Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A simple goodness-of-fit test for the power-law process, based on the Duane plot

The PLP (power-law process) or the Duane model is a simple model that can be used for both reliability growth and reliability deterioration. GOF (goodness-of-fit) tests for the PLP have attracted much attention. However, the practical use of the PLP model is its graphical analysis or the Duane plot, which is a log-log plot of the cumulative number of failures versus time. This has been commonly used for model validation and parameter estimation. When a plot is made, and the coefficient of determination, R/sup 2/, of the regression line is computed, the model can be tested based on this value. This paper introduces a statistical test, based on this simple procedure. The distribution of R/sup 2/ under the PLP hypothesis is shown not to depend on the true model parameters. Hence, it is possible to build a statistical GOF test for the PLP. The critical values of the test depend only on the sample size. Simulations show that this test is reasonably powerful compared with the usual PLP GOF tests. It is sometimes more powerful, especially for deteriorating systems. Implementing this test needs only the computation of a coefficient of determination. It is much easier than, for example, computing an Anderson-Darling statistic. Further study is needed to compare more precisely this new test with the existing ones. But the R/sup 2/ test provides a very simple and useful objective approach for decision making with regard to model validation.
Minimizing cost-functions related to both burn-in and field-operation under a generalized model

Summary and Conclusions-Burn-in is a method used to improve the quality of products. In field operation, only those units which survived the burn-in procedure will be used. This paper considers various additive cost structures related to both burn-in procedure and field operation under a general failure model. The general failure model includes two types of failures. Type I (minor) failure is removed by a minimal repair, whereas type II failure (catastrophic failure) is removed only by a complete repair (replacement). We introduce the following cost structures: (i) the expenses incurred until the first unit surviving burn-in is obtained; (ii) the minimal repair costs incurred over the life of the unit during field use; and (iii) either the gain proportional to the mean life of the unit in field operation or the expenditure due to replacement at a catastrophic failure during field operation. We also assume that, before undergoing the burn-in procedure, the unit has a bathtub-shaped failure rate function with change points t/sub 1/ & t/sub 2/. The optimal burn-in time b/sup */ for minimizing the cost function is demonstrated to be always less than t/sub 1/. Furthermore, a large initial failure rate is shown to justify burn-in, i.e. b/sup */>0. A numerical example is presented.
Killing Neighbors: Webs of Violence in Rwanda

It remains an enduring challenge, both morally and academically, to comprehend how so many ordinary people could be mobilized to kill upwards of half a million fellow citizens during the Rwandan genocide. Drawing from extensive interviews—often including several iterations with a single respondent—conducted in two research sites in different parts of Rwanda, Lee Ann Fujii challenges some of the standard explanations of the genocide, such as elite mobilization, the power of ethnicity and the role of outsiders. She argues that, instead, participation in the genocide depended upon the social interconnectedness of participants: ‘It was social ties,’ writes Fujii, ‘that patterned processes of recruitment and targeting’ in her research sites (p. 129). Given that genocide is, by definition, an act that hinges upon presumptions of ethnicity, one might expect that ethnic divisions were starkly drawn, and thereby provided effective grist for mobilization simply by the common vocabulary they offered. Fujii finds, to the contrary, that at least in the pre-genocide era, there is little evidence for this. In an illuminating discussion that should usefully inform discussions of ethnicity within and outside the Rwandan context, Fujii shows how ethnicity was subjectively experienced—a shifting combination of ancestry, choice and circumstance lived differently across, and even within, families. A community’s experience during the civil war and genocide informed how individuals perceived and valued ethnicity. In Fujii’s words, ‘ethnicity remained a term subject to interpretation and reinterpretation according to the shifting conditions of the war and genocide’ (p. 127). Accordingly, the subjective nature of ethnicity diminishes the power of an ethnicity-centric explanation for violence. Any model of mobilization that assumes elite entrepreneurs of violence need only to expose a raw ethnic nerve, in which people are simply reminded of their categorical animus, is insufficient. Fujii shows that the key determinants of participation in Rwanda were not ethnic proclivities per se, but rather strategies for responding to an obvious crisis (war, the murder of the president, the appearance of entrepreneurs of violence) rooted in local social dynamics. The titular invocation of ‘neighbours’ resonates in the story, for, as Fujii demonstrates, Rwandans tend to ground their identities in the community in which they live—particularly in rural settings. Indeed, as in many such settings globally, conforming to community norms is a matter of survival, no matter how contrary it might be to the prospects of immediate gain (or loss) for core personal values. In essence, people were willing to kill (some of) their neighbours because it was also (other) neighbours who were doing the killing—and putting pressure on those not recruited early to join. Fujii describes interviewees who had relatives with a stake in the perpetration of violence, or who belonged to peer groups that had taken up arms, as the most likely to have joined in the killing episodes themselves BOOK REVIEWS
Factors influencing enrollment of African Americans in the Look AHEAD trial

