Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparison of Probabilistically Shaped 64QAM With Lower Cardinality Uniform Constellations in Long-Haul Optical Systems

In this paper, we compare the performance of probabilistically shaped 64QAM with uniform 16QAM and 32QAM modulation formats at the same net data rate in long-haul coherent optical communications systems. Experimental results at 16 GBaud are shown, with offline postprocessing of the data performed using either an ideal or a realistic carrier phase estimation (CPE) scheme. We show that the choice of the CPE algorithm at the receiver is crucial, since, as predicted by current models, most of the additional nonlinear noise introduced by the shaping is nonlinear phase noise (NLPN). Thanks to the use of probabilistic shaping (PS), maximum reach gains ranging from 15.5% and $\text{34}\%$ are obtained over pure silica-core fiber, where the NLPN can be efficiently compensated for by standard CPE algorithms, while over nonzero dispersion-shifted fiber, the gain of PS is drastically reduced, due to residual short-correlated NLPN.
Controversies in Treatment of Acetabular Fracture

Introduction: Acetabular fractures treatment represents a great controversy, challenge and dilemma for an orthopedic surgeon. Aim: The aim of the paper was to present the results of treatment of 96 acetabular fractures in the Clinic of Traumatology Banja Luka, in the period from 2003 to 2013, as well as to raise awareness regarding the controversy in the methods of choice in treating acetabulum fractures. Material and methods: The series consists of 96 patients, 82 males and 14 females, average age 40.5 years. Traffic trauma was the cause of fractures in 79 patients (85%), and in 17 patients (15%) fractures occurred due to falls from height. Polytrauma was present in 31 patients (32%). According to the classification of Judet and Letournel, representation of acetabular fractures was as follows: posterior wall in 32 patients, posterior column in 28, anterior wall in 4, anterior column in 2, transverse fractures in 8, posterior wall and posterior column in 10, anterior and posterior wall in 6, both- column in 4 and transversal fracture and posterior wall in 2 patients. 14 patients were treated with traction, that is, 6 patients with femoral traction and 8 patients with both lateral and femoral traction. 82 patients (86.4%) were surgically treated. Kocher-Langenbeck approach was applied in the treatment of 78 patients. In two patients from the Kocher-Langenbeck’s approach, the Ollier’s approach had to be applied as well. Two acetabular were primarily treated with Ollier’s approach. Extended Smith- Peterson’s approach was applied 4 times, and Emile Letournel’s (ilioinguinal) approach 14 times. Results: Functional outcome (after follow-up of 18 months), according to the Harris hip score of surgical treatment in 82 patients, was as follows: good 46 (56%), satisfactory 32 (39%) and poor 4 (5%). Results of acetabulum fractures treated with traction were: good 8 (57%), satisfactory 4 (28%) and poor 2 (15%). According to the Brook’s classification of heterotopic ossification, periarticular hetero-tropic calcifications after surgical treatment were: 0° in 65 patients (79%), I-II° in 9 patients (11%) and III-IV ° in 8 patients (10%). Calcifications in 14 patients treated with traction of heterotopic ossification by Brook-s classification were as follows: 0° in 10 patients (72%), I-II ° in 3 patients (22%) and III-IV° in 1 patient (6%). Conclusion: At the occurrence of acetabular fracture, it is necessary to start the treatment immediately, with an obligatory application of thromboembolic and antibiotic prophylaxis. Conservative treatment is acceptable if the dislocation of fracture is less than 5 mm. Indications for surgical treatment are incongruent or unstable fractures with verified dislocation greater than 5 mm, as well as when the radiography measured by JM Matta shows incongruence of acetabular roof less than 40° in all planes. Kocher-Langenbeck approach is the choice of surgical approach for the management of posterior column / wall, and Letournel’s (ilioinguinal) approach is the choice for the management of anterior wall/column.
On Map-Matching Vehicle Tracking Data

