Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Immunosuppression in HCV-positive liver-transplant recipients

Purpose of reviewThe purpose of this review is to evaluate the historical and recent literature as it pertains to current immunosuppression regimens in hepatitis C virus (HCV)-positive (+) liver-transplant recipients. Recent findingsRecent findings suggest that there are unique differences between HCV transplant recipients and non-HCV transplant recipients, not only in the graft's inflammatory response, but also to the treatments used to prevent and combat rejection. SummaryHCV (+) transplant recipients present unique challenges. Over the years, there has been progress but there is clearly no consensus regarding the optimal immunosuppressive medications or drug regimens; however, there continues to be advancements in the management of patients with HCV. Though current studies do not provide clear evidence as to optimal immunosuppression, they do identify questions ideally addressed by large, randomized controlled trials.
Integral Equation-Based Nonoverlapping DDM Using the Explicit Boundary Condition

A new integral equation-based nonoverlapping domain decomposition method (NDDM) is proposed for analyzing electromagnetic (EM) scattering from electrically large PEC objects whose MLFMA models are too large for the user's computer to accommodate. The integral equation is first built on the entire PEC surface, and the entire surface is partitioned into some nonoverlapping subsurfaces. The RWG functions are used to expand the surface current on the entire surface. Then, each full-RWG function across some boundary curve is split into two half-RWG functions whose unknown coefficients are constrained by the boundary current continuity (using the explicit boundary condition). The convergence of the outer-iterative scheme of the proposed NDDM is investigated theoretically and demonstrated to be very good, and hence a very large problem can be effectively solved in an ordinary computer. Some numerical examples are provided to demonstrate the correctness and robustness of the proposed method, and to compare the proposed method with the existing overlapping DDMs having similar attributes.
Kinesin‐2 and Apc function at dendrite branch points to resolve microtubule collisions

In Drosophila neurons, kinesin‐2, EB1 and Apc are required to maintain minus‐end‐out dendrite microtubule polarity, and we previously proposed they steer microtubules at branch points. Motor‐mediated steering of microtubule plus ends could be accomplished in two ways: 1) by linking a growing microtubule tip to the side of an adjacent microtubule as it navigates the branch point (bundling), or 2) by directing a growing microtubule after a collision with a stable microtubule (collision resolution). Using live imaging to distinguish between these two mechanisms, we found that reduction of kinesin‐2 did not alter the number of microtubules that grew along the edge of the branch points where stable microtubules are found. However, reduction of kinesin‐2 or Apc did affect the number of microtubules that slowed down or depolymerized as they encountered the side of the branch opposite to the entry point. These results are consistent with kinesin‐2 functioning with Apc to resolve collisions. However, they do not pinpoint stable microtubules as the collision partner as stable microtubules are typically very close to the membrane. To determine whether growing microtubules were steered along stable ones after a collision, we analyzed the behavior of growing microtubules at dendrite crossroads where stable microtubules run through the middle of the branch point. In control neurons, microtubules turned in the middle of the crossroads. However, when kinesin‐2 was reduced some microtubules grew straight through the branch point and failed to turn. We propose that kinesin‐2 functions to steer growing microtubules along stable ones following collisions. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
A new chromanone acid from the stem bark of Calophyllum teysmannii

A new chromanone acid, namely caloteysmannic acid (1), along with three known compounds, calolongic acid (2), isocalolongic acid (3) and stigmasterol (4) were isolated from the stem bark of Calophyllum teysmannii. All these compounds were evaluated for their cytotoxic and antioxidant activities in the MTT and DPPH assays, respectively. The structure of compound 1 was determined by means of spectroscopic methods including 1D and 2D NMR experiments as well as HR-EIMS spectrometry. The stereochemical assignment of compound 1 was done based on the NMR results and X-ray crystallographic analysis. The preliminary assay results revealed that all the test compounds displayed potent inhibitory activity against HeLa cancer cell line, in particular with compound 1 which exhibited the highest cytotoxic activity comparable to the positive control used, cisplatin. However, no significant antioxidant activity was observed for all the test compounds in the DPPH radical scavenging capacity assay.
Aquatic insects in a multistress environment: cross-tolerance to salinity and desiccation