Background Many factors have been identified that influence the recruitment of African Americans into clinical trials; however, the influence of eligibility criteria may not be widely appreciated. We used the experience from the Look AHEAD (Action for Health in Diabetes) trial screening process to examine the differential impact eligibility criteria had on the enrollment of African Americans compared to other volunteers. Methods Look AHEAD is a large randomized clinical trial to examine whether assignment to an intensive lifestyle intervention designed to produce and maintain weight loss reduces the long-term risk of major cardiovascular events in adults with type 2 diabetes. Differences in the screening, eligibility, and enrollment rates between African Americans and members of other racial/ethnic groups were examined to identify possible reasons. Results Look AHEAD screened 28,735 individuals for enrollment, including 6226 (21.7%) who were self-identified African Americans. Of these volunteers, 12.9% of the African Americans compared to 19.3% of all other screenees ultimately enrolled (p < 0.001). African Americans no more often than others were lost to follow-up or refused to attend clinic visits to establish eligibility. Furthermore, the enrollment rates of individuals with histories of cardiovascular disease and diabetes therapy did not markedly differ between the ethnic groups. Higher prevalence of adverse levels of blood pressure, heart rate, HbA1c, and serum creatinine among African American screenees accounted for the greater proportions excluded (all p < 0.001). Conclusions Compared to non-African Americans, African American were more often ineligible for the Look AHEAD trial due to comorbid conditions. Monitoring trial eligibility criteria for differential impact, and modifying them when appropriate, may ensure greater enrollment yields.
Bacillus subtilis CodY Operators Contain Overlapping CodY Binding Sites

ABSTRACT CodY is a global transcriptional regulator that is activated by branched-chain amino acids. A palindromic 15-bp sequence motif, AATTTTCNGAAAATT, is associated with CodY DNA binding. A gel mobility shift assay was used to examine the effect of pH on the binding of Bacillus subtilis CodY to the hutPp and ureAp3 promoters. CodY at pH 6.0 has higher affinity for DNA, more enhanced activation by isoleucine, and a lower propensity for nonspecific DNA binding than CodY at pH 8.0. DNase I footprinting was used to identify the CodY-protected regions in the hutPp and ureAp3 promoters. The CodY-protected sequences for both promoters were found to contain multiple copies of the 15-bp motif with 6-bp overlaps. Mutational analysis of the hutPp regulatory region revealed that two overlapping sequence motifs were required for CodY-mediated regulation. The presence of overlapping sequence motifs in the regulatory regions of many B. subtilis CodY-regulated genes suggests that CodY binds to native operators that contain overlapping binding sites.
Proteins Involved in Formation of the Outermost Layer of Bacillus subtilis Spores