Vehicle tracking data is an essential "raw" material for a broad range of applications such as traffic management and control, routing, and navigation. An important issue with this data is its accuracy. The method of sampling vehicular movement using GPS is affected by two error sources and consequently produces inaccurate trajectory data. To become useful, the data has to be related to the underlying road network by means of map matching algorithms. We present three such algorithms that consider especially the trajectory nature of the data rather than simply the current position as in the typical map-matching case. An incremental algorithm is proposed that matches consecutive portions of the trajectory to the road network, effectively trading accuracy for speed of computation. In contrast, the two global algorithms compare the entire trajectory to candidate paths in the road network. The algorithms are evaluated in terms of (i) their running time and (ii) the quality of their matching result. Two novel quality measures utilizing the Frechet distance are introduced and subsequently used in an experimental evaluation to assess the quality of matching real tracking data to a road network.
Integrase Strand Transfer Inhibitors and the Emergence of Immune Reconstitution Inflammatory Syndrome (IRIS).

BACKGROUND Immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS) is a major concern when starting highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART) in new patients and especially late presenters. This study attempts to identify risk factors for IRIS and investigate whether certain treatment regimens increase the probability of IRIS for patients at risk. METHODS Retrospective single-centre study of HIV patients treated with HAART. RESULTS A total of 417 patients were included. We identified 45 cases of IRIS in 37 patients; an incidence of 13.3 cases over 1000 person-years. In univariate analysis, IRIS development was significantly associated with CDC stage, the presence of an opportunistic infection (OI) at diagnosis, CD4 cell count and viral load at diagnosis and HAART initiation and the use of integrase strand inhibitors (INSTIs). In multivariate analysis, INSTIs use (OR 2.89; 95%CI 1.26-6.64; p=0.012), CD4≤200/mm3 (OR 5.56; 95%CI 2.2-13.98; p<0.001), and the presence of an OI (OR 4.74; 95%CI 2.13-10.23; p=0.012) were independent risk factors. Among INSTI regimens, dolutegravir (OR 4.99 vs. NNRTI; 95%CI 1.11-22.55; p=0.037) and elvitegravir (OR 4.82 vs. NNRTI; 95%CI 1.43-16.19; p=0.011) seem to carry increased risk. Mortality was 18.9% (7/37) for IRIS patients compared to 9.7% (37/380) in the non-IRIS group. Mortality at any given time during follow-up was significantly higher in the IRIS group (HR 3.2; 95%CI 1.39-7.36; p=0.006). CONCLUSION The use of INSTIs and especially DTG and EVG is associated with a higher probability for the development of IRIS in the background of late presentation and the presence of OIs. These data highlight the need for further research.
Leading Change: A Case Study of the First Independent Critical-Access Hospital to Achieve Magnet® Designation

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to understand how nurses in a 25-bed critical-access hospital (CAH) led change to become the 1st to achieve Magnet®. BACKGROUND Approximately 21% of the US population lives in rural areas served by CAHs. Rural nurse executives are particularly challenged with limited resources. METHODS Staff nurses, nurse managers, interprofessional care providers, the chief nursing officer, and board of directors (n = 27) were interviewed. Observations of hospital units and administrative meetings were done, and hospital reports were analyzed. RESULTS Nine themes emerged to support a conceptual model of leading change. The CAH spent 3 years of its 6-year journey establishing organizational readiness. Nurses overcame complex challenges by balancing operational support and fostering relationships. The Magnet journey led to significantly improved nurse and patient outcomes. A new organizational culture centered on shared governance, evidence-based practice, and higher education emerged. CONCLUSIONS The journey to Magnet leads to improved nurse, patient, and organization outcomes.
Fractalkine/CX3CR1: why a single chemokine-receptor duo bears a major and unique therapeutic potential

Importance of the field: Fractalkine, also known as CX3CL1, is the unique member of the fourth class of chemokines and mediates both chemotaxis and adhesion of inflammatory cells via its highly selective receptor CX3CR1. Fractalkine mediates inflammatory responses and pain sensation and is involved in the pathogenesis and progression of numerous inflammatory disorders and malignancies. Areas covered in this review: We performed a Medline/PubMed search to detect all published studies that explored the role of fractalkine and CX3CR1 and the possibilities of therapeutic intervention in the fractalkine/CX3CR1 axis in a wide range of clinical disorders, using CX3CR1 blocking antibodies, different fractalkine antagonists, CX3CR1 depletion or transfection of fractalkine expression vectors. What the reader will gain: This review summarizes the role of fractalkine and its receptor CX3CR1 in various diseases, focusing on their high potential as novel therapeutic targets, with special emphasis on pancreatic diseases. Take home message: The reviewed studies provide promising results demonstrating fractalkine and CX3CR1 as potential target molecules for future therapeutics that may attenuate pain, inflammation and furthermore serve as an anti-cancer therapy. However, to date, no therapeutics targeting fractalkine or CX3CR1 are in clinical use.
Metformin therapy and the risk of colorectal adenoma in patients with type 2 diabetes: A meta-analysis

