Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cancer Neoepitopes for Immunotherapy: Discordance Between Tumor-Infiltrating T Cell Reactivity and Tumor MHC Peptidome Display

Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) are considered enriched for T cells recognizing shared tumor antigens or mutation-derived neoepitopes. We performed exome sequencing and HLA-A*02:01 epitope prediction from tumor cell lines from two HLA-A2-positive melanoma patients whose TIL displayed strong tumor reactivity. The potential neoepitopes were screened for recognition using autologous TIL by immunological assays and presentation on tumor major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC-I) molecules by Poisson detection mass spectrometry (MS). TIL from the patients recognized 5/181 and 3/49 of the predicted neoepitopes, respectively. MS screening detected 3/181 neoepitopes on tumor MHC-I from the first patient but only one was also among those recognized by TIL. Consequently, TIL enriched for neoepitope specificity failed to recognize tumor cells, despite being activated by peptides. For the second patient, only after IFN-γ treatment of the tumor cells was one of 49 predicted neoepitopes detected by MS, and this coincided with recognition by TIL sorted for the same specificity. Importantly, specific T cells could be expanded from patient and donor peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) for all neoepitopes recognized by TIL and/or detected on tumor MHC-I. In summary, stimulating the appropriate inflammatory environment within tumors may promote neoepitope MHC presentation while expanding T cells in blood may circumvent lack of specific TIL. The discordance in detection between physical and functional methods revealed here can be rationalized and used to improve neoantigen-targeted T cell immunotherapy.
Local breast cancer recurrence caused by mammographically guided punctures

Purpose: To evaluate the risk of needle track seeding or tumor cell implantation as the cause of locally recurrent breast cancer after breast conserving surgery. Material and Methods: We reviewed recurrences from a consecutive series of 303 clinically nonpalpable breast cancers treated with breast conserving surgery after pre-operative localization. The median mammographic follow-up was 5.4 years. The suspicion of seeding or implantation was based on the location of the recurrent lesion in comparison with the needle path in two orthogonal mammographic projections. Pre-operative percutaneous biopsies had been done in 71% (214/303) of the cases. Postoperative radiotherapy was administered to 82% (194/238) of the invasive cancers and to 28% (18/65) of the ductal cancers in situ (DCIS). Results: Locally recurrent cancer occurred in 11% (33/303) of the cases. Radiotherapy demonstrated a protective effect from relapse among invasive cancers but not for DCIS. Seeding or implantation was suspected in 3 recurrent invasive cancers which had not been subject to radiotherapy. The histopathological diagnosis of the primary cancer and the recurrent cancer were the same in these cases: adenoid cystic, mucinous and tubuloductal cancer. Conclusion: Seeding or implantation was suspected as the cause of local recurrence in 7% (3/44) of the invasive cancers which did not receive radiotherapy.
Enhanced visualisation of the normal prostate blood flow in young healthy volunteers using a new ultrasound contrast agent

Purpose: To evaluate the sonographic appearance of normal prostate vascularity before and after injection of a new ultrasound contrast agent, Sonazoid (NC100100, Nycomed Amersham). Material and Methods: Five healthy male volunteers were given three injections of Sonazoid each. Transrectal B-mode, colour Doppler and colour Doppler energy (i.e. power Doppler) imaging was performed. The visibility of the vascular pattern and the vascular architecture of the prostate, including dynamics of contrast inflow and blood flow symmetry, were evaluated. Results: The depiction of the vascularity was improved in all subjects after injection of Sonazoid for both Doppler modes. No improvement was seen for B-mode. Contrast dynamics within the prostate vessels were demonstrated with a mean time from injection of the ultrasound contrast agent to enhancement of the Doppler signals in the subcapsular arteries of 14±1 s (11-17 s), and the ultrasound contrast agent reached the central periurethral veins 4-7 s later. A symmetric, radial, spoke-like intraprostatic vascular pattern could be identified in all subjects using power Doppler imaging and ultrasound contrast agent. Conclusion: Sonazoid improved the detection of normal human prostate vascular anatomy for both colour and power Doppler imaging. Contrast dynamic studies revealed a radial spoke-like intraprostatic vascular pattern. This information might be useful in examination of patients with suspicion of prostate cancer, and needs to be further investigated.
Hard-Copy Versus Soft-Copy with and Without Simple Image Manipulation for Detection of Pulmonary Nodules and Masses

