Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Economic Impact of Preservation Time in Cadaveric Liver Transplantation

There has been considerable recent debate concerning the reconfiguration of the cadaveric liver allocation system with the intent to allocate livers to more severely ill patients over greater distances. We sought to assess the economic implications of longer preservation times in cadaveric liver transplantation that may be seen in a restructured allocation system. A total of 683 patients with nonfulminant liver disease, aged 16 years or older, receiving a cadaveric donor liver as their only transplant, were drawn from a prospective cohort of patients who received transplants between January 1991 and July 1994 at the University of California, San Francisco, the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, or the University of Nebraska, Omaha. The primary outcome measure was standardized hospitalization resource utilization from the day of transplantation through discharge. Secondary outcome measures included 2‐year patient survival, and 2‐year retransplantation rates. Results indicated that each 1‐h increase in preservation time was associated with a 1.4% increase in standardized hospital resource utilization (p = 0.014). The effects on 2‐year patient survival and retransplantation rates were not measurably affected by an increase in preservation time. We conclude that policies that increase preservation time may be expected to increase the cost of liver transplantation.
Complementarity As Generative Principle: A Thought Pattern for Aesthetic Appreciations and Cognitive Appraisals in General

In experimental aesthetics the relationship between the arts and cognitive neuroscience has gained particular interest in recent years. But has cognitive neuroscience indeed something to offer when studying the arts? Here we present a theoretical frame within which the concept of complementarity as a generative or creative principle is proposed; neurocognitive processes are characterized by the duality of complementary activities like bottom-up and top-down control, or logistical functions like temporal control and content functions like perceptions in the neural machinery. On that basis a thought pattern is suggested for aesthetic appreciations and cognitive appraisals in general. This thought pattern is deeply rooted in the history of philosophy and art theory since antiquity; and complementarity also characterizes neural operations as basis for cognitive processes. We then discuss some challenges one is confronted with in experimental aesthetics; in our opinion, one serious problem is the lack of a taxonomy of functions in psychology and neuroscience which is generally accepted. This deficit makes it next to impossible to develop acceptable models which are similar to what has to be modeled. Another problem is the severe language bias in this field of research as knowledge gained in many languages over the ages remains inaccessible to most scientists. Thus, an inspection of research results or theoretical concepts is necessarily too narrow. In spite of these limitations we provide a selective summary of some results and viewpoints with a focus on visual art and its appreciation. It is described how questions of art and aesthetic appreciations using behavioral methods and in particular brain-imaging techniques are analyzed and evaluated focusing on such issues like the representation of artwork or affective experiences. Finally, we emphasize complementarity as a generative principle on a practical level when artists and scientists work directly together which can lead to new insights and broader perspectives on both sides.
Technical aspects of clinical videoconferencing: a large scale review of the literature

Summary Telemedicine has been increasingly researched during the past few decades and the technology used by health care providers and recipients has changed dramatically. However, little has been published on technical characteristics of video consultations and how these characteristics have changed over time due to rapid advancement of information and communication technology. We aimed to summarize various types of technologies used for interactive videoconferencing between health care providers and patients, and identify the trend of their change from 2002 to 2012. A comprehensive electronic search was performed using PubMed, Embase and CINAHL databases which yielded 2,411 unique records. After screening at title/abstract level, full texts of 505 articles were retrieved and explored for technical information of videoconferencing. The trend of number of publications fluctuated between 41 and 47 articles with no specific pattern, though a dip in 2004 (n = 35) and drastic increase in 2012 (n = 68) was evident. The equipment used for videoconferencing was not mentioned in 15% of the papers. Dedicated VC systems (CODECs), were the most commonly used hardware, followed by computer/laptop/notebook. The connection speed (bandwidth) was not reported in 46% of the papers. The proportion of articles reporting the connection speed declined over time. Details of image quality and frame rate were mentioned in 11% and 5% of the papers, respectively. The results of this study showed that a high proportion of telemedicine papers lack sufficient technical details that limits their repeatability and generalizability.
Apoptosis Initiated When BH3 Ligands Engage Multiple Bcl-2 Homologs, Not Bax or Bak

