Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Reproducibility of retinal blood flow measurements derived from semi-automated Doppler OCT analysis.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE To evaluate reproducibility and intergrader agreement of total retinal blood flow (TRBF) measurements obtained by semi-automated grading of Doppler Fourier-domain optical coherence tomography (FD-OCT) scans. PATIENTS AND METHODS Doppler FD-OCT scans were obtained from 20 eyes of 18 subjects (10 glaucomatous, 10 normal). Scans were obtained using a circumpapillary scan protocol and analyzed using the Doppler OCT of Retinal Circulation software (version 2). Two masked, independent human graders manually refined the scans, adding or deleting vessels, changing vessel boundaries, and classifying vessels as veins or arteries. TRBF was calculated automatically by software summing flow in all veins. Agreement between various vessel parameters and TRBF values generated by the graders was analyzed. RESULTS Mean difference and mean absolute difference (± standard deviation, range) for TRBF were -0.55 (± 5.37, -8.53 to 13.6) and 3.84 (± 3.70, 0 to 13.6) μL/min, respectively, with an intraclass correlation (ICC) of 0.933 and limits of agreement (95% confidence interval [CI]) of -11.1 to +10.0. Venous area measurements showed similar levels of agreement with mean difference and mean absolute difference (± standard deviation, range) of -2.91 (± 4.29, -10.95 to 6.43) and 3.59 (± 3.70, 0 to 10.9) mm(2) with an ICC of 0.933 and limits of agreement (95% CI) were -11.3 and +05.5. The agreement for vessel identification between graders was almost perfect with a weighted kappa of 0.86. CONCLUSION Reproducible measurements of TRBF can be obtained from Doppler OCT data using semi-automated software with manual refinement. These findings should be of value in future studies evaluating retinal blood flow in various diseases.
Head and neck cancer in primary care: presenting symptoms and the effect of delayed diagnosis of cancer cases

Background: Little is known about the diagnosis of head and neck carcinoma in primary care. We sought to estimate the general prevalence of symptoms reported by patients with head and neck carcinomas and to determine the association between detection patterns of head and neck cancer cases in primary care and survival. Methods: In a cross-sectional survey, we used a questionnaire to estimate the general prevalence of symptoms associated with head and neck cancer from a sample of 5646 primary care visits in 25 randomly selected health centres over 4 weeks throughout Finland. A population-based retrospective cohort study involved the 221 patients resident in one primary health care district (population about 700 000) in whom head and neck carcinoma was diagnosed between Jan. 1, 1986, and Dec. 31, 1996. Data on the initial primary care visit, clinical characteristics and survival were obtained from patient charts. Results: Of 5646 visits to a primary care practitioner, 11% (617) were made because of the same symptoms as those initially reported by patients later found to have head and neck cancer. According to the cohort data, the detection rate of these carcinomas in primary care was 1 per 63 000 visits. At the initial visit of 221 patients later found to have cancer, 56% (123) received referrals, 24% (53) follow-up appointments and 20% (45) neither („overlooked”). At 3 years, the risk of death was significantly higher among patients whose disease was overlooked (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 1.89, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.03–3.45). The excess risk associated with being overlooked, however, was confined to subjects with tongue or glottic tumours (HR 4.25, 95% CI 1.59– 11.4) (number needed to harm 3.0, 95% CI 1.9–6.7). Interpretation: Despite the rarity of patients with head and neck carcinoma in primary care, patients with symptoms of these diseases and especially with symptoms of tongue and glottic carcinomas should be initially referred for further care or followed up.
Burden of musculoskeletal pain in Japan

Based on the prevalence of musculoskeletal pain in the context of interference with daily activities (IDA) and treatment for musculoskeletal disorders in the study population (n = 3188), we estimated the prevalence and years lived with disability (YLD) of musculoskeletal pain in Japan. The total of 42 287 thousand (41.2%) of Japanese adult people was estimated to suffer from musculoskeletal pain. Among them, 9127 thousand was estimated to interfere with daily activities due to the pain. Overall YLD for musculoskeletal pain in Japan were estimated at 1 297 843.7 (1263.6 per 100 000). The YLD for Pain without IDA were 33 159.3 (32.3 per 100 000) and the YLD for Pain with IDA were 1 264 684.4 (1231.3 per 100 000). One-way sensitivity analysis showed that the YLD of musculoskeletal pain might increase to 4 421 844.0 (4305.2 per 100 000) with the increased disability weight for Pain without IDA of 0.1, while they might inversely decrease to 1 018 875.0 (992.0 per 100 000) with the increased treatment rate in Pain with IDA of 100%. Musculoskeletal pain imposes a substantial burden on the Japanese adult population. To allow the population to keep their health-related quality of life, health professionals should pay more attention to musculoskeletal pain and make positive efforts to improve prevention and control of musculoskeletal pain.
Long-Term Asset Allocation under Time-Varying Investment Opportunities: Optimal Portfolios with Parameter and Model Uncertainty