Purpose: To compare interpretation performance on soft-copy presentations, with and without simple image manipulation, and on unmodified hard-copy presentations with regard to detection of pulmonary nodules and masses. Material and Methods: Fifty chest digital radiograph combinations of patients with a total of 60 nodules, 32 of which were 2.0 cm in diameter, were selected for the study. Three readers evaluated three separate image formats: unmodified hard- and soft-copies, and soft-copies with simple image manipulation of lung and mediastinum window settings, and zooming. The screen display was 1600×1200 pixels with 8 bits/pixel. Results: The sensitivity, accuracy, detectability, and Az value of the soft-copy systems were clearly inferior to hard-copy evaluation. The mean Az values were 0.921 for unmodified hard-copy, 0.820 for image-manipulated soft-copy, and 0.781 for unmodified soft-copy. Conclusion: Soft-copy interpretations were not as sensitive in detecting pulmonary nodules and masses as hard-copy evaluation.
On the Role of Information Overload in Information Systems (IS) Success: Empirical Evidence from Decision Support Systems

It has been suggested that information overload decreases decision-making performance. This study empirically examines the mediating role of information (over-)load on the relationships between two system features (deep structure usage and system quality) and managerial performance using a mixed-method-approach (survey and interviews). It analyzes the relationships with respect to a state-of-the-art decision support system (DSS). Our results indicate that information overload adversely affects managerial performance and mediates the influence of system quality and deep structure usage on managerial performance. We find that system quality is positively related to information overload. Drawing on cognitive load theory, we hypothesize and confirm that deep structure usage reduces perceived information overload. Additional evidence from interviews further illustrate these results and show that information overload can be influenced in counter-intuitive ways by system aspects. Our results have important implications for the design of modern information system (IS) landscapes to support managerial performance. They draw attention to the importance of information overload as a mediating factor in the interrelationship among deep structure usage, system quality and managerial performance.
The (In)Effectiveness of Incentives - A Field Experiment on the Adoption of Personal Electronic Health Records

Medication errors are the third-leading cause of death in the US; however, a large number of these cases could be prevented through better medication management. The aging population and the associated high number of individuals taking multiple medications regularly makes medication management even more important. Personal electronic health records (PHRs) can improve medication management significantly and thus increase patient safety. Despite unequivocal benefits for individuals, healthcare professionals, governments, insurers, and employers, the adoption rate of PHRs remains low. Therefore, we seek to identify measures that motivate individuals to adopt PHRs. Drawing on justice theory, we show that incentives in terms of personalization, as well as the signal of fair information practices, increase the adoption rate of PHRs. These effects are mediated by perceived benefits and privacy concerns, respectively. Based on counterintuitive findings on the effects of monetary compensation we start a discussion on the complexity and context-dependency of different incentives.
The Priming Effects of Mirror Visual Feedback on Bilateral Task Practice: A Randomized Controlled Study

The priming effect of mirror visual feedback can be simply provided by inexpensive mirror therapy (MT), which exhibits beneficial effects on sensorimotor recovery in stroke. The present study was a single-blind pretest-posttest study that examined whether the priming effect of mirror visual feedback on bilateral task practice would render better outcomes. Twenty-three patients with chronic stroke were randomized to receive hospital-based task-oriented MT or bilateral arm training (BAT) for 4 weeks at 90 minutes/day, 3 days/week and a home practice for 30-40 minutes/day, 5 days/week. There was the potential trend for MT to improve temperature sense as measured by the revised Nottingham Sensory Assessment (Cohen's d = 1.00; 95% confidence interval, -0.09 to 2.09), and MT increased the Stroke Impact Scale 3.0 total score (d = 0.89; 0.003 to 1.71). MT also showed a trend for greater improvements in the Motor Activity Log (amount of use: d = 0.62; -0.24 to 1.44; quality of movement: d = 0.50; -0.35 to 1.31). MT involving bilateral movement practice with the priming effect of mirror visual feedback may render beneficial effects. The unilateral approach or MT augmented by extra feedback might be appropriate modifications.
AIS Electronic Library (AISeL) AIS Electronic Library (AISeL) Online Customer Reviews as Driver of Customer Loyalty Online Customer Reviews as Driver of Customer Loyalty

