reliable method for the detection of malignant changes in the tracheobronchial mucosa. The automated procedure seems well suited not only for analysing bronchial washings, but also for a screening procedure.
Personality Change at the Intersection of Autonomic Arousal and Stress

We hypothesized that personality change in children can be predicted by the interaction of family risk with susceptibility to autonomic arousal and that children characterized by both high-risk families and highly reactive autonomic nervous systems tend to show maladaptive change. This hypothesis was tested in a 6-year longitudinal study in which personality-type prototypicality, problem behavior, and negative emotional intensity were measured at 2-year intervals. The results indicated that children who both had exaggerated skin conductance responses (a measure of autonomic reactivity) and were living in families with multiple risk factors were most likely to develop an undercontrolled personality type and to exhibit increases in problem behavior and negative emotional intensity. The implications of the results for understanding personality change are discussed.
Meta‐research: The art of getting it wrong

Meta‐analysis has major strengths, but sometimes it can often lead to wrong and misleading answers. In this SRSM presidential address, I discuss some case studies that exemplify these problems, including examples from meta‐analyses of both clinical trials and observational associations. I also discuss issues of effect size estimation, bias (in particular significance‐chasing biases), and credibility in meta‐research. I examine the factors that affect the credibility of meta‐analyses, including magnitude of effects, multiplicity of analyses, scale of data, flexibility of analyses, reporting, and conflicts of interest. Under the current circumstances, a survey of expert meta‐analysts attending the SRSM meeting showed that most of them believe that the true effect is practically equally likely to lie within the 95% confidence interval of a meta‐analysis or outside of it. Finally, I address the placement of meta‐analysis in the wider current research agenda and make a plea for adoption of more prospective meta‐designs. In many/most/all fields, all primary original research may be designed, executed, and interpreted as a prospective meta‐analysis. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Vascular Conductance is Reduced After Menthol or Cold Application

Objective: To compare the effects of commercially sold menthol (3.5%) ointment and cold application on blood flow in the forearm. Design: Prospective counterbalanced design. Setting: University research laboratory. Participants: Twelve (6 men and 6 women) college-aged students. Interventions: Each participant had blood flow measured in the brachial artery for 5 minutes before and 10 minutes after menthol ointment or cold application to the forearm. Main Outcome Measures: Blood velocity, arterial diameter size, and blood pressure were recorded during testing procedures. Vascular conductance was calculated based on these measures and used to describe limb blood flow. Results: We observed a significant reduction (35%; P = 0.004) in vascular conductance within 60 seconds of menthol and cold application to the forearm. Vascular conductance remained significantly reduced for 10 minutes by approximately 19% after both menthol and cold application [F(2.313, 43.594) = 10.328, P < 0.0001]. There was no significant difference between conditions [F(1, 19) = 0.000, P = 0.945]. Conclusions: The application of a 3.5% menthol ointment significantly reduces conductance in the brachial artery within 60 seconds of application, and this effect is maintained for at least 10 minutes after application. The overall decline in conductance is similar between menthol ointment and cold application.
Integrating sentiment and social structure to determine preference alignments: the Irish Marriage Referendum

We examine the relationship between social structure and sentiment through the analysis of a large collection of tweets about the Irish Marriage Referendum of 2015. We obtain the sentiment of every tweet with the hashtags #marref and #marriageref that was posted in the days leading to the referendum, and construct networks to aggregate sentiment and use it to study the interactions among users. Our analysis shows that the sentiment of outgoing mention tweets is correlated with the sentiment of incoming mentions, and there are significantly more connections between users with similar sentiment scores than among users with opposite scores in the mention and follower networks. We combine the community structure of the follower and mention networks with the activity level of the users and sentiment scores to find groups that support voting ‘yes’ or ‘no’ in the referendum. There were numerous conversations between users on opposing sides of the debate in the absence of follower connections, which suggests that there were efforts by some users to establish dialogue and debate across ideological divisions. Our analysis shows that social structure can be integrated successfully with sentiment to analyse and understand the disposition of social media users around controversial or polarizing issues. These results have potential applications in the integration of data and metadata to study opinion dynamics, public opinion modelling and polling.
Money - Inflation Nexus in Indonesia: Evidence from a P-Star Analysis

In this paper the effect of excess narrow money (MI) on C PI intlation in Indonesiabefore, during, and after the Asian crisis is empirically examined. The standard model for themonetary analysis of inflation, i.e. the P-Star model by Hallman-Porter-Small (1991), isapplied and tested empirically using quarterly Indonesian data between 1981 and 2002. Theempirical model is a Markov switching error correction model. The results show that the tworegime P-star model, in terms of excess MI, tracks the long run dynamics of CPI inflation inIndonesia remarkably weIl. Hence, there is an empirical support for the assertion that longrun CPI intlation in Indonesia is a monetary phenomenon. In addition, there is evidence of aco-breaking relationship between excess MI and consumer prices in Indonesia during theAsian crisis.
Organizational Culture and Effectiveness: Can American Theory Be Applied in Russia?