A central issue in the regulation of apoptosis by the Bcl-2 family is whether its BH3-only members initiate apoptosis by directly binding to the essential cell-death mediators Bax and Bak, or whether they can act indirectly, by engaging their pro-survival Bcl-2–like relatives. Contrary to the direct-activation model, we show that Bax and Bak can mediate apoptosis without discernable association with the putative BH3-only activators (Bim, Bid, and Puma), even in cells with no Bim or Bid and reduced Puma. Our results indicate that BH3-only proteins induce apoptosis at least primarily by engaging the multiple pro-survival relatives guarding Bax and Bak.
An Optical Biosensor based on Immobilization of Laccase and MBTH in Stacked Films for the Detection of Catechol

The fabrication of an optical biosensor by using stacked films where 3-methyl-2-benzothiazolinone hydrazone (MBTH) was immobilized in a hybrid nafion/sol-gel silicate film and laccase in a chitosan film for the detection of phenolic compounds was described. Quinone and/or phenoxy radical product from the enzymatic oxidation of phenolic compounds was allowed to couple with MBTH to form a colored azo-dye product for spectrophometric detection. The biosensor demonstrated a linear response to catechol concentration range of 0.5-8.0 mM with detection limit of 0.33 mM and response time of 10 min. The reproducibility of the fabricated biosensor was good with RSD value of 5.3 % (n = 8) and stable for at least 2 months. The use of the hybrid materials of nafion/sol-gel silicate to immobilize laccase has altered the selectivity of the enzyme to various phenolic compounds such as catechol, guaicol, o-cresol and m-cresol when compared to the non-immobilized enzyme. When immobilized in this hybrid film, the biosensor response only to catechol and not other phenolic compounds investigated. Immobilization in this hybrid material has enable the biosensor to be more selective to catechol compared with the non-immobilized enzyme. This shows that by a careful selection of different immobilization matrices, the selectivity of an enzyme can be modified to yield a biosensor with good selectivity towards certain targeted analytes.
The World in Depression 1929-1939

List of Text Figures List of Tables Foreword Preface 1. Introduction 2. Recovery from the First World War 3. The Boom 4. The Agricultural Depression 5. The 1929 Stock-Market Crash 6. The Slide to the Abyss 7. 1931 8. More Deflation 9. The World Economic Conference 10. The Beginnings of Recovery 11. The Gold Bloc Yields 12. The 1937 Recession 13. Rearmament in a Disintegrating World Economy 14. An Explanation of the 1929 Depression Bibliography Index
Retinol Intake and Bone Mineral Density in the Elderly: The Rancho Bernardo Study

Retinol is involved in bone remodeling, and excessive intake has been linked to bone demineralization, yet its role in osteoporosis has received little evaluation. We studied the associations of retinol intake with bone mineral density (BMD) and bone maintenance in an ambulatory community‐dwelling cohort of 570 women and 388 men, aged 55–92 years at baseline. Regression analyses, adjusted for standard osteoporosis covariates, showed an inverse U‐shaped association of retinol, assessed by food‐frequency questionnaires in 1988–1992, with baseline BMD, BMD measured 4 years later, and BMD change. Supplemental retinol use, reported by 50% of women and 39% of men, was an effect modifier in women; the associations of log retinol with BMD and BMD change were negative for supplement users and positive for nonusers at the hip, femoral neck, and spine. At the femoral neck, for every unit increase in log retinol intake, supplement users had 0.02 g/cm2 (p = 0.02) lower BMD and 0.23% (p = 0.05) greater annual bone loss, and nonusers had 0.02 g/cm2 (p = 0.04) greater BMD and 0.22% (p = 0.19) greater bone retention. However, among supplement users, retinol from dietary and supplement sources had similar associations with BMD, suggesting total intake is more important than source. In both sexes, increasing retinol became negatively associated with skeletal health at intakes not far beyond the recommended daily allowance (RDA), intakes reached predominately by supplement users. This study suggests there is a delicate balance between ensuring that the elderly consume sufficient vitamin A and simultaneously cautioning against excessive retinol supplementation.
Crystal structures of complexes of vitamin D receptor ligand-binding domain with lithocholic acid derivatives