Online Customer Reviews (OCRs) belong to the most important marketing tools for online retailers while having a s ignificant impact on customers’ purchase decision. This article adds a new perspective on the favorable consequences of customer feedback and sheds light on the purchasing behavior of OCR senders. Based on self-perception theory, we study if an increased level of customer engagement makes reviewing customers more loyal compared to their non-reviewing counterparts. By linking a unique set of transaction data from online fashion covering more than 2.9 million orders from 0.4 million individual customers with 0.5 million submitted OCRs, we use a difference-in-difference approach as method of choice. The results show that reviewing customers have on average a significantly higher number of orders and purchased items – even when considering product returns. Therefore, we argue that OCRs as a marketing instrument are not only helpful towards gaining new – but also for retaining existing – customers.
Parasitic nematodes of marine fishes from Palmyra Atoll, East Indo-Pacific, including a new species of Spinitectus (Nematoda, Cystidicolidae)

Abstract Here, we present the results of a taxonomic survey of the nematodes parasitizing fishes from the lagoon flats of Palmyra Atoll, Eastern Indo-Pacific. We performed quantitative parasitological surveys of 653 individual fish from each of the 44 species using the intertidal sand flats that border the atoll’s lagoon. We provide morphological descriptions, prevalence, and mean intensities of the recovered seven species of adult nematode (Pulchrascaris chiloscyllii, Capillariidae gen. sp., Cucullanus bourdini, Cucullanus oceaniensis, Pseudascarophis sp., Spinitectus (Paraspinitectus) palmyraensissp. nov., Philometra pellucida) and three larval stages (Pulchrascaris sp., Hysterothylacium sp., Cucullanus sp.). We recorded: Pulchrascaris chiloscyllii from Carcharhinus melanopterus; Capillariidae gen. sp. from Chaetodon lunula, Lutjanus fulvus, and Ellochelon vaigiensis; Cucullanus bourdini from Arothron hispidus; Cucullanus oceaniensis from Abudefduf sordidus; Pseudascarophis sp. from Chaetodon auriga, Chaetodon lunula, and Mulloidichthys flavolineatus; Spinitectus (Paraspinitectus) palmyraensissp. nov. from Albula glossodonta; Philometra pellucida from Arothron hispidus; and three larval forms, Pulchrascaris sp. from Acanthurus triostegus, Acanthurus xanthopterus, Rhinecanthus aculeatus, Platybelone argalus, Carangoides ferdau, Carangoides orthogrammus, Caranx ignobilis, Caranx melampygus, Caranx papuensis, Chaetodon auriga, Chanos chanos, Amblygobius phalaena, Asterropteryx semipunctata, Valencienea sexguttata, Kyphosus cinerascens, Lutjanus fulvus, Lutjanus monostigma, Ellochelon vaigiensis, Mulloidichthys flavolineatus, Upeneus taeniopterus, Gymnothorax pictus, Abudefduf septemfasciatus, Abudefduf sordidus, and Stegastes nigricans; Hysterothylacium sp. type MD from Acanthurus triostegus, Carangoides ferdau, Chaetodon lunula, Chanos chanos, Kyphosus cinerascens, Abudefduf sordidus, and Arothron hispidus; and Cucullanus sp. from Caranx ignobilis. Spinitectus (Paraspinitectus) palmyraensissp. nov. (Cystidicolidae) is described from the intestine of roundjaw bonefish Albula glossodonta. All the nematode species reported in this study represent new geographical records. We discuss how our survey findings compare to other areas of the Indo-Pacific, and the way the relatively numerical dominance of trophically transmitted larval stages likely reflect the intact food web of Palmyra Atoll, which includes a large biomass of large-bodied top predator sharks and ray-finned fishes.
Efficient strategies to reduce power consumption in MANETs