Background Existing data evaluating the impact of metformin on the colorectal adenoma (CRA) risk in patients suffering from type 2 diabetes (T2D) are limited and controversial. We therefore summarized the studies currently available and assessed the relationship between metformin treatment and risk of CRA in T2D patients. Methods We systematically searched databases for eligible studies that explored the impact of metformin treatment on the occurrence of CRA in T2D patients from inception to June 2016. The summary odds ratio (OR) estimates with their 95% confidence interval (CI) were derived using random-effect, generic inverse variance methods. Sensitivity analysis and subgroup analysis were performed. Results Seven studies involving 7178 participants met the inclusion criteria. The pooling showed that metformin therapy has a 27% decrease in the CRA risk (OR, 0.73; 95% CI, 0.58 - 0.90). In subgroup analysis, we detected that metformin exhibits significant chemoprevention effects in Asia region (OR, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.48 - 0.96). Similar results were identified in both studies with adjusted ORs and high-quality studies (OR, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.50 - 0.86 and OR, 0.70; 95% CI, 0.58 - 0.84, respectively). Of note, an inverse relationship was noted that metformin therapy may result in a significant decrease in the advanced adenoma risk (OR, 0.52; 95% CI, 0.38 - 0.72). Low heterogeneity was observed, however, the results remained robust in multiplesensitivity analyses. Conclusions This meta-analysis indicates that metformin therapy is correlated with a significant decrease in the risk of CRA and advanced adenoma in T2D patients. Further confirmatory studies are warranted.
i-RevNet: Deep Invertible Networks

It is widely believed that the success of deep convolutional networks is based on progressively discarding uninformative variability about the input with respect to the problem at hand. This is supported empirically by the difficulty of recovering images from their hidden representations, in most commonly used network architectures. In this paper we show via a one-to-one mapping that this loss of information is not a necessary condition to learn representations that generalize well on complicated problems, such as ImageNet. Via a cascade of homeomorphic layers, we build the i-RevNet, a network that can be fully inverted up to the final projection onto the classes, i.e. no information is discarded. Building an invertible architecture is difficult, for one, because the local inversion is ill-conditioned, we overcome this by providing an explicit inverse. An analysis of i-RevNets learned representations suggests an alternative explanation for the success of deep networks by a progressive contraction and linear separation with depth. To shed light on the nature of the model learned by the i-RevNet we reconstruct linear interpolations between natural image representations.
Detailed analyses of grain–scale plastic deformation in columnar polycrystalline aluminium using orientation image mapping and crystal plasticity models

