Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The utility of Bayesian predictive probabilities for interim monitoring of clinical trials

Background Bayesian predictive probabilities can be used for interim monitoring of clinical trials to estimate the probability of observing a statistically significant treatment effect if the trial were to continue to its predefined maximum sample size. Purpose We explore settings in which Bayesian predictive probabilities are advantageous for interim monitoring compared to Bayesian posterior probabilities, p-values, conditional power, or group sequential methods. Results For interim analyses that address prediction hypotheses, such as futility monitoring and efficacy monitoring with lagged outcomes, only predictive probabilities properly account for the amount of data remaining to be observed in a clinical trial and have the flexibility to incorporate additional information via auxiliary variables. Limitations Computational burdens limit the feasibility of predictive probabilities in many clinical trial settings. The specification of prior distributions brings additional challenges for regulatory approval. Conclusions The use of Bayesian predictive probabilities enables the choice of logical interim stopping rules that closely align with the clinical decision-making process.
Prevention of Dystrophin-Deficient Cardiomyopathy in Twenty-One-Month-Old Carrier Mice by Mosaic Dystrophin Expression or Complementary Dystrophin/Utrophin Expression

A cure for dystrophin-deficient muscular dystrophy requires treating both skeletal muscle and the heart. Whereas mosaic dystrophin expression has been shown to protect skeletal muscle, controversy exists over whether mosaic expression is protective in the heart. We have shown recently that mosaic dystrophin expression prevents stress-induced heart damage in young carrier mice. Although an interesting finding, the clinical relevance remains to be established because young dystrophin-null mdx mice do not have heart disease. On the other hand, heart failure has been reported in human carriers. To resolve this mouse/human discrepancy, we evaluated the cardiac phenotype in 21-month-old mdx, carrier, and normal mice. We found dilated cardiomyopathy in old mdx mice but not in age-matched carrier mice. All anatomical parameters and physiological assay results (ECG and closed-chest Millar catheter) were within the normal range in old carrier mice. Focal myocardial inflammation was found in a small fraction of old carrier mice, but it had no major impact on heart function. Dobutamine stress revealed a near normal hemodynamic profile except for a marginal reduction in systolic pressure in old carrier mice. Immunostaining and Western blot showed dystrophin expression in 50% cardiomyocytes in old carrier mice. Interestingly, utrophin was upregulated in dystrophin-negative heart cells in carrier mice. In summary, we have provided the first clear-cut evidence that dilated cardiomyopathy in old mdx mice was prevented by mosaic dystrophin expression or complementary dystrophin/utrophin expression. Our results raise the hope for ameliorating dystrophic cardiomyopathy through partial gene and/or cell therapy.
Unequal Error Protection: Some Fundamental Limits

Various scenarios are considered where some information is more important than other and needs better protection. A general theoretical framework for unequal error protection is developed in terms of exponential error bounds. It provides some fundamental limits and optimal strategies for such problems. New class of message-wise unequal error protection problems are also introduced. Even for data-rates approaching the channel capacity, it is shown that a crucial part of information can be protected with exponential reliability. Channels without feedback are analyzed first, which is useful later while analyzing channels with feedback.
Downlink Time Switched Transmit Diversity System with ARQ scheme

In this paper, we investigate the performance of ARQ-aided downlink Time Switched Transmit Diversity (TSTD) in the WCDMA LCR-TDD system. The proposed TSTD system employs the ARQ scheme in which the receiver sends the acknowledgement signal (ACK or NACK signal) to the transmitter in order to predict the channel condition. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed TSTD scheme yields about 4.5dB gain in terms of Eb/N0, compared with the conventional TSTD when the mobile speed is 3km/h and a frame error rate is 1%. In addition, the throughput gain of 6% is shown when Eb/N0=7dB.
Stage-specific effects of Plasmodium falciparum-derived hemozoin on blood mononuclear cell TNF-α regulation and viral replication