ABSTRACT Exposing organisms to a particular stressor may enhance tolerance to a subsequent stress, when protective mechanisms against the two stressors are shared. Such cross-tolerance is a common adaptive response in dynamic multivariate environments and often indicates potential co-evolution of stress traits. Many aquatic insects in inland saline waters from Mediterranean-climate regions are sequentially challenged with salinity and desiccation stress. Thus, cross-tolerance to these physiologically similar stressors could have been positively selected in insects of these regions. We used adults of the saline water beetles Enochrus jesusarribasi (Hydrophilidae) and Nebrioporus baeticus (Dytiscidae) to test cross-tolerance responses to desiccation and salinity. In independent laboratory experiments, we evaluated the effects of (i) salinity stress on the subsequent resistance to desiccation and (ii) desiccation stress (rapid and slow dehydration) on the subsequent tolerance to salinity. Survival, water loss and haemolymph osmolality were measured. Exposure to stressful salinity improved water control under subsequent desiccation stress in both species, with a clear cross-tolerance (enhanced performance) in N. baeticus. In contrast, general negative effects on performance were found under the inverse stress sequence. The rapid and slow dehydration produced different water loss and haemolymph osmolality dynamics that were reflected in different survival patterns. Our finding of cross-tolerance to salinity and desiccation in ecologically similar species from distant lineages, together with parallel responses between salinity and thermal stress previously found in several aquatic taxa, highlights the central role of adaption to salinity and co-occurring stressors in arid inland waters, having important implications for the species' persistence under climate change. Summary: Exposure to stressful salinity improves desiccation resistance under subsequent desiccation stress in aquatic beetles, but the inverse stress sequence has negative effects on water and ionic balance, decreasing performance.
Strategy-Accurate Parallel Buchberger Algorithms

Abstract We describe two parallel versions of the Buchberger algorithm for computing Grobner bases, one for the general case and one for homogeneous ideals, which exploit coarse grain parallelism. For the general case, to avoid the growth in number and complexity of the polynomials to reduce, the algorithm adheres strictly to the same strategies as the best sequential implementation. A suitable communication procotol has been designed to ensure proper synchronization of the various processes and to limit their idle time. We provide a detailed analysis the maximum potential degree of parallelism that is achievable with such architecture. The analysis corresponds to the results of our experimental implementation and also explains similar results obtained by other authors.
Dimensionality of Organizational Justice in a Call Center Context

Employees in three call centers were surveyed about their perceptions of organizational justice. Four factors were measured: distributive justice, procedural justice, interpersonal justice, and informational justice. Structural equation modeling was employed to test whether a two-, three-, or four-factor model best fit the call center data. A three-factor model of distributive, procedural, and informational justice provided the best fit to these data. The three-factor model that showed the best fit does not conform to any of the more traditional models identified in the organizational justice literature. This implies that the context in which organizational justice is measured may play a role in identifying which justice factors are relevant to employees. Findings add to the empirical evidence on the dimensionality of organizational justice and imply that dimensionality of organizational justice is more context-dependent than previously thought.
Multi-Objective Genetic Programming for Dataset Similarity Induction

Metal earning - the recommendation of a suitable machine learning technique for a given dataset - relies on the concept of similarity between datasets. Traditionally, similarity measures have been constructed manually, and thus could not precisely grasp the complex relationship among the different features of the datasets. Recently, we have used an attribute alignment technique combined with genetic programming to obtain more fine-grained and trainable dataset similarity measure. In this paper, we propose an approach based on multi-objective genetic programming for evolving an attribute similarity function. Multi-objective optimization is used to encourage some of the metric properties, thus contributing to the generalization abilities of the similarity function being evolved. Experiments are performed on the data extracted from the OpenML repository and their results are compared to the baseline algorithm.
Collision Pattern Modeling and Real-Time Collision Detection at Road Intersections

