Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Increasing Utilization and Excellent Initial Outcomes Following Liver Transplant of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV)‐Viremic Donors Into HCV‐Negative Recipients: Outcomes Following Liver Transplant of HCV‐Viremic Donors

Direct‐acting antiviral (DAA) therapy has altered the frequency and outcome of liver transplantation (LT) for hepatitis C virus (HCV). The high efficacy and tolerability of DAA therapy has also created a rationale for utilizing HCV‐viremic (HCV‐RNA–positive) donors, including into HCV‐negative recipients. We examined trends in frequency of organ utilization and graft survival in recipients of HCV‐viremic donors (HCV‐RNA positive as measured by nucleic acid testing [NAT]). Data were collected from the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR) on adult patients who underwent a primary, single‐organ, deceased donor LT from January 1, 2008 to January 31, 2018. Outcomes of HCV‐negative transplant recipients (R–) who received an allograft from donors who were HCV‐RNA positive (DNAT+) were compared to outcomes for R– patients who received organs from donors who were HCV‐RNA negative (DNAT–). There were 11,270 DNAT–/R–; 4,748 DNAT–/R+; 87 DNAT+/R–; and 753 DNAT+/R+ patients, with 2‐year graft survival similar across all groups: DNAT–/R– 88%; DNAT–/R+ 88%; DNAT+/R– 86%; and DNAT+/R+ 90%. Additionally, there were 2,635 LTs using HCV antibody‐positive donors (DAb+): 2,378 DAb+/R+ and 257 DAb+/R–. The annual number of DAb+/R– transplants increased from seven in 2008 to 107 in 2017. In the post‐DAA era, graft survival improved for all recipients, with 3‐year survival of DAb+/R– patients and DAb+/R+ patients increasing to 88% from 79% and to 85% from 78%, respectively. Conclusion: The post‐DAA era has seen increased utilization of HCV‐viremic donor livers, including HCV‐viremic livers into HCV‐negative recipients. Early graft outcomes are similar to those of HCV‐negative recipients. These results support utilization of HCV‐viremic organs in selected recipients both with and without HCV infection.
Orthogonal multicarrier techniques applied to direct sequence spread spectrum CDMA systems

We design a new scheme for DS-CDMA applications. The basic principle consists in applying orthogonal multicarrier transmission to DS spread spectrum systems. Several algorithms for estimating the equalizer coefficients are investigated in order to reduce the interuser interference due to multipath propagation and cross-correlation between the code sequences. The resulting system achieves high robustness against channel impairments and outperforms the conventional single-carrier DS-CDMA system. <<ETX>>
Effect of liraglutide on the Janus kinase/signal transducer and transcription activator (JAK/STAT) pathway in diabetic kidney disease in db/db mice and in cultured endothelial cells

Emerging evidence demonstrates the involvement of Janus tyrosine kinase/signal transducer and transcription activator (JAK/STAT) proteins in the pathophysiology of diabetic kidney disease (DKD). The JAK/STAT pathway is involved in the inflammatory response and endothelial cell dysfunction observed in DKD. The glucagon‐like peptide‐1 (GLP‐1) analog liraglutide is an effective treatment for type 2 diabetes because it improves the inflammatory changes observed in experimental models of DKD. This study used db/db mice and endothelial cells (ECs) to determine the effect of diabetic environment on the JAK/STAT pathway and to assess the potential effect of liraglutide (200 μg/kg) in both models.
Permanent Scatterers: precision assessment and multi-platform analysis

The Permanent Scatterers (PS) technique is an advanced tool for processing series of interferometric SAR data aiming at millimetric precision ground deformation mapping. The approach is based on a joint time-space-acquisition geometry analysis that is carried out at individual point-wise radar targets. The aim of this paper is twofold: (1) describe the main issues related to the precision of PS products; (2) show preliminary PS results obtained using, instead of ESA-ERS scenes, data acquired by other spaceborne SAR platforms characterized different acquisition parameters (namely RADARSAT and JERS).
Sputum Microbiome Is Associated with 1-Year Mortality after Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Hospitalizations.