Background:The molecular immunological interactions between HIV and malaria are largely undefined. Since tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α is elevated during acute malaria and increases with HIV-1 disease progression, TNF-α production may be an important mediator for interactions between malaria and HIV-1. Methods:To examine the stage-specific immunological interactions between HIV and malaria, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and CD14 cells were isolated and cultured from rhesus macaques at different stages of SIV infection. Cultures were stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and interferon (IFN)-γ in the presence of Plasmodium falciparum-derived hemozoin (Hz) or synthetic Hz (sHz). TNF-α transcripts and soluble protein were examined by real time reverse transcription-PCR and ELISA, respectively. The effects of Hz on viral replication were determined by measurement of p27 antigen with varying concentrations of TNF-α neutralizing antibodies. Results:Hz and sHz significantly increased LPS- and IFN-γ-induced TNF-α protein and transcripts in PBMC from animals with late stage SIV infection (i.e., AIDS). Hz and sHz also induced high levels of sustained TNF-α transcripts in PBMC from the AIDS group. During the late stage of disease, CD14 cells were the primary source of TNF-α production. Stimulation of PBMC with Hz and sHz significantly increased viral replication that was dose-dependently reduced by the addition of TNF-α neutralizing antibodies. Conclusions:Hz promotes high levels of TNF-α production from PBMC during AIDS and increases viral replication in SIV-infected animals.
Racism, xenophobia, and redistribution

We report here a summary of our recent research on the effect that the race issue, in the United States, and the immigration issue in European countries, is having on the degree of redistribution and the size of the public sector that is implemented through political competition. We model political competition as taking place on a two dimensional policy space, where the first issue is the tax rate, or the size of the public sector, and the second issue is the race or immigration issue. Our substantive conclusion is that the conservative economic agenda has been given new life in many countries because of racist and xenophobic views of polities. JEL Categories: D3, D7, H2
Conduction Mechanism of Se Schottky Contact to n-Type Ge

The conduction mechanism of Se/n-type-Ge Schottky diodes is investigated using temperature-dependent current-voltage (I- V) characteristics. The presence of microscopic inhomogeneity at the Se/Ge interface could be the primary cause of the differences between the barrier heights measured from the I-V and capacitance-voltage (C-V ) characteristics. The position of the quasi-Fermi level suggested the dominance of thermionic emission in the forward bias region. The electric field dependence of the reverse current revealed that Schottky emission, along with the generation mechanism, has dominance over the current conduction in the reverse bias region.
Conceptualizing Individualization in Information Systems - A Literature Review

Driven by advances in information and communication technology, end users nowadays operate extensive information systems to support all kinds of private and professional activities. Previous IS research has coined various terms to refer to this rather new phenomenon. Some scholars call it individualization in IS; others refer to it as consumerization of IT. While scholars still struggle to agree on a common conceptualization and terminology, it is clear that particular aspects of this new phenomenon have already been addressed by previous work on technology acceptance, satisfaction, or technology diffusion. However, these previous findings do not form a distinct and integrated body of knowledge because no one has yet associated them with the phenomenon of individualization. To address this gap, we suggest an integrated, yet generic, conceptualization of individualization in form of a metatheory. Based on the key entities and relations of the meta-theory, we conduct a structured literature review to identify pre-existing IS contributions to the individualization phenomenon, which help explain the phenomenon of individualization in IS. Furthermore, we analyze the identified literature for gaps in understanding the phenomenon and outline future research opportunities.
Government and Social Media: A Case Study of 31 Informational World Cities

Social media platforms are increasingly being used by governments to foster user interaction. Particularly in cities with enhanced ICT infrastructures (i.e., Informational World Cities) and high internet penetration rates, social media platforms are valuable tools for reaching high numbers of citizens. This empirical investigation of 31 Informational World Cities will provide an overview of social media services used for governmental purposes, of their popularity among governments, and of their usage intensity in broadcasting information online.
Missed insulin meal boluses and elevated hemoglobin A1c levels in children receiving insulin pump therapy.