The crash rate in road intersection demonstrates the need for a fast and accurate collision detection system. Ubiquitous computing research provides a significant opportunity to develop novel ways of improving road intersection safety. The existing intersection collision warning or avoidance systems are mostly built to suit a particular intersection. We suggest that an intersection collision detection system should be able to adapt to different types of intersections by acquiring the collision patterns of the intersection through data mining. Collision patterns that are specific to that intersection are stored in a knowledge base to select vehicles which are exposed to a high risk of collision. This algorithm increases the speed of collision detection calculation, as detection is not applied on all possible pairs in an intersection. The performance and accuracy of the algorithm are evaluated. This evaluation is done on a developed simulation bed and the results are presented.
Cost-Effectiveness of One Year Dementia Follow-Up Care by Memory Clinics or General Practitioners: Economic Evaluation of a Randomised Controlled Trial

Objective To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of post-diagnosis dementia treatment and coordination of care by memory clinics compared to general practitioners’ care. Methods A multicentre randomised trial with 175 community dwelling patients newly diagnosed with mild to moderate dementia, and their informal caregivers, with twelve months’ follow-up. Cost-effectiveness was evaluated from a societal point of view and presented as incremental cost per quality adjusted life year. To establish cost-effectiveness, a cost-utility analysis was conducted using utilities based on the EQ-5D. Uncertainty surrounding the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (difference in costs divided by difference in effects) was calculated by bootstrapping from the original data. Results Compared to general practitioners’ care, treatment by the memory clinics was on average €1024 (95% CI: −€7723 to €5674) cheaper, and showed a non-significant decrease of 0.025 (95% CI: −0.114 to 0.064) quality adjusted life years. The incremental cost-effectiveness point estimate from the bootstrap simulation was € 41 442 per QALY lost if one would use memory clinic care instead of general practitioner care. Conclusion No evidence was found that memory clinics were more cost-effective compared to general practitioners with regard to post-diagnosis treatment and coordination of care of patients with dementia in the first year after diagnosis. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00554047
Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics on the Growth of Nucleation Mode Particles: Source Rates of Condensable Vapor in Polluted and Clean Environments

The growth properties of nucleation mode particles were investigated. The variation of source rates of condensable vapors in different locations and environmental conditions was analyzed. The measurements were performed in background stations in Antarctica, in Finnish Lapland and Boreal Forest stations (SMEAR I and SMEAR II) as well as in polluted urban sites in Athens, Marseille and New Delhi. Taking advantage of only the measured spectral evolution of aerosol particles as a function of time the formation and growth properties of nucleation mode aerosols were evaluated. The diameter growth-rate and condensation sink were obtained from the measured size distribution dynamics. Using this growth rate and condensation sink, the concentration of condensable vapors and their source rate were estimated. The growth rates and condensation sinks ranged between 0.3–20 nm h −1 and 10 −4 –0.07 s −1 , respectively. The corresponding source rate of condensable vapors varied more than 4 orders of magnitude from 10 3 to over 10 7 cm −1 s −1. The highest condensation sink and source rate values were observed in New Delhi and the smallest values in Antarctica.
Distal radius fractures

The management of distal radius fractures has evolved considerably in the last two decades. Techniques and hardware have improved so much that the surgeon can usually assure good results in these debilitating fractures. Yet no one method can be used for all injuries, as the personality of each fracture demands a customized approach. Furthermore, what works in one age group may not work in another. For this reason, every available treatment has its own space in our options. The need for surgeons to be well versed in all techniques is critical. We offer a concise update of important evolutionary and current treatment guidelines for this common fracture.
Complexities of Rett Syndrome and MeCP2

### Introduction 1Rett syndrome (RTT, MIM 312750), originally described by the Austrian pediatrician Andreas Rett, is an X-linked neurodevelopmental disorder that primarily affects girls at a frequency of 1:10,000 live female births ([Rett, 1966][1]; [Hagberg, 1985][2]; [Laurvick et al., 2006][3
Randomized clinical trial of adenosine 5'-triphosphate in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer.