Deformation studies at grain level have been performed in order to model how individual crystals in a polycrystalline material deform. The experiment was carried out by plane–strain compression of a high–purity polycrystalline aluminium with columnar grain structure with near ⟨100⟩ fibre texture parallel to the constrained direction in the channel die. This structure was chosen to allow a fully three–dimensional characterization of the grain structure. The grain orientations were mapped by orientation image microscopy, as the directionally solidified material was deformed in steps of 10% to a total height reduction of 40%. The grains were found either to show nearly uniform rotations or to split into two types of deformation bands, either with repeating orientation fields or with non–repeating orientation fields. The Taylor model and the finite–element method (FEM) were, as usual, quite successful in predicting the average deformation texture, but the Taylor model failed totally to predict the rotation of individual grains. The FEM was more successful in predicting the individual grain rotations but did not, as in a previous study, predict the morphology of the deformation bands. The significant discovery, made here, was that it appeared possible to model the local deformation at a grain scale, from the observed individual deviations of the grain rotations from those predicted if each grain underwent just the plane–strain conditions imposed on the sample. Plastic work rates were computed allowing four shears (two shears in each of the two contact planes) that are compatible with the channel–die geometry. It was found that in all the ‘hard’ grains (those with high Taylor factors), the additional shears (in type and magnitude) that minimized the plastic energy dissipation rate were the same shears that were needed to match the observed grain rotations. Adjacent Taylor ‘soft’ grains were found to have been subjected to the additional shears imposed by their neighbouring hard grains. This was true even when these shears raised the plastic work of the soft grains. This effect was most marked when the soft grains were small in size. These additional shears found by this plastic work analysis were consistent with the observed additional shear seen in the overall shape change of the sample. The grains forming non–repeating orientation fields had low initial Taylor factors and were surrounded by high–Taylor–factor grains, usually of larger size, but which had adopted somewhat different extra shears. The grains showing repeating orientation fields were found to have an orientation, near ‘cube’, (001) ⟨100⟩, which was initially unstable, leading to a break–up into different orientation fields when deformed. These differing deformation bands in the cube grains followed different strain paths, which also minimized their plastic work.
The Impact of Gender and Protein Intake on the Success of Weight Maintenance and Associated Cardiovascular Risk Benefits, Independent of the Mode of Food Provision: The DiOGenes Randomized Trial

Objective: Maintenance of weight loss and associated cardiovascular benefits after following energy-restricted diets is still a challenging field, and thorough investigation is needed. The present research aimed to determine the role of protein and gender in relation to two different intervention models related to food supply, in a weight maintenance trial. Subjects and Methods: The DiOGenes trial was a long-term, multicenter, randomized, dietary intervention study, conducted in eight European countries (Clinical Trials.gov, NCT00390637), focusing on assessing the effectiveness of weight maintenance over 6 months. This secondary analysis intended to evaluate the different benefits for weight maintenance and cardiometabolic markers of two dietary advice delivery models: “shop + instruction intervention” vs “instruction-alone intervention,” which were further categorized for gender and macronutrient intake. Results: The weight maintenance intervention based on different macronutrient intake showed, independently of the advice delivery model, in both sexes that higher protein consumption was more effective for weight stability, showing better results in obese women (low protein: 1.65 kg in males and 0.73 Kg in females vs high protein: 1.45 kg in males and -0.93 Kg in females) . Measurements concerning cardiovascular risk markers from subjects on both structured models produced similar trends in the subsequent follow-up period, with a lower rebound in women for most of the markers analyzed. Conclusion: The reported dietary benefits for weight sustainability should be ascribed to the macronutrient distribution (higher protein diets) rather than to the structured mode of delivery. Higher weight regain in males was noted, as well as a metabolic divergence attributable to the sex, with a better biochemical outcome in women.
Activation and Regulation of Blood Vδ2 T Cells Are Amplified by TREM-1+ during Active Pulmonary Tuberculosis

Triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 1 (TREM-1) is a receptor mainly expressed on myeloid cells, and it plays an important role in modulating immune response against infectious agents. The function of TREM-1 on nonmyeloid cells such as Vδ2 T cells has not been characterized, and their role in pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) remains unclear. To assess the expression of TREM-1 on blood Vδ2 T cells from pulmonary TB patients and investigate its mechanism of induction, we exploited flow cytometry analysis to study the expression of TREM-1 on Vδ2 T cells from active pulmonary TB patients and control subjects. In this study we demonstrate that TREM-1 (TREM-1+) is highly expressed on Vδ2 T cells of patients with active pulmonary TB. Unlike TREM-1−–expressing Vδ2 T cells, TREM-1+–producing Vδ2 T cells display APC-like phenotypes. Surprisingly, TREM-1+ signaling promotes the Ag-presenting capability of Vδ2 T cells to induce the CD4+ T cell response. TREM-1+Vδ2 T cells induced the proliferation and differentiation of naive CD4+ T cells, as well as the elimination of intracellular mycobacteria. We identified TREM-1+ (but not TREM-1−) as an Ag-presentation amplifier on human blood Vδ2 T cells, and data shed new light on the regulation of Vδ2 T cells in the phase of innate and adaptive immune responses against Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. Targeting TREM-1+Vδ2 T cells may be a promising approach for TB therapy.
Immuno-oncology Trial Endpoints: Capturing Clinically Meaningful Activity