The secondary bile acid lithocholic acid (LCA) and its derivatives act as selective modulators of the vitamin D receptor (VDR), although their structures fundamentally differ from that of the natural hormone 1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 [1,25(OH)2D3)]. Here, we have determined the crystal structures of the ligand-binding domain of rat VDR (VDR-LBD) in ternary complexes with a synthetic partial peptide of the coactivator MED1 (mediator of RNA polymerase II transcription subunit 1) and four ligands, LCA, 3-keto LCA, LCA acetate, and LCA propionate, with the goal of elucidating their agonistic mechanism. LCA and its derivatives bind to the same ligand-binding pocket (LBP) of VDR-LBD that 1,25(OH)2D3 binds to, but in the opposite orientation; their A-ring is positioned at the top of the LBP, whereas their acyclic tail is located at the bottom of the LBP. However, most of the hydrophobic and hydrophilic interactions observed in the complex with 1,25(OH)2D3 are reproduced in the complexes with LCA and its derivatives. Additional interactions between VDR-LBD and the C-3 substituents of the A-ring are also observed in the complexes with LCA and its derivatives. These may result in the observed difference in the potency among the LCA-type ligands.
Comparison of Er : YAG and Er , Cr : YSGG lasers used in dentistry

Erbium-doped solid-state laser systems have become an established tool in dentistry. The two most commonly used Erbium lasers in dentistry are Er:YAG and Er,Cr:YSGG, with a subtle but important difference in their respective laser wavelengths. There is also an important difference in the type of technology they utilize to energize the flashlamps. The conventional PFN (Pulse Forming Network) pulses are bell shaped and are, in most cases, of fixed duration, while VSP (Variable Square Pulse) pulses are nearly square-shaped and of variable pulse duration. When used on hard dental tissues, the Erbium laser energy heats up the water within the hard tissue and causes that water to be turned into steam. This causes a mini-explosion to occur and the hard tissue is "ablated" (removed). Ideally, the remaining dental tissue beneath should not be affected by the Erbium laser ablation, thereby allowing precise control and minimal damage to the surrounding tissue. On the other hand, there are times, particularly when treating soft tissue, when the coagulation of the remaining tissue is exactly what is needed. In this paper we analyze and compare Er:YAG and Er,Cr:YSGG dental lasers and their pulse forming technologies from the viewpoint of which laser allows the highest possible control of tissue ablation and of the effects on the underlying tissue that remains.
Automated explanation of research informed consent by embodied conversational agents

ive summarization is generally a supervised learning problem, which needs a large corpus at minimum to produce reasonable summaries, and there appear to be no readily usably public domain abstractive summarization tools. Because of this, abstractive summarization was not pursued further, but is noted here as a possible future direction. In the first part of this thesis, I developed a Conversational Agent that explained documents by performing extractive summarization given a machine-readable source document (based on the document in Figure 1). As explained in section 3.5 however, this approach did not contribute to the ultimate vision of this thesis, but is again noted here as a possible future step. One advantage of extractive summarization over abstractive summarization can be observed though. Especially in the health information domain, as is the case with this thesis, the summaries generated by extractive summarization systems contain verbatim text from the source, and so the only risk is of under-specifying information. With abstractive techniques however, it is possible that the summary conveys a message that a human participant may interpret in a substantially different manner.
Electronystagmographic findings in motor neuron disease