BACKGROUND Extracellular adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) is involved in the regulation of a variety of biologic processes, including neurotransmission, muscle contraction, and liver glucose metabolism, via purinergic receptors. In nonrandomized studies involving patients with different tumor types including non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), ATP infusion appeared to inhibit loss of weight and deterioration of quality of life (QOL) and performance status. We conducted a randomized clinical trial to evaluate the effects of ATP in patients with advanced NSCLC (stage IIIB or IV). METHODS Fifty-eight patients were randomly assigned to receive either 10 intravenous 30-hour ATP infusions, with the infusions given at 2- to 4-week intervals, or no ATP. Outcome parameters were assessed every 4 weeks until 28 weeks. Between-group differences were tested for statistical significance by use of repeated-measures analysis, and reported P values are two-sided. RESULTS Twenty-eight patients were allocated to receive ATP treatment and 30 received no ATP. Mean weight changes per 4-week period were -1.0 kg (95% confidence interval [CI] = -1.5 to -0.5) in the control group and 0.2 kg (95% CI = -0.2 to +0.6) in the ATP group (P =.002). Serum albumin concentration declined by -1.2 g/L (95% CI= -2.0 to -0.4) per 4 weeks in the control group but remained stable (0.0 g/L; 95% CI = -0.3 to +0.3) in the ATP group (P =.006). Elbow flexor muscle strength declined by -5.5% (95% CI = -9.6% to -1. 4%) per 4 weeks in the control group but remained stable (0.0%; 95% CI= -1.4% to +1.4%) in the ATP group (P =.01). A similar pattern was observed for knee extensor muscles (P =.02). The effects of ATP on body weight, muscle strength, and albumin concentration were especially marked in cachectic patients (P =.0002, P =.0001, and P =. 0001, respectively, for ATP versus no ATP). QOL score changes per 4-week period in the ATP group showed overall less deterioration than in the control group-physical scores (-0.2% versus -2.4%; P =. 0002); functional scores (+0.4% versus -5.5%; P =.02); psychologic scores (-0.7% versus -2.4%; P =.11); overall QOL score (+0.1% versus -3.5%; P =.0001). CONCLUSIONS This randomized trial demonstrates that ATP has beneficial effects on weight, muscle strength, and QOL in patients with advanced NSCLC.
Prognostic significance of a short sequence insertion in the MCL-1 promoter in chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

BACKGROUND Mcl-1 protein contributes to the longevity of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) B cells, and its higher expression has been associated with resistance to chemotherapy. We sought structural changes in the MCL-1 gene in CLL patients and associated these with clinical parameters of the disease. METHODS The MCL-1 gene from peripheral blood lymphocytes from 58 CLL patients and 18 control subjects and from the RL and BC-3 lymphoma cell lines was sequenced. Mcl-1 mRNA expression (in 20 consecutive patients and four control subjects) was analyzed by RNase protection assay, and Mcl-1 protein expression (in 18 consecutive patients and four controls) was analyzed by western blotting. Genetic changes in MCL-1 were associated with biochemical and clinical characteristics, including expression of CD38, a negative prognostic factor. Cox proportional hazards modeling was used to determine the prognostic importance of changes in the MCL-1 gene, and the Kaplan-Meier method was used to analyze patient survival. All statistical tests were two sided. RESULTS A 6- or 18-nucleotide sequence insertion was found in the same site in the MCL-1 promoter in 17 of 58 patients and in BC-3 cells; it was absent in all control subjects and in RL cells. Of 21 CD38-negative patients, 10 had a promoter insertion; of 17 CD38-positive patients, one had a promoter insertion (P =.0099). Patients with a promoter insertion had higher mRNA (median = 26.8 relative units, interquartile range [IQR] = 14.9 to 35.2, versus median = 8.8 relative units, IQR = 3.9 to 15.7, P =.030, U-test) and protein (median = 0.84 relative units, IQR = 0.81 to 1.0 versus median = 0.47, IQR = 0.32 to 0.70, P =.021, U-test) expression, more rapid disease progression (P =.012), poorer response to chemotherapy (P =.001), and shorter overall (P =.0088) and disease-specific (P <.001) survival than patients with a normal promoter. The presence of an MCL-1 promoter insertion had prognostic significance in a Cox model (P =.001). CONCLUSIONS The MCL-1 promoter insertion may identify a high-risk group of CD38-negative CLL patients.
MicroRNA regulation of a cancer network: Consequences of the feedback loops involving miR-17-92, E2F, and Myc