ABSTRACT To investigate the outermost structure of the Bacillus subtilis spore, we analyzed the accessibility of antibodies to proteins on spores of B. subtilis. Anti-green fluorescent protein (GFP) antibodies efficiently accessed GFP fused to CgeA or CotZ, which were previously assigned to the outermost layer termed the spore crust. However, anti-GFP antibodies did not bind to spores of strains expressing GFP fused to 14 outer coat, inner coat, or cortex proteins. Anti-CgeA antibodies bound to spores of wild-type and CgeA-GFP strains but not cgeA mutant spores. These results suggest that the spore crust covers the spore coat and is the externally exposed, outermost layer of the B. subtilis spore. We found that CotZ was essential for the spore crust to surround the spore but not for spore coat formation, indicating that CotZ plays a critical role in spore crust formation. In addition, we found that CotY-GFP was exposed on the surface of the spore, suggesting that CotY is an additional component of the spore crust. Moreover, the localization of CotY-GFP around the spore depended on CotZ, and CotY and CotZ depended on each other for spore assembly. Furthermore, a disruption of cotW affected the assembly of CotV-GFP, and a disruption of cotX affected the assembly of both CotV-GFP and CgeA-GFP. These results suggest that cgeA and genes in the cotVWXYZ cluster are involved in spore crust formation.
Meta-analysis of clinical trial safety data in a drug development program: Answers to frequently asked questions

Background Meta-analyses of clinical trial safety data have risen in importance beyond regulatory submissions. During drug development, sponsors need to recognize safety signals early and adjust the development program accordingly, so as to facilitate the assessment of causality. Once a product is marketed, sponsors add postapproval clinical trial data to the body of information to help understand existing safety concerns or those that arise from other postapproval data sources, such as spontaneous reports. Purpose This article focuses on common questions encountered when designing and performing a meta-analysis of clinical trial safety data. Although far from an exhaustive set of questions, they touch on some basic and often misunderstood features of conducting such meta-analyses. Methods The authors reviewed the current literature and used their combined experience with regulatory and other uses of meta-analysis to answer common questions that arise when performing meta-analyses of safety data. Results We addressed the following topics: choice of studies to pool, effects of the method of ascertainment, use of patient-level data compared to trial-level data, the need (or not) for multiplicity adjustments, heterogeneity of effects and sources of it, and choice of fixed effects versus random effects. Limitations The list of topics is not exhaustive and the opinions offered represent only our perspective; we recognize that there may be other valid perspectives. Conclusions Meta-analysis can be a valuable tool for evaluating safety questions, but a number of methodological choices need to be made in designing and conducting any meta-analysis. This article provides advice on some of the more commonly encountered choices.
Medical Laboratory Technology and Clinical Pathology

Like soap and cigarette manufacturers, publishing houses now have active competition among their own products. Saunders has two Big Books of clinical pathology running concurrently: the present volume, and the Todd-Sanford Clinical Diagnosis by Laboratory Methods , edited by Davidsohn and Henry. The two are altogether comparable in size and price. The titles provide an important clue to each book's goal. Davidsohn and Henry's title page emphasizes Clinical Diagnosis , while Lynch et al stress the words Medical Laboratory Technology . By implication, the former is for the physician, the interpreter; the latter for the technologist, the doer. To a considerable degree this premise is true; more detailed and more numerous technical sections will be found in Lynch's book. A more important reason for Lynch et al's success is the skill with which the authors combine theoretical material with practical details. Pressures of space require all multidiscipline laboratory books to adopt a compact,
Osmotically Controlled Synthesis of the Compatible Solute Proline Is Critical for Cellular Defense of Bacillus subtilis against High Osmolarity