The electronystagmogram (ENG) was abnormal in 94 percent of 88 consecutive patients with motor neuron disease (MND). The most common ENG abnormalities were dysrhythmic caloric responses (64 percent), active random eye movements with eyes closed (25 percent), caloric directional preponderance (24 percent), and caloric vestibular preponderance (20 percent). Torsional preponderance, poor fixation suppression (of induced vestibular nystagmus), spontaneous nystagmus, square waves, tracking and optokinetic abnormalities were also frequent. Most of these ENG findings are considered to be of central nervous system origin. Although these findings are not considered specific for MND, they appear to have clinical significance.
Cytomegalovirus infection after autologous stem cell transplantation: incidence and outcome in a group of patients undergoing a surveillance program

Abstract: This study was performed to evaluate the incidence, risk factors, and outcome of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection in autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT), with the aim of performing preemptive therapy in patients with antigenemia. Starting from 2001, 171 consecutive ASCTs were performed in 136 patients; 102 of these patients were seropositive for CMV at the onset of hematological disease. In all these patients, a CMV pp65 antigenemia assay was determined weekly, starting from the day when the absolute neutrophil count went above 500/μL, and until day 60 after ASCT; subsequently, antigenemia was determined only when a CMV infection was suspected. Among the 136 transplanted patients, 40 (29.4%) presented a positive antigenemia; all of them were seropositive for CMV before ASCT; and no cases of primary infection were seen. The incidence of CMV infection in the seropositive population was 40/102 (39.3%); 6 patients (5 with multiple myeloma and 1 with non‐Hodgkin's lymphoma) who received 2 ASCTs developed CMV infections after both transplantations, so that positive antigenemia developed after 46/171 (26.9%) transplantations. First positive antigenemia presented a median of 32 days (range 7–57) after stem cell reinfusion. The median antigenemia level at the first appearance was 2/200,000 (range 1–1000). No significant prognostic factors could be shown. Enteritis was present in 5 patients; 2 of them also had fever, and 1 of them also had thrombocytopenia. In 5 patients fever without any other clinical signs or symptoms was present; 30 patients were asymptomatic. Fourteen patients were treated with anti‐CMV drugs. CMV reactivation was successfully treated in all patients, and no patient died from CMV disease.
Time Series Analysis of Landslide Dynamics Using an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)

In this study, we used an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) to collect a time series of high-resolution images over four years at seven epochs to assess landslide dynamics. Structure from Motion (SfM) was applied to create Digital Surface Models (DSMs) of the landslide surface with an accuracy of 4–5 cm in the horizontal and 3–4 cm in the vertical direction. The accuracy of the co-registration of subsequent DSMs was checked and corrected based on comparing non-active areas of the landslide, which minimized alignment errors to a mean of 0.07 m. Variables such as landslide area and the leading edge slope were measured and temporal patterns were discovered. Volumetric changes of particular areas of the landslide were measured over the time series. Surface movement of the landslide was tracked and quantified with the COSI-Corr image correlation algorithm but without ground validation. Historical aerial photographs were used to create a baseline DSM, and the total displacement of the landslide was found to be approximately 6630 m3. This study has demonstrated a robust and repeatable algorithm that allows a landslide’s dynamics to be mapped and monitored with a UAV over a relatively long time series.
Community Sense

Sociologists have undertheorized the role of aesthetic judgment in group identification. The author argues that the communication of aesthetic judgments in face-to-face interaction powerfully works to confirm or deny feelings of group belonging. The author introduces the concept of “community sense,” the public face of shared aesthetic judgments that is communicated and upheld within a group. The author illustrates this concept through an ethnographic case study of an erotic arts club, a group predicated on achieving a shared sense of “good” and “bad” taste. The author shows how the community sense is formed, challenged, and sustained in interaction, examining three characteristics of aesthetic judgments—derivation in form, visceral force, and intersubjective validity—that together constitute a strong basis for feelings of belonging and distinction. This setting acts as a wedge to access larger theoretical concerns, as the author explore the relationship between aesthetic judgment and feelings of group belonging in diverse contexts.
On the bias of Mahalanobis distance due to limited sample size effect