Rationale: Lung dysbiosis promotes airway inflammation and decreased local immunity, potentially playing a role in the pathogenesis of acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD). Objectives: We sought to determine the relationship between sputum microbiome at the time of AECOPD hospitalization and 1-year mortality in a COPD cohort. Methods: We used sputum samples from 102 patients hospitalized because of AECOPD. All subjects were followed for 1 year after discharge. The microbiome profile was assessed through sequencing of 16S rRNA gene. Microbiome analyses were performed according to 1-year mortality status. To investigate the effect of α-diversity measures and taxon features on time to death, we applied Cox proportional hazards regression models and obtained hazard ratios (HRs) associated with these variables. Measurements and Main Results: We observed significantly lower values of α-diversity (richness, Shannon index, evenness, and Faith's Phylogenetic Diversity) among nonsurvivors (n = 19, 18.6%) than survivors (n = 83, 81.4%). β-Diversity analysis also demonstrated significant differences between both groups (adjusted permutational multivariate ANOVA, P = 0.010). The survivors had a higher relative abundance of Veillonella; in contrast, nonsurvivors had a higher abundance of Staphylococcus. The adjusted HRs for 1-year mortality increased significantly with decreasing α-diversity. We also observed lower survival among patients in whom sputum samples were negative for Veillonella (HR, 13.5; 95% confidence interval, 4.2-43.9; P < 0.001) or positive for Staphylococcus (HR, 7.3; 95% confidence interval, 1.6-33.2; P = 0.01). Conclusions: The microbiome profile of sputum in AECOPD is associated with 1-year mortality and may be used to identify subjects with a poor prognosis at the time of hospitalization.
Advantages of Computer Based Educational Technologies for Adult Learners

This paper focuses on the adult education and adult learning characteristics, advantages of educational technology for adult learners; explains the using of computer based educational technologies such as ;Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) ,computer assisted interactive learning and Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) in adult education; examines the advantages and suitability of these methods from the point of the adult
Success factors and strategic planning: Rebuilding an academic library digitization program

This paper discusses a dual approach of case study and research survey to investigate the complex factors in sustaining academic library digitization programs. The case study involves the background of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) Libraries’ digitization program and elaborates on the authors’ efforts to gain staff support for this program. A related survey was administered to all Association of Research Libraries (ARL) members, seeking to collect baseline data on their digital collections, understand their respective administrative frameworks, and to gather feedback on both negative obstacles and positive inputs affecting their success. Results from the survey, combined with the authors’ local experience, point to several potential success factors including staff skill sets, funding, and strategic planning.
Cancellation accuracy in CDMA pilot interference cancellation

Pilot interference cancellation (IC) in mobile receivers has recently gained attention for CDMA cellular networks. In this paper we address the accuracy of the pilot interference cancellation at the receiver. In doing so, we consider the effects of channel estimation, timing estimation, receiver tap-spacing granularity, and the other receiver imperfections. The analytical and simulation results illustrate that high cancellation accuracy is feasible for the pilot IC receiver. These result indicate that the significant potential capacity gains reported in [3GPP TR 25.99, 2001, J.S. Sadowski et al., 2003] for pilot IC, are achievable under realistic receiver conditions.
Suppression of Canine ATP Binding Cassette ABCB1 in Madin-Darby Canine Kidney Type II Cells Unmasks Human ABCG2-Mediated Efflux of Olaparib