This paper examines the link between organizational culture and effectiveness for foreign-owned firms operating in Russia. Beginning with a model of organizational culture developed in the United States, the paper presents a multimethod analysis of culture and effectiveness in a transition economy. We argue that effectiveness in Russia relies more on adaptability and flexibility than it does in the United States. Furthermore, the legacy of the Communist era forces firms in Russia to deal with a workforce with a unique time perspective and a unique set of subcultures that often undermine attempts at coordination and integration. We first explore these ideas using survey data on 179 foreign-owned firms operating in Russia and compare the results to those obtained for firms in the United States. We then present four case studies designed to ground the results in the Russian context, and to document cultural dynamics not captured by the model.
DIFFERING LEVELS OF AMONG‐POPULATION DIVERGENCE IN THE MITOCHONDRIAL DNA OF PERIODICAL CICADAS RELATED TO HISTORICAL BIOGEOGRAPHY

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplotypes were determined for 118 individuals of 13‐and 17‐year periodical cicadas (genus Magicicada) collected from 16 localities throughout the Midwest and eastern United States. Two distinct mtDNA lineages, identified as A and B, differ by 2.5% based on analysis of fragment patterns and restriction maps. Observed levels of mtDNA diversity within each lineage are low compared to estimates for other taxa. The two lineages are regionally segregated, with the boundary line occurring at a latitude of approximately 33° North. The levels of mtDNA diversity and population genetic structure differ within the two lineages. There is a remarkably low level of mean mtDNA divergence and no genetic structure in lineage A, whereas lineage B exhibits an order of magnitude higher level of mtDNA diversity and significant genetic structure among sampled populations. The low level of mtDNA diversity in cicadas may be attributed to (1) a population bottleneck that most likely occurred during the Pleistocene, (2) recent colonization following the retreat of the glaciers and the expansion of deciduous forests, and/or (3) high among‐family reproductive variance (as a consequence of large population size, high fecundity, aggregative behavior of adults, and clumping of eggs). The difference in mtDNA diversity and population genetic structure between the lineages suggests that they experienced different biogeographic histories; we relate this to Pleistocene changes.
Deconstruction and holography

It was recently pointed out that the physics of a single discrete gravitational extra dimension exhibits a peculiar UV/IR connection, relating the UV scale to the radius of the effective extra dimension. Here we note that this non-locality is a manifestation of holography, encoding the correct scaling of the number of fundamental degrees of freedom of the UV theory. This in turn relates the Wilsonian RG flow in the UV theory to the effective gravitational dynamics in the extra dimension. The relevant holographic c-function is determined by the expression for the holographic bound. Holography in this context is a result of the requirements of unitarity and diffeomorphism invariance. We comment on the relevance of this observation for the cosmological constant problem.
Geographical load balancing with renewables

Given the significant energy consumption of data centers, improving their energy efficiency is an important social problem. However, energy efficiency is necessary but not sufficient for sustainability, which demands reduced usage of energy from fossil fuels. This paper investigates the feasibility of powering internet-scale systems using (nearly) entirely renewable energy. We perform a trace-based study to evaluate three issues related to achieving this goal: the impact of geographical load balancing, the role of storage, and the optimal mix of renewables. Our results highlight that geographical load balancing can significantly reduce the required capacity of renewable energy by using the energy more efficiently with "follow the renewables" routing. Further, our results show that small-scale storage can be useful, especially in combination with geographical load balancing, and that an optimal mix of renewables includes significantly more wind than photovoltaic solar.
Restrictive Annuloplasty and Coronary Revascularization in Ischemic Mitral Regurgitation Results in Reverse Left Ventricular Remodeling