ABSTRACT Bacillus subtilis is known to accumulate large amounts of the compatible solute proline via de novo synthesis as a stress protectant when it faces high-salinity environments. We elucidated the genetic determinants required for the osmoadaptive proline production from the precursor glutamate. This proline biosynthesis route relies on the proJ-encoded γ-glutamyl kinase, the proA-encoded γ-glutamyl phosphate reductase, and the proH-encoded Δ1-pyrroline-5-caboxylate reductase. Disruption of the proHJ operon abolished osmoadaptive proline production and strongly impaired the ability of B. subtilis to cope with high-osmolarity growth conditions. Disruption of the proA gene also abolished osmoadaptive proline biosynthesis but caused, in contrast to the disruption of proHJ, proline auxotrophy. Northern blot analysis demonstrated that the transcription of the proHJ operon is osmotically inducible, whereas that of the proBA operon is not. Reporter gene fusion studies showed that proHJ expression is rapidly induced upon an osmotic upshift. Increased expression is maintained as long as the osmotic stimulus persists and is sensitively linked to the prevalent osmolarity of the growth medium. Primer extension analysis revealed the osmotically controlled proHJ promoter, a promoter that resembles typical SigA-type promoters of B. subtilis. Deletion analysis of the proHJ promoter region identified a 126-bp DNA segment carrying all sequences required in cis for osmoregulated transcription. Our data disclose the presence of ProA-interlinked anabolic and osmoadaptive proline biosynthetic routes in B. subtilis and demonstrate that the synthesis of the compatible solute proline is a central facet of the cellular defense to high-osmolarity surroundings for this soil bacterium.
Satisfying the needs of Japanese cancer patients: A comparative study of detailed and standard informed consent documents

Background Simplified informed consent forms have been successful in improving patient satisfaction and decreasing patient anxiety. However, unsolved problems remain about whether these documents improve comprehension and satisfaction of patients with standard literacy skills. Purposes To investigate whether a detailed consent form explaining the key elements of informed consent, in comparison to a standard consent form, would increase the comprehension and satisfaction of adult cancer patients. Methods Patients who were eligible for the National Surgical Adjuvant Study of Breast Cancer (protocol 01(N-SAS/BC-01)) were randomly selected to receive one of the following four versions: detailed document with graphics, detailed document without graphics, standard document with graphics, and standard document without graphics. The forms were written in plain language from the patients’ point of view. A total of 85 patients were administered questionnaires via interview to assess levels of comprehension, satisfaction, and anxiety. Results Patients demonstrated a strong understanding of information regarding treatment and research. Patient comprehension did not differ significantly between the detailed document arms and the standard document arms. Patient satisfaction level increased according to the amount of information presented in the consent form; most patients preferred the detailed document with graphics. Anxiety and accrual rates in the parent study were not affected by informed consent procedures. Limitations Findings were limited to adults who had standard literacy skills and may not be generalizable to a population with lower literacy. Conclusion Informed consent can be a significant experience for a population with standard literacy skills, as long as the document is easily comprehensible. Such information should be provided in a format that corresponds with patient needs, education levels, and preferences.
Über den Lungenbau der Früngeburt und des ausgetragenen Kindes, vor allem mit Rüeksicht auf die Entwicklung der elastischen Fasern und der Kapillaren.

1. Die beste Grundlage bei Beurteilung des Entwicklungssrades des elastischen Stützgerüstes der Lungen ist das Gewicht des Fötus. Sogar noch bei solchen Föten, deren Gewicht gegen 2 ½ kg beträgt, sind die elastischen Fasern in den Lungen sehr schlecht entwickelt, aber bei Föten im Gewicht von über 3 kg scheint der Entwicklungsgrad schon relativ gut, ja er kann bei übergewichtigen Föten sogar äusserst mächtig sein.
How to solve the fronthaul traffic congestion problem in H-CRAN?