OBJECTIVE To identify possible causes of suboptimal glycemic control (ascertained by hemoglobin A1c [HbA1c] level) in youths using insulin pump therapy. METHODS Forty-eight youths who were receiving insulin pump therapy for > or =6 months, and who were using insulin pumps and blood glucose meters with data that could be downloaded at our facility, are included in this cross-sectional study. Possible causes of suboptimal glycemic control were evaluated by using 4 information sources: 1) insulin pump data downloads; 2) glucose meter data downloads; 3) patient/family questionnaire about insulin bolusing habits, eating habits, exercise, and blood glucose testing habits; and 4) a physician questionnaire. Physicians completed the questionnaire during the patient interview after reviewing the downloaded information and discussing these results with the patient/family. RESULTS The mean (+/- standard deviation) age of participants was 15.3 (+/-3.0) years (range: 7-20 years), and the mean (+/- standard deviation) duration of type 1 diabetes and continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion was 8.2 (+/-4.0) and 1.9 (+/-1.0) years, respectively. Patients who missed <1 bolus per week had a mean (95% confidence interval) HbA1c level of 8.0% (7.7, 8.3), whereas those who missed > or =1 mealtime boluses per week had a mean HbA1c level (95% confidence interval) of 8.8% (8.6, 9.1). No significant relationships were found between HbA1c levels in males and females, the amount of exercise per week, or bolusing before insulin pump disconnection for exercise. Although not significant, a trend was found for those who missed <1 bolus per week to perform more blood glucose tests per day and for those who bolused before a meal rather than after to have lower HbA1c levels. Significant correlations were found between HbA1c levels and the number of missed mealtime boluses per week (r =.414) and mean blood glucose levels (r =.70). CONCLUSION Missed mealtime insulin boluses seem to be the major cause of suboptimal glycemic control in youths with diabetes receiving continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion therapy.
A Real-World Analysis of Kerberos Password Security

Kerberos is a distributed authentication system that many organizations use to handle domain-wide password security. Although it has been known for quite some time that Kerberos is vulnerable to brute-force password searches, there has so far been little analysis of the scope and extent of this vulnerability. This paper discusses the nature of this weakness in detail and attempts to quantify the severity of the danger it poses to existing Kerberized installations. The results of a controlled experiment, in which a large number of passwords from a Kerberos realm were broken o -line and subjected to analysis, will be presented. The author explores possible strategies for repairing this security hole, the most viable of which is the use of Kerberos V5 preauthentication coupled with a secure password authentication protocol such as SRP,
The effects of a single long photoperiod on induction and dissipation of reproductive photorefractoriness in European starlings.

In many birds, long photoperiods stimulate gonadal maturation but also cause photorefractoriness, leading to gonadal regression. While much is known about the neuroendocrinology of photostimulation, little is known about photorefractoriness, partly due to lack of an experimental model. This study aimed to develop a model to test whether a single long photoperiod (LP) initiates the mechanism leading to photorefractoriness. It made use of the fact that in castrated European starlings, luteinizing hormone (LH) is low in photorefractory birds and high in photosensitive birds. In the first experiment, groups of castrated photorefractory birds were transferred from a long to a short photoperiod and then exposed to one LP every 5, 10, 20, 30, 40, or 60 days. In birds exposed to one LP every 5 days, LH stayed low. In birds exposed to one LP every 10 days, each LP caused a pulse in LH, but mean LH remained low. One LP every 20 days increased LH 6 days later, followed by a decrease at 11 days and then a further increase, so that overall, LH increased slowly. In birds exposed to one LP every 30, 40, or 60 days, LH increased at the same rate as in short photoperiod controls. Each LP did not cause a significant increase in LH, but did cause a decrease. A second experiment examined the changes in LH following a LP in more detail. Castrated starlings had been exposed to one LP every 14 days for 16 weeks. On the day of the final LP, LH values were midway between photorefractory and photosensitive values. The LP caused an increase in LH from the second day to a peak after 7 days. Thereafter, LH declined to initial values after 14 days, followed, in the absence of further LP, by a second increase to photosensitive values. These results suggest that the mechanisms causing photostimulation and photorefractoriness are both initiated during the first long photoperiod. That gonadal maturation precedes regression must reflect the relative rates at which the two processes reach completion.
Security for Grid services