The transcription factors E2F and Myc participate in the control of cell proliferation and apoptosis, and can act as oncogenes or tumor suppressors depending on their levels of expression. Positive feedback loops in the regulation of these factors are predicted—and recently shown experimentally—to lead to bistability, which is a phenomenon characterized by the existence of low and high protein levels (“off” and “on” levels, respectively), with sharp transitions between levels being inducible by, for example, changes in growth factor concentrations. E2F and Myc are inhibited at the posttranscriptional step by members of a cluster of microRNAs (miRs) called miR-17-92. In return, E2F and Myc induce the transcription of miR-17-92, thus forming a negative feedback loop in the interaction network. The consequences of the coupling between the E2F/Myc positive feedback loops and the E2F/Myc/miR-17-92 negative feedback loop are analyzed using a mathematical model. The model predicts that miR-17-92 plays a critical role in regulating the position of the off–on switch in E2F/Myc protein levels, and in determining the on levels of these proteins. The model also predicts large-amplitude protein oscillations that coexist with the off steady state levels. Using the concept and model prediction of a “cancer zone,” the oncogenic and tumor suppressor properties of miR-17-92 is demonstrated to parallel the same properties of E2F and Myc.
LCOS-Based Wavelength Blocker Array With Channel-by-Channel Variable Center Wavelength and Bandwidth

We developed a new class of compact wavelength blocker (WB) array based on liquid crystal on silicon (LCOS), which enables per-channel control of not only the optical transmission power level but also channel center wavelength and channel bandwidth independently. We demonstrate an integrated device with WB array having 12 input/output ports for 50-GHz-spaced International Telecommunication Union-Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T) channels over the entire C-band. The center wavelength and bandwidth can be adjusted independently with a minimum setting resolution of 3 and 6 GHz, respectively.
Exploiting expendable process-margins in DRAMs for run-time performance optimization

Manufacturing-time process (P) variations and runtime voltage (V) and temperature (T) variations can affect a DRAM's performance severely. To counter these effects, DRAM vendors provide substantial design-time PVT timing margins to guarantee correct DRAM functionality under worst-case operating conditions. Unfortunately, with technology scaling these timing margins have become large and very pessimistic for a majority of the manufactured DRAMs. While run-time variations are specific to operating conditions and as a result, their margins difficult to optimize, process variations are manufacturing-time effects and excessive process-margins can be reduced at run-time, on a per-device basis, if properly identified. In this paper, we propose a generic post-manufacturing performance characterization methodology for DRAMs that identifies this excess in process-margins for any given DRAM device at runtime, while retaining the requisite margins for voltage (noise) and temperature variations. By doing so, the methodology ascertains the actual impact of process-variations on the particular DRAM device and optimizes its access latencies (timings), thereby improving its overall performance. We evaluate this methodology on 48 DDR3 devices (from 12 DIMMs) and verify the derived timings under worst-case operating conditions, showing up to 33.3% and 25.9% reduction in DRAM read and write latencies, respectively.
Phase Unwrapping and A Robust Chinese Remainder Theorem

In the conventional Chinese remainder theorem (CRT), a small error in a remainder may cause a large error in the solution of an integer, i.e., CRT is not robust. In this letter, we first propose a robust phase unwrapping algorithm with applications in radar signal processing. Motivated from the phase unwrapping algorithm, we then derive a type of robust CRT