Immuno-oncology (I-O) has required a shift in the established paradigm of toxicity and response assessment in clinical research. The design and interpretation of cancer clinical trials has been primarily driven by conventional toxicity and efficacy patterns observed with chemotherapy and targeted agents, which are insufficient to fully inform clinical trial design and guide therapeutic decisions in I-O. Responses to immune-targeted agents follow nonlinear dose–response and dose–toxicity kinetics mandating the development of novel response evaluation criteria. Biomarker-driven surrogate endpoints may better capture the mechanism of action and biological response to I-O agents and could be incorporated prospectively in early-phase I-O clinical trials. While overall survival remains the gold standard for evaluation of clinical efficacy of I-O agents in late-phase clinical trials, exploration of potential novel surrogate endpoints such as objective response rate and milestone survival is to be encouraged. Patient-reported outcomes should also be assessed to help redefine endpoints for I-O clinical trials and drive more efficient drug development. This paper discusses endpoints used in I-O trials to date and potential optimal endpoints for future early- and late-phase clinical development of I-O therapies. Clin Cancer Res; 23(17); 4959–69. ©2017 AACR. See all articles in this CCR Focus section, “Clinical Trial Design Considerations in the Immuno-oncology Era. ”
The roles of word concreteness and cognitive load on interhemispheric processes of recognition

Previous studies on hemispheric specialisation suggest that the cerebral hemispheres differ in the way verbal information is processed. There is also evidence that functional asymmetries are attributable to differences in stimulus properties and/or task complexity. To study these asymmetries in the domain of explicit recognition, concrete and abstract nouns were presented either in the right or left visual fields and recognised with foveal vision at different retention levels. We propose that different hemispheric mechanisms underlie the encoding of abstract and concrete information, which can be modulated by cognitive or mental load. To accomplish this goal, 92 right-handed undergraduate Portuguese students with normal or corrected-to-normal vision were randomly sampled from a university campus. The results showed that concrete words were discriminated better than abstract words when previously encoded in the right hemisphere for the longest retention interval between encoding and retrieval. These data suggest that there are different neural mechanisms for the semantic encoding of concrete and abstract concepts. The practical implications are discussed.
Controllability of conservative behaviours

In this article, we first define the class of J-conservative behaviours with observable storage functions, where J is a symmetric two-variable polynomial matrix. We then provide two main results. The first result states that if J(−ξ, ξ) is nonsingular, the input cardinality of a J-conservative behaviour with an observable storage function is always less than or equal to its output cardinality. The second result states that if J is constant and nonsingular, a J-conservative behaviour with an observable storage function and equal input and output cardinalities is always controllable. Physically the second result implies that a class of multiport lossless electrical networks is controllable.
The non-isomorphous crystal structures of NHC-Au-Cl and NHC-Au-Br (NHC is 1,3-dibenzyl-4,5-diphenylimidazol-2-ylidene).

Gold monochloride and monobromide can be transformed into monomeric complexes by ligands such as CO, PPh3 or Me2S, and such ligand-stabilized gold monochloride compounds have been investigated as catalysts, luminescent materials and anticancer drugs, especially when coordinated to a lipophilic benzyl-substituted N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) ligand. The triclinic structures of NHC-Au-Cl {chlorido(1,3-dibenzyl-4,5-diphenylimidazol-2-ylidene)gold, [AuCl(C29H24N2)]} and NHC-Au-Br {bromido(1,3-dibenzyl-4,5-diphenylimidazol-2-ylidene)gold, [AuBr(C29H24N2)]}, determined by X-ray crystallography at 100 K, have one and four molecules, respectively, in their asymmetric units. The chloride compound shows an almost linear C-Au-Cl fragment [179.76 (8)°], with an Au-C distance of 1.976 (3) Å and an Au-Cl distance of 2.3013 (6) Å, while the bromide compound shows surprisingly large geometry deviations, from 1.969 (12) to 2.016 (10) Å for the Au-C distance and from 2.4279 (14) to 2.4796 (12) Å for the Au-Br distance, in the four independent molecules.