The relationship between sample size and the bias of principal components of Mahalanobis distance is studied by computer simulation. The results shows that the bias of Mahalanobis distance in non-dominant components (the components corresponding to smaller eigenvalues of the covariance matrix) are larger than those in dominant components, and that the bias is smaller when the non-dominant eigenvalues are replaced by a larger value. The obtained relationship is helpful to know the sample size needed to estimate mean vectors and covariance matrices. For given sample size, the relationship suggests and determines the number of reliable eigenvectors which should be employed in modified Mahalanobis distance to compensate the bias. <<ETX>>
Surgical treatment of superior sulcus tumors: results and prognostic factors.

OBJECTIVES To study the clinical characteristics, treatment modalities, and outcome of patients with superior sulcus tumors who underwent surgery over a 15-year period. DESIGN Retrospective clinical study. METHODS Clinical records of all patients operated on for superior sulcus tumors by the same surgical team between 1988 and 2002 were reviewed retrospectively. RESULTS Sixty-seven patients were operated on in this period. All the patients underwent en bloc lung and chest wall resection. Surgical approaches were as follows: posterolateral thoracotomy according to Paulson (n = 33), combined transcervical and transthoracic approach (n = 33), and isolated transcervical approach (n = 1). Types of pulmonary resection included lobectomies (n = 59), pneumonectomies (n = 2), and wedge resections (n = 6). Pathologic stages were IIB, IIIA, and IIIB in 49 cases, 12 cases, and 6 cases, respectively. Resection was complete in 55 patients (82%). Operative mortality was 8.9% (n = 6). Postoperative treatment was administered in 53 patients (radiotherapy, n = 42; chemoradiotherapy, n = 9; and chemotherapy, n = 2). Overall 2-year and 5-year survival rates were 54.2% and 36.2%, respectively. Five-year survival was significantly higher after complete resection than after incomplete resection (44.9% vs 0%, p = 0.000065). The presence of associated major illness negatively affected the outcome (5-year survival, 16.9% vs 52%; p = 0.043). Age, weight loss, respiratory impairment, tumor size, presence of nodal disease, and histologic type did not influence the long-term outcome. At multivariate analysis, only the completeness of resection and the absence of associated major comorbidities had an independent positive prognostic value. CONCLUSIONS Superior sulcus tumor remains an extremely severe condition, but long-term survivals may be achieved in a large percentage of cases. The presence of associated major illness and the completeness of resection are the two most important factors affecting the long-term outcome.
Exploring Symmetry as a Modeling Tool Project Report

The word symmetry originates from the Greek word sum metria (’to measure together’ ) and has two primary definitions; the harmony of the parts with each other and the whole and the condition of being well-balanced and well-proportioned. Both of these definitions imply a strong relationship between symmetry and beauty. Essentially, many objects in nature which human beings find exceptionally appealing, such as a snowflake or the shell of a snail, are highly symmetrical. Furthermore, studies show that infants prefer to look at symmetric patterns rather than unsymmetric ones [2]. In addition to this strong link between symmetry and attractiveness, existence of symmetry, either as perfect symmetry or partial or approximate symmetry, almost in every object we see around us has an intense influence on the use of symmetry in many different fields, such as engineering, art, and architecture. Besides satisfying aesthetic concerns, impact of symmetry on economical and functional considerations reinforces the use of symmetry in man-made structures. To illustrate, symmetry is used as an organizing principle in architecture and use of repeated structures in objects eases the manifacturing process. To conclude, this ubiquitous nature of symmetry makes it important to explore this notion to have a better understanding of the world. Therefore, many studies focus on exploring symmetry in application areas diversing from biology to architecture. Shape analysis is one of these application fields. Related work in this field include shape matching, completion of occluded parts, mesh segmentation, and compression.