In current circumstances, where amelioration in technology is elevating, power optimization is of grave concern, whilst perceiving portable conditions. The focus is to design an efficient system with an aim to reduce power consumption and improve performance of other metrics. Heterogeneous wireless systems will command in the next-generation wireless networks with the aggregation of different remote access mechanisms. A node in MANET (Mobile Adhoc NETworks) while consuming significant amount of energy practices data transmission and data retrieval process whilst bonding with other neighboring nodes that are within its range. The proposed work implements User Specified energy model and DYMO (DYnamic Manet On-demand) routing protocol. Further, additional features of IEEE 802.11 i.e., Power Saving Mode is employed. To obtain enhanced coverage at targeted areas, multi-hop relay strategy is taken into account, also to achieve a less power consuming network with a greater service life. Consequently, the efficiency of the devices is monitored by opting Residual Life Accurate battery model, by using different datasets of Duracell AA and AAA batteries. Simultaneously, battery model, energy model and DYMO (DYnamic Manet On-demand) are applied for IEEE 802.16 to get a comparative assessment of power consumption between IEEE 802.11 and IEEE 802.16. Results are generated for both the architectures i.e., 802.11 and 802.16 for metrics such as residual amount of energy for varying simulation time for all the nodes and for energy consumption in AODV (Ad Hoc On-Demand Distance Vector) and DYMO (DYnamic Manet On-demand) routing protocol using Qualnet version 7.4.
AIS Electronic Library (AISeL) AIS Electronic Library (AISeL) Future of Flexible Work in the Digital Age: Bring Your Own Device Future of Flexible Work in the Digital Age: Bring Your Own Device Challenges of Privacy Protection Challenges of Privacy Protection

The future of work is getting increasingly flexible due to the rising expectations of employees away from traditional 9-to-5 office work towards flexible work hours, which drives employees to use their mobile devices for work. This ever-growing phenomenon of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) creates security risks for companies, which leads to an implementation of mobile device management (MDM) solutions to secure and monitor employees’ mobile devices. We present insights from two multinational case companies, where works councils have expressed their concerns for privacy intrusion into employees’ lives through BYOD. To examine whether employees share works councils’ concerns, we conducted a survey with 542 employees from three countries: United States, Germany, and South Korea. Results of a structural equation modeling show that American employees place greater emphasis on BYOD risks associated with privacy concerns compared to employees from Germany and South Korea.
Power modeling and architectural techniques for energy-efficient GPUs

Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) have evolved from fixed function graphics processors to programmable general-purpose compute accelerators in a short time. The high theoretical performance and energy efficiency of GPUs compared to CPUs have made them indispensable for mainstream computing. However, their high power consumption and limited energy efficiency under low utilization is a challenge that still needs to be tackled. This thesis investigates bottlenecks that cause low performance and low energy efficiency in GPUs and proposes architectural techniques to address them. To conduct energy efficiency research for GPUs, we first develop a flexible and accurate power simulator called GPUSimPow. We use a hybrid approach for power modeling that improves flexibility and accuracy compared to previous approaches. Our evaluation shows an average relative error of 11.7% and 10.8% between simulated and measured power for the NVIDIA GT240 and GTX580, respectively. We then use GPUSimPow to study the energy efficiency of a wide range of kernels and categorize them into high performance and low performance. We further investigate the bottlenecks of low-performance kernels by analyzing their occupancy. We quantify the gain in performance and energy efficiency when occupancy is increased. For instance, the average increase in instructions per cycle, the average reduction in energy consumption and energy-delay-product is 11%, 9%, and 23%, respectively, when occupancy is increased for a sub-category of low occupancy kernels. The full occupancy kernels have low performance despite having the maximum number of threads. Further investigation shows that several of these kernels are memory-bound and can gain significantly from an increase in memory bandwidth. The traditional ways of increasing memory bandwidth by widening interfaces and increasing frequency have issues such as high power consumption, large form factor, and difficulty in the scaling of pin count. Memory compression is a promising alternative to increase the effective memory bandwidth of GPUs, however, we find that the existing memory compression techniques for GPUs exploit simple patterns for compression and trade low compression ratios for low decompression latency. Based on the evidence that GPUs are less sensitive to latency than CPUs, we propose the more complex Entropy Encoding Based Memory Compression (E2MC) technique for GPUs. On average, E2MC delivers 53% higher compression ratio and 8% higher speedup than the state of the art. E2MC reduces energy consumption and energy-delay-product by 13% and 27%, respectively. While designing E2MC, we observe that lossless memory compression techniques including E2MC often have a low effective compression ratio due to the large memory access granularity (MAG) exhibited by GPUs. Our study of the distribution of compressed blocks reveals that a significant percentage of compressed blocks have only a few
The Influence of Automated Planning on the Task Performance of Process Modelers