Endogenous canine ATP binding cassette B1 (cABCB1) is expressed abundantly in Madin-Darby canine kidney type II (MDCKII) cells, and its presence often complicates phenotyping of the transport process. Errors in estimating the corrected efflux ratio (cER), as a result of the variable expression of cABCB1, were examined for the dual substrates of ABCB1 and ABCG2 in MDCKII cells expressing human ABCG2 (hABCG2). cABCB1 mRNA and protein expression was 60% and 55% lower, respectively, in MDCKII cells expressing hABCG2 compared with the wild type, suggesting that the expression of endogenous cABCB1 became variable after the expression of hABCG2. To minimize the contribution of endogenous efflux, cABCB1 was suppressed kinetically (using verapamil as a selective inhibitor) or biochemically (transfecting short-hairpin RNA against cABCB1). Under these suppression conditions, cER values for irinotecan and topotecan (dual substrates of ABCB1 and ABCG2) were elevated by more than 4-fold and 2-fold, respectively, compared with cER values without the suppression. The cER of olaparib was similarly increased to 3- and 5-fold in MDCKII cells under the kinetic and biochemical suppression of cABCB1, respectively, suggesting that hABCG2-mediated efflux cannot be ruled out for olaparib. Since the substrate selectivity for ABCB1 and ABCG2 overlapped considerably, the possibility of an inaccurate estimation of cER must be considered for dual substrates in the case of the variable expression of cABCB1 in MDCKII cells.
Validation of the “Mind the Gap” Scale to Assess Satisfaction with Health Care among Adolescents

Background: At present, more than 90% of adolescents with chronic conditions survive into adulthood as health care users and move pediatric to adult care with their chronic illness. Therefore, the need satisfaction scale focuses specifically on transitional care and reflect the increasing expectations among youth and their parents. Aims: To examine the validity and reliability of the Turkish version of Mind the Gap scale. Study Design: Methodological study. Methods: The Turkish versions of Mind the Gap scale and Patient Assessment of Choronic Illness Care scale were applied to the participants in two tertiary hospitals in Ankara. The validity was evaluated with factor analyses and content-scope validity; the reliability was evaluated with item-total score correlation, internal consistency, and continuity methods. Results: A total of 109 adolescents and 157 parents completed the questionaire. The content validity was confirmed. Exploratory factor analysis was used to determine the factor structure of the scale. Both adolescent and parent scales formed three sub-dimensions and explained 71% and 73% of the variation, respectively. The Cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficient of Mind the Gap scale 1 and Mind the Gap scale 2 were 0.89 and 0.87, respectively, with internal consistencies of the parent’s scales reaching 0.92 and 0.90. The test-retest reliability coefficients totalled 0.88 and 0.85 for the adolescents and parents, respectively. The suitability of the model was examined with confirmatory factor analysis. Conformity indices and x2/df value of the model were in good fit to data. Conclusion: The Turkish version of the Mind the Gap scale is a valid and reliable scale for evaluating the needs, expectations, and satisfaction of adolescents and their parents in terms of health care.
High-density chain ferroelectric random access memory (chain FRAM)

A new chain ferroelectric random access memory-a chain FRAM-has been proposed. A memory cell consists of parallel connection of one transistor and one ferroelectric capacitor, and one memory cell block consists of plural memory cells connected in series and a block selecting transistor. This configuration realizes the smallest 4 F/sup 2/ size memory cell using the planar transistor so far reported, and random access. The chip size of the proposed chain FRAM can be reduced to 63% of that of the conventional FRAM when 16 cells are connected in series. The fast nondriven half-V/sub dd/ cell-plate scheme, as well as the driven cell-plate scheme, are applicable to the chain FRAM without polarization switching during the standby cycle thanks to short-circuiting ferroelectric capacitors. It results in fast access time of 45 ns and cycle time of 70 ns without refresh operation.
An introduction to contemporary

We give an easy derivation of Sinlmons lower bound for imperson-atiou games which is based on the non-negativity of the informational divergence. We show that substitution games can be reduced to ancillary impersonation games. We use this fact to extend Simmons’ bound to substitution games: tile lower bound we obtain performs quite well against those available in the literature.
Diminutive Polyps With Advanced Histologic Features Do Not Increase Risk for Metachronous Advanced Colon Neoplasia.