The design of efficient wireless fronthaul connections for future heterogeneous networks incorporating emerging paradigms such as heterogeneous cloud radio access network (H-CRAN) has become a challenging task that requires the most effective utilization of fronthaul network resources. In this paper, we propose and analyze possible solutions to facilitate the fronthaul traffic congestion in the scenario of Coordinated Multi-Point (CoMP) for 5G cellular traffic which is expected to reach ZetaByte by 2017. In particular, we propose to use distributed compression to reduce the fronthaul traffic for H-CRAN. Unlike the conventional approach where each coordinating point quantizes and forwards its own observation to the processing centre, these observations are compressed before forwarding. At the processing centre, the decompression of the observations and the decoding of the user messages are conducted in a joint manner. Our results reveal that, in both dense and ultra-dense urban small cell deployment scenarios, the usage of distributed compression can efficiently reduce the required fronthaul rate by more than 50% via joint operation.
Surrogate markers for time-varying treatments and outcomes

Background: A surrogate marker is a variable commonly used in clinical trials to guide treatment decisions when the outcome of ultimate interest is not available. A good surrogate marker is one where the treatment effect on the surrogate is a strong predictor of the effect of treatment on the outcome. We review the situation when there is one treatment delivered at baseline, one surrogate measured at one later time point, and one ultimate outcome of interest and discuss new issues arising when variables are time-varying. Methods: Most of the literature on surrogate markers has only considered simple settings with one treatment, one surrogate, and one outcome of interest at a fixed time point. However, more complicated time-varying settings are common in practice. In this article, we describe the unique challenges in two settings, time-varying treatments and time-varying surrogates, while relating the ideas back to the causal-effects and causal-association paradigms. Conclusion: In addition to discussing and extending popular notions of surrogacy to time-varying settings, we give examples illustrating that one can be misled by not taking into account time-varying information about the surrogate or treatment. We hope this article has provided some motivation for future work on estimation and inference in such settings.
Benefits and barriers to participating in longitudinal research of youth-onset type 2 diabetes: Results from the TODAY retention survey

Background/Aims: Conducting longitudinal research related to chronic illness in adolescents is inherently challenging due to developmental changes and psychosocial stressors. Participants in the Treatment Options for type 2 Diabetes in Adolescents and Youth clinical trial were socioeconomically disadvantaged as well. This study assessed attitudes and beliefs about retention in Treatment Options for type 2 Diabetes in Adolescents and Youth to shed light on the factors that potentially promote and detract from the likelihood of sustained participation. Methods: After an average 7.3 years of follow-up (range 4.9–9.5), Treatment Options for type 2 Diabetes in Adolescents and Youth participants completed a survey examining their perceptions of the benefits and barriers to sustained involvement in the protocol. Results: The most common reasons for staying in Treatment Options for type 2 Diabetes in Adolescents and Youth included having a strong relationship with the medical team, getting study-provided diabetes care, access to free diabetes medicine and supplies, and being part of a large study to learn more about how to care for youth-onset type 2 diabetes. The most commonly endorsed challenges included scheduling conflicts, possibly disappointing others, difficulties getting to study visits, and the occurrence of other medical issues. Conclusions: Similar to other published reports, a supportive relationship with study staff was commonly endorsed as a benefit of engagement in the longitudinal study, suggesting that rapport, staff consistency, and relationship quality are important components of optimal retention. Moreover, our findings suggest the value of trying to remove logistical barriers, such as transportation and scheduling challenges, in order to promote long-term participation in research. Further research is recommended to evaluate factors that contribute to attrition versus retention in an a priori manner within longitudinal studies, especially protocols involving cohorts that are more vulnerable to attrition due to developmental transitions and/or socioeconomic challenges. Additional efforts to optimize quantitative and qualitative measurement of barriers would also help to expand our understanding of how to optimally retain participants in longitudinal protocols.
Genome Sequence of Desulfosporosinus sp. OT, an Acidophilic Sulfate-Reducing Bacterium from Copper Mining Waste in Norilsk, Northern Siberia

ABSTRACT We have sequenced the genome of Desulfosporosinus sp. OT, a Gram-positive, acidophilic sulfate-reducing Firmicute isolated from copper tailing sediment in the Norilsk mining-smelting area in Northern Siberia, Russia. This represents the first sequenced genome of a Desulfosporosinus species. The genome has a size of 5.7 Mb and encodes 6,222 putative proteins.