Constructing and adapting process models is highly relevant in today’s business world, but time-consuming and error-prone. Several approaches address these issues by manual tasks or making use of automation in the past years. Especially the research field Automated Planning envisions a (semi-)automated construction of process models by using semantic annotations and planning techniques. We aim at an empirical analysis of the influence of Automated Planning on the task performance of process modelers compared to the task performance when using common process modeling tools. We analyze the invested effort in terms of the required time for modeling tasks and the outcome in terms of the quality of the constructed process models by means of a laboratory experiment. Our findings indicate that Automated Planning significantly improves the task performance. The quality of constructed process models is increased, and especially for larger process models, the required time for modeling tasks could be decreased.
Acquired and hereditary forms of recurrent angioedema: Update of treatment

The aim of treatment of hereditary angioedema (HAE) due to C1 esterase inhibitor deficiency (HAE-C1-INH) is either treating acute attacks or preventing attacks by using prophylactic treatment. For treating acute attacks, plasma-derived C1 inhibitor (C1-INH) concentrates, a bradykinin B2 receptor antagonist, and a recombinant human C1-INH are available in Europe. In the United States, a plasma-derived C1-INH concentrate, a bradykinin B2 receptor antagonist, and a plasma kallikrein inhibitor were approved for the treatment of acute attacks. Fresh frozen plasma is also available for treating acute attacks. Short-term prophylactic treatment focuses on C1-INH and attenuated androgens. Long-term prophylactic treatments include attenuated androgens such as danazol, stanozolol, and oxandrolone, antifibrinolytics, and a plasma-derived C1-INH concentrate. Plasma-derived C1-INH and a bradykinin B2 receptor antagonist are admitted for self-administration and home therapy. So the number of management options increased considerably within the last few years thus helping to diminish the burden of HAE.
The Clinical Implication of Vitamin D Nanomedicine for Peritoneal Dialysis-Related Peritoneal Damage

Purpose Vitamin D is a novel potential therapeutic agent for peritoneal dialysis (PD)-related peritoneal fibrosis, but it can induce hypercalcemia and vascular calcification, which limits its applicability. In this study, we create nanotechnology-based drug delivery systems to investigate its therapeutics and side effects. Materials and methods 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine-N- [amino-(polyethylene glycol)2000] (DSPE-PEG) and L-α-phosphatidylcholine (PC), which packages with 1α,25(OH)2D3, were used to construct vitamin D nanoliposomes. To confirm the function and safety of vitamin D nanoliposomes, peritoneal mesothelial cells were treated with TGF-β1 and the reverse was attempted using vitamin D nanoliposomes. Antibodies (Ab) against the peritoneum-glycoprotein M6A (GPM6A) Ab were conjugated with vitamin D nanoliposomes. These particles were implanted into mice by intraperitoneal injection and the animals were monitored for the distribution and side effects induced by vitamin D. Results Vitamin D nanoliposomes were taken up by the mesothelial cells over time without cell toxicity and it also provided the same therapeutic effect in vitro. In vivo study, fluorescent imaging showed vitamin D nanoliposomes allow specific peritoneum target effect and also ameliorate vitamin D side effect. Conclusion Nanoliposomes vitamin D delivery systems for the prevention of PD-related peritoneal damage may be a potential clinical strategy in the future.