BACKGROUND & AIMS With advances in endoscopic imaging, it is possible to differentiate adenomatous from hyperplastic diminutive (1-5 mm) polyps during endoscopy. With the optical Resect-and-Discard strategy, these polyps are then removed and discarded without histopathology assessment. However, failure to recognize adenomas (vs hyperplastic polyps), or discarding a polyp with advanced histologic features, could result in a patient being considered at low risk for metachronous advanced neoplasia, resulting in an inappropriately long surveillance interval. We collected data from international cohorts of patients undergoing colonoscopy to determine what proportion of patients are high risk because of diminutive polyps advanced histologic features and their risk for metachronous advanced neoplasia. METHODS We collected data from 12 cohorts (in the United States or Europe) of patients undergoing colonoscopy after a positive result from a fecal immunochemical test (FIT cohort, n = 34,221) or undergoing colonoscopies for screening, surveillance, or evaluation of symptoms (colonoscopy cohort, n = 30,123). Patients at high risk for metachronous advanced neoplasia were defined as patients with polyps that had advanced histologic features (cancer, high-grade dysplasia, ≥25% villous features), 3 or more diminutive or small (6-9 mm) nonadvanced adenomas, or an adenoma or sessile serrated lesion ≥10 mm. Using an inverse variance random effects model, we calculated the proportion of diminutive polyps with advanced histologic features; the proportion of patients classified as high risk because their diminutive polyps had advanced histologic features; and the risk of these patients for metachronous advanced neoplasia. RESULTS In 51,510 diminutive polyps, advanced histologic features were observed in 7.1% of polyps from the FIT cohort and 1.5% polyps from the colonoscopy cohort (P = .044); however, this difference in prevalence did not produce a significant difference in the proportions of patients assigned to high-risk status (0.8% of patients in the FIT cohort and 0.4% of patients in the colonoscopy cohort) (P = .25). The proportions of high-risk patients because of diminutive polyps with advanced histologic features who were found to have metachronous advanced neoplasia (17.6%) did not differ significantly from the proportion of low-risk patients with metachronous advanced neoplasia (14.6%) (relative risk for high-risk categorization, 1.13; 95% confidence interval 0.79-1.61). CONCLUSION In a pooled analysis of data from 12 international cohorts of patients undergoing colonoscopy for screening, surveillance, or evaluation of symptoms, we found that diminutive polyps with advanced histologic features do not increase risk for metachronous advanced neoplasia.
Measuring emergent social phenomena: Dynamism, polarization, and clustering as order parameters of social systems

We derive three system order parameters: dynamism, polarization, and clustering, to describe global states of attitude distribution and change for human social systems. Dynamism (f) captures the rate of change in a system, while polarization (Pt) refers to the increase or decrease of a minority position over time. Clustering (e) defines the spatial segregation of opinion based on system topography. These measures suggest a conception of human systems rooted in time and space that is distinct from other approaches. Their utility is illustrated through computer simulations showing that under a wide variety of circumstances, social influence models incorporating spatial distributions lead to unexpected outcomes of incomplete polarization and clustering, with alternative theories of how individuals encode information leading to quantitatively distinct results. A second set of simulations describes the intrusion of temperature, or unexplained randomness into these systems. Surprisingly, the self-organizational tendencies emerging from the iteration of simple laws of individual attitude change derived from Latane's (1981) metatheory of social impact appear to increase with moderate levels of randomness. We consider other approaches for measuring group level processes, among them network analysis-inspired indices and spatial autocorrelation, and suggest how our system order parameters could be used to predict political elections.
ECCO-ESGAR Guideline for Diagnostic Assessment in IBD Part 2: IBD scores and general principles and technical aspects.

Andreas Sturm,a Christian Maaser,b Emma Calabrese,c Vito Annese,d Gionata Fiorino,e Torsten Kucharzik,f Stephan R. Vavricka,g Bram Verstockt,h, Patrick van Rheenen,i Damian Tolan,j Stuart A. Taylor,k Jordi Rimola,l Florian Rieder,m Jimmy K. Limdi,n Andrea Laghi,o Eduards Krustiņš,p Paulo G. Kotze,q Uri Kopylov,r Konstantinos Katsanos,s Steve Halligan,t Hannah Gordon,u Yago González Lama,v Pierre Ellul,w Rami Eliakim,r Fabiana Castiglione,x Johan Burisch,y, Paula Borralho Nunes,z, Dominik Bettenworth,aa Daniel C. Baumgart,bb Jaap Stoker,cc on behalf of the European Crohn’s and Colitis Organisation [ECCO] and the European Society of Gastrointestinal and Abdominal Radiology [ESGAR]
Bandwidth-efficient digital transmission up to 155 Mb/s over unshielded twisted pair wiring