Grid computing is concerned with the sharing and coordinated use of diverse resources in distributed "virtual organizations. " The dynamic and multiinstitutional nature of these environments introduces challenging security issues that demand new technical approaches. In particular, one must deal with diverse local mechanisms, support dynamic creation of services, and enable dynamic creation of trust domains. We describe how these issues are addressed in two generations of the Globus Toolkit/spl reg/. First, we review the Globus Toolkit version 2 (GT2) approach; then we describe new approaches developed to support the Globus Toolkit version 3 (GT3) implementation of the Open Grid Services Architecture, an initiative that is recasting Grid concepts within a service-oriented framework based on Web services. GT3's security implementation uses Web services security mechanisms for credential exchange and other purposes, and introduces a tight least-privilege model that avoids the need for any privileged network service.
Accumulation, Redistribution, Transport and Bioavailability of Heavy Metals in Waste-Amended Soils

Heavy metals accumulate in agricultural soils amended with various agricultural and industrial wastes. There is some evidence of metal transport in long-term wasteamended soils, but most data show limited mobility of heavy metals in waste-amended soil profiles. The bioavailability of heavy metals and their mobility in soils are largely determined by their distribution among various solid-phase components. Heavy metals in soils amended with various wastes are redistributed and transferred with time from the labile forms to the more stable forms, and the redistribution processes are dependent upon the source and process of waste, level of waste input, nature of metal, time scale, and soil properties such as pH, Eh, texture, and moisture regime. Long-term studies on the kinetics of transformation and redistribution of heavy metals in various waste-amended soils, both under laboratory-controlled and field conditions, are needed to determine the dosage limits of various wastes in different soils and under different agricultural practices, and to select crop rotation systems and optimize management protocols to achieve minimum metal availability in soils. This will achieve the lowest toxicity to plants and minimum potential contamination of groundwater from the application of various wastes to soils. This understanding will enable one to assess the merits and disadvantages of irrigation with reclaimed sewage water, the prolonged use of animal waste and sewage sludge, and the use of municipal compost in agricultural land disposal.
Linear relations between polynomial orbits

We study the orbits of a polynomial f 2CŒX , namely, the sets 1 ;f . /; f . f . //; : : :o with 2 C. We prove that if two nonlinear complex polynomials f;g have orbits with infinite intersection, then f and g have a common iterate. More generally, we describe the intersection of any line in C with a d -tuple of orbits of nonlinear polynomials, and we formulate a question which generalizes both this result and the Mordell–Lang conjecture.
Mandibular Bone Formation Rates in Aged Ovariectomized Rats Treated with Anti-resorptive Agents Alone and in Combination with Intermittent Parathyroid Hormone