Background—Data on combined coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and restrictive annuloplasty in patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy are scarce, and the effect on reverse left ventricular (LV) remodeling is unknown. Methods and Results—51 patients with ischemic LV dysfunction (LV ejection fraction 31±8%) and severe mitral regurgitation (grade 3 to 4+) underwent CABG and restrictive annuloplasty with stringent downsizing of the mitral annulus (by 2 sizes, Physio-ring, mean size 28±2). Serial transthoracic echocardiographic studies were performed (before surgery and within 3 months and 1.5 years after surgery) to assess mitral regurgitation, transmitral gradient, leaflet coaptation, and left atrial and LV reverse remodeling. Clinical follow-up (New York Heart Association [NYHA] class, survival, events) was assessed at 2-year follow-up. Early operative mortality was 5.6%; at 2-year follow-up, all patients were free of endocarditis and thromboembolism, and 1 needed re-operation for recurrent mitral regurgitation; 2-year survival was 84%. NYHA class improved from 3.4±0.8 to 1.3±0.4 (P<0.01), with all patients in class I/II. Intraoperative transesophageal echo showed minimal (grade 1+) mitral regurgitation in 8 patients and none in 43, without stenosis. Leaflet coaptation was 0.8±0.2 cm. These values remained unchanged; all patients had no or minimal (grade 1+) mitral regurgitation at 2-year follow-up. LV end-systolic and end-diastolic dimensions decreased from 51±10 to 43±12 mm (P<0.001) and from 64±8 to 58±11 mm (P<0.001). Left atrial dimension decreased from 53±8 to 47±7 mm (P<0.001). Conclusion—Excellent results of combined restrictive annuloplasty and CABG were obtained. Residual mitral regurgitation was absent/minimal at 2-year follow-up, associated with a significant reduction in left atrial dimension and LV reverse remodeling.
The Evaluation of Single-Sensor Surface Soil Moisture Anomalies over the Mainland of the People's Republic of China

In recent years, different space agencies have launched satellite missions that carry passive microwave instruments on-board that can measure surface soil moisture. Three currently operational missions are the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) mission developed by the European Space Agency (ESA), the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer 2 (AMSR2) developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), and the Microwave Radiation Imager (MWRI) from China’s National Satellite Meteorological Centre (NSMC). In this study, the quality of surface soil moisture anomalies derived from these passive microwave instruments was sequentially assessed over the mainland of the People’s Republic of China. First, the impact of a recent update in the Land Parameter Retrieval Model (LPRM) was assessed for MWRI observations. Then, the soil moisture measurements retrieved from the X-band observations of MWRI were compared with those of AMSR2, followed by an internal comparison of the multiple frequencies of AMSR2. Finally, SMOS retrievals from two different algorithms were also included in the comparison. For each sequential step, processing and verification chains were specifically designed to isolate the impact of algorithm (version), observation frequency or instrument characteristics. Two verification techniques are used: the statistical Triple Collocation technique is used as the primary verification tool, while the precipitation-based Rvalue technique is used to confirm key results. Our results indicate a consistently better performance throughout the entire study area after the implementation of an update of the LPRM. We also find that passive microwave observations in the AMSR2 C-band frequency (6.9 GHz) have an advantage over the AMSR2 X-band frequency (10.7 GHz) over moderate to densely vegetated regions. This finding is in line with theoretical expectations as emitted soil radiation will become masked under a dense canopy with stricter thresholds for higher passive microwave frequencies. Both AMSR2 and MWRI make X-band observations; a direct comparison between them reveals a consistently higher quality obtained by AMSR2, specifically over semi-arid climate regimes. Unfortunately, Radio Frequency Interference hampers the usefulness of soil moisture products for the SMOS L-band mission, leading to a significantly reduced revisit time over the densely populated eastern part of the country. Nevertheless, our analysis demonstrates that soil moisture products from a number of multi-frequency microwave sensors are credible alternatives for this dedicated L-band mission over the mainland of the People’s Republic of China.
Optimal Fuzzy Partitions: A Heuristic for Estimating the Parameters in a Mixture of Normal Distributions

An algorithm is described for generating fuzzy partitions which extremize a fuzzy extension of the k-means squared-error criterion function on finite data sets X. It is shown how this algorithm may be applied to the problem of estimating the parameters (a priori probabilities, means, and covariances) of mixture of multivariate normal densities, given a finite sample X drawn from the mixture. The behavior of the algorithm is compared with that of the ordinary ISODATA clustering process and the maximum likelihood method, for a specific bivariate mixture.
An improved fully parallel 3D thinning algorithm

A 3D thinning algorithm erodes a 3D image layer by layer to extract the skeletons. This paper presents an improved fully parallel 3D thinning algorithm which extracts medial lines from a 3D image. This algorithm is based on Ma and Sonka’s thinning algorithm [16], which fails to preserve connectivity of 3D objects. We start with Ma and Sonka’s algorithm and examine its verification of connectivity preservation. Our analysis leads to a group of different deleting templates, which can preserve connectivity of 3D
A comparison of spatial interpolation methods for surface temperature in Thailand

This paper aims to compare performance of two type of spatial interpolation methods for the estimation of surface temperature. Eleventh years of monthly mean surface temperature data at 120 stations located in Thailand have been used for this study. Inverse distance weighting (IDW) and ordinary kriging (OK) were used to interpolate surface temperature. Leave-one-out cross-validation (LOOCV) had been use to analyze the spatial error of interpolated data. The result of a Wilcoxon signed rank test indicated that the performance of ordinary kriging was significantly better (p value = 0.002) than the inverse distance weighting. The summary statistics show interpolation errors of the kriging for monthly mean surface temperature varying within 0.68-0.84.