Techniques for achieving data rates up to 155 Mb/s over unshielded twisted pair wiring in premises distribution systems are described. These high data rates represent an improvement of about an order of magnitude in speed when compared to presently available data rates for local area networks operating over this communication medium. The transmission scheme proposed for achieving these higher data rates is carrierless AM/PM (CAP), which is a bandwidth-efficient two-dimensional passband line code. It is shown that a 32-CAP line code can be used to provide the fiber distributed data interface (FDDI) rate of 125 Mb/s over 100 m of voicegrade unshielded twisted pair (UTP) wiring in a channel bandwidth of 30 MHz, which results in a robust performance and eliminates potential problems with electromagnetic radiation limits above 30 MHz. <<ETX>>
An acoustical pattern classifier based on N-depth projection on privileged eigenstructures

A geometrical vector classifier is applied to the problem of phonetic classification in several experimental environments. The algorithm is based on the measure of similarity between the original vector and the ones reconstructed using a N-depth projection on the eigenvectors related to the covariance matrix of each category to be classified. For each category (i.e. for each phoneme) there is a privileged subspace of arbitrary dimension and with N axes where the similarity of the training vector set is maximized. These geometrical subspaces are characterized in relation to databases, speaker dependence, speech emission, and signal parametrization. Experiments were performed using three small databases: a four-speaker continuous speech, a single-speaker isolated words, and a single-speaker continuous speech database. Results are reported for closed tests (where training and classification were performed on the same database), and for open tests (where they were performed on different databases). It is concluded that the proposed method may, in some cases, successfully substitute for vector quantizer techniques. <<ETX>>
Robust steady-state tracking of sampled-data systems

In this paper, the robust steady-state tracking of sampled-data systems is addressed in the presence of structured norm-bounded time-varying uncertainty. Based on the analysis of approximating discrete-time systems, exact conditions are derived for robust steady-state tracking of fixed inputs for sampled-data systems. It can be shown that the same results apply to the general periodic LTV continuous-time systems as well.
Broadband transmission using OFDM: system performance and receiver complexity

This paper investigates the system performance of coherent OFDM transmission over frequency selective fading channels taking into account the constraints imposed by the receiver complexity. The effects of synchronization errors in the receiver are analyzed. In a properly designed inner receiver, these errors lead to extra noise. Specifying the limits for this additional noise allows one to derive the requirements for each component and thus to design and optimize the inner receiver independently from the outer receiver. The resulting receiver structure and the synchronization algorithms applied are introduced. Particular attention is paid to the channel estimation unit since its accuracy is most essential for system performance. A short analysis of the complexity of the algorithms allows one to determine the limits of the single components. System simulations including inner and outer receiver are used to evaluate the ideal vs. the realizable performance of the receiver and thus show how it is bounded by receiver complexity.
Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use for Websites Used by Students in Higher Education

A unified framework for researching technology acceptance, the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), was previously proposed and validated. The aim of this article is to explore the application UTAUT to websites used by students in higher education. Both prescribed websites and user-selected sites were studied using a non-experimental research design and questionnaire-based measures. The results support direct and moderated effects of technology-acceptance variables on acceptance outcomes in the research model, supporting UTAUT. As predicted, the research model—based on UTAUT—was more successful in explaining the acceptance of a prescribed library site than that of a prescribed virtual learning environment. The model was also successfully applied to user-selected websites. User-selected sites were especially intrinsically motivating. The effect of intrinsic motivation on performance expectancy, mediated by effort expectancy, was confirmed. The results demonstrate the broad scope of applicability of UTAUT and motivate its recommended wider use.
Comparing spatially‐varying coefficients models for analysis of ecological data with non‐stationary and anisotropic residual dependence

1. When exploring spatially complex ecological phenomena using regression models it is often unreasonable to assume a single set of regression coefficients can capture space‐varying and scale‐dependent relationships between covariates and the outcome variable. This is especially true when conducting analysis across large spatial domains, where there is an increased propensity for anisotropic dependence structures and non‐stationarity in the underlying spatial processes.