Anti-resorptive agents-including estrogen (E), calcitonin (CT), and bisphosphonates-are established in the treatment of osteoporosis. Intermittent administration of parathyroid hormone (PTH) stimulates bone formation and is a possible therapeutic agent for the restoration of bone mass. The purpose was to determine the effects of the anti-resorptive agents alone and in combination with intermittent PTH on bone formation in the mandible and a long bone in the aged ovariectomized (Ovx) rat. Female rats were ovariectomized or sham-operated. One year later, groups of Ovx rats were treated with E, CT, or the bisphosphonate, Risedronate (NE). Additional groups of Ovx rats were treated with each of these agents in combination with human PTH for 10 weeks. Estrogen treatment suppressed most indices of bone formation in the humerus and mandible, while NE decreased some indices of formation at the endocortical and endosteal surfaces of the mandible and humerus. Increased double-labeled surface and mineral apposition rates were observed only on the mandibular endosteal surfaces following CT treatment. When the anti-resorptive agents were combined with intermittent PTH, most indices of bone formation at all skeletal sites were substantially greater than those of the untreated Ovx controls as well as the E-, CT-, and NE-treated groups, respectively. These results provide additional evidence that established and emerging therapies for osteoporosis affect osseous tissues in the oral cavity, and this may influence the progression of diseases and/or aging changes at this site.
Is there a role for surgery in the management of isolated secundum atrial septal defect in adults?

Summary Objectives The aim of this retrospective study was to compare the short-term outcomes of surgical versus transcatheter closure of secundum atrial septal defect (ASD) in adults. Methods From January 2008 to October 2012, 229 patients aged 18 years and older with significant isolated secundum ASDs were admitted to our hospital. We focused only on objective data obtained from their medical records. We collected and compared a total of 163 patients with isolated secundum ASD, who were treated with device occlusion or surgical closure, and had no missing data. Postoperative outcomes, rhythm disturbances, residual ASD, infection rates and length of hospital stay were compared. Results Complete follow-up data were available for 42 (46%) patients in the device group and for 121 (87%) in the surgery group. Complete closure was observed in 41 of the 42 patients (97.6%) in the device group (p = 0.258) and in all 121 in the surgery group (100 %) (p > 0.05). There were no mortalities. The mean length of hospital stay in the device group was 1.92 ± 0.43 days and in the surgery group 7.14 ± 0.14 days (p < 0.01). Conclusions The transcatheter approach for closure of ASDs is an effective and safe treatment option when performed for certain indications. Broadening the spectrum of indications may cause some adverse events. Surgical treatment remains a good alternative for all patients with ASDs and can be performed safely in order not to increase procedure-related complications.
Effect of three anaesthetic techniques on isometric skeletal muscle strength.

BACKGROUND Our aim was to quantify human involuntary isometric skeletal muscle strength during anaesthesia with propofol, sevoflurane, or spinal anaesthesia using bupivacaine. METHODS Thirty-three healthy patients undergoing anaesthesia for elective lower limb surgery were investigated. Twenty-two patients received a general anaesthetic with either propofol (n=12) or sevoflurane (n=10); for the remaining 11 patients spinal anaesthesia with bupivacaine was used. We used a non-invasive muscle force assessment system before and during anaesthesia to determine the contractile properties of the ankle dorsiflexor muscles after peroneal nerve stimulation (single, double, triple, and quadruple stimulation). We measured peak torques; contraction times; peak rates of torque development and decay; times to peak torque development and decay; half-relaxation times; torque latencies. RESULTS Males elicited greater peak torques than females, medians 6.3 vs 4.4 Nm, respectively (P=0.0002, Mann-Whitney rank-sum test). During sevoflurane and propofol anaesthesia, muscle strength did not differ from pre-anaesthetic values. During spinal anaesthesia, torques were diminished for single-pulse stimulation from 3.5 to 2.0 Nm (P=0.002, Wilcoxon signed rank test), and for double-pulse from 7.6 to 5.6 Nm (P=0.02). Peak rates of torque development decreased for single-pulse stimulation from 113 to 53 Nm s(-1) and for double pulse from 195 to 105 Nm s(-1). Torque latencies were increased during spinal anaesthesia. CONCLUSIONS At clinically relevant concentrations, propofol and sevoflurane did not influence involuntary isometric skeletal muscle strength in adults, whereas spinal anaesthesia reduced strength by about 20%. Muscle strength assessment using a device such as described here provided reliable results and should be considered for use in other scientific investigations to identify potential effects of anaesthetic agents.