We study the implications of predictability on the optimal asset allocation of ambiguity averse long-term investors. We analyze the term structure of the multivariate risk-return trade-off in a VAR model under full consideration of parameter uncertainty, and we decompose the predictive covariance along different sources of risk/uncertainty. We calibrate the model to real returns of US stocks, US long-term government bonds, cash, real-estate and gold using term spread and dividend yields as additional predictive variables. While over short periods the model-implied conditional covariance structure of asset-class returns determines the optimal allocation, we find that over longer horizons the optimal asset allocation is significantly influenced by the covariance structure induced by estimation errors. As a consequence, the ambiguity averse long-term investor tilts her portfolio not simply toward the global minimum-variance portfolio but shrinks portfolio weights toward a seemingly inefficient portfolio which shows maximum robustness against estimation errors. Most interestingly, we find that even though time diversification of stock returns vanishes after consideration of estimation errors, real long-term bond returns are even more affected, making stocks an important asset class for the ambiguity averse long-term investor.
An Efficient Adaptive Feedback cancellation using by Independent component analysis for hearing aids

In this paper, we proposed a feedback cancellation algorithm based on independent component analysis (ICA) for digital hearing aids. In conventional adaptive feedback cancelling systems, the normalized least mean squares (NLMS) algorithm used to reduce acoustic feedback in which hearing aids occurs, generally at high gains. But primary input signal depend on the acoustic feedback signal in higher-order statistics, proposed algorithm was better acoustic feedback cancelling performance than the conventional NLMS algorithm when the input signal has a Laplacian distribution with high-order processing in real-time simulation of TMS320C 6711 DSK
High accuracy field integral measurement for TJNAF beam energy determination

The determination of the beam energy in the experimental hall A of TJNAF (previously CEBAF) accelerator is done through a very accurate measurement of the field integral of a reference dipole magnet, electrically connected in series with the bending magnets transporting the beam from the accelerator to the experimental area. A new method is used to determine the field integral; this method is described, as well as the calibrations done in the laboratory. Finally, the goal to reach an accuracy of the field integral on the order of 10/sup -5/ has been reached, as it is shown by comparing the results of the beam energy determination obtained on the accelerator with this method to results obtained by other independant methods.
German collective bargaining in a European perspective: Continuous erosion or re-stabilisation of multi-employer agreements?

Since the mid-1990s the German system of collective bargaining with its traditional dominance of sector-level agreements has been faced by a process of creeping erosion. While the bargaining coverage has shown a steady decline, a far-reaching decentralisation has increasingly undermined the system of multi-employer bargaining. Compared with other European countries, the development in Germany seems to be rather ex-ceptional, as many countries were able to continue with a rather stable collective bargaining system and a relatively high bargaining coverage. This holds true also for countries where - as in Germany - the unions were faced by a significant decline of organisational power. The latter indicates that there are other political factors which seem to compensate for the decline of unions' organisational power and keep their institutional power basis relatively stable. In discussing German collective bargaining in a European perspective it is the aim of this paper to identify the factors which support a stable and encompassing collective bargaining system. Our arguments are developed in three steps: First, we describe the recent developments in German collective bargaining and the accompanying changes in the organisational and structural power of German trade unions. Secondly, we compare the German situation with the development in other European countries and analyses the factors which are conducive for a stable bargaining sys-tem. Considering the different experiences in Europe, we thirdly discuss the possibilities for a restabilisation of German collective bargaining.
SiGe W-CDMA transmitter for mobile terminal application

This paper presents the experimental results of a transmitter IC for W-CDMA mobile terminal application based on a super heterodyne architecture. Implemented by utilizing IBM's 0.5 /spl mu/m SiGe BiCMOS technology, the transmitter IC consumes approximately 270 mW with a 3.0 V power supply. The RFIC features an OIP3 of +25.0 dBm, a 95 dB dynamic range and 6.3% EVM.
Genotyping of hepatocellular carcinoma in liver transplant recipients adds predictive power for determining recurrence‐free survival

The goal of this study was to determine whether a panel of tumor suppressor gene markers of allelic loss could serve as a representative indicator of gene damage and thereby provide further discriminative power over current staging systems for recurrence‐free prognostication in patients undergoing liver transplantation in the presence of hepatocellular carcinoma. The paraffin blocks from 103 cases of hepatocellular carcinoma were obtained, and cellular targets were selected for tissue microdissection genotyping. Tumor suppressor gene loss was based on loss of heterozygosity situated within or adjacent to specific genes of interest (APC, CDKN2A, DCC, MET, MYC1, OGG1, p34, p53, PTEN). Microdissected tissue was amplified using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with flanking oligonucleotides bearing fluorescent labels designed for GeneScan fragment analysis; PCR products were separated by capillary electrophoresis. Normal microdissected tissue samples for each case were evaluated for informative status with respect to individual alleles for 18 microsatellites at 10 genomic loci—1p, 3p, 5q, 7q, 8q, 9p, 10q, 17p, 17q, 18q. The measure of allelic loss of heterozygosity combined with tumor number, tumor size, vascular invasion, lobar distribution, and patient gender provide a highly discriminatory model for predicting cancer recurrence after liver transplantation. Using our previously developed artificial neural network model in combination with the genotyping results, unambiguous predictions were made for 91 of the103 patients (88.3%). Of these, 1 was lost to follow‐up, and 9 died recurrence‐free less than 3 years posttransplantation. For the remaining 81, the combined models predicted tumor recurrence outcomes with complete accuracy. Microdissection genotyping provides powerful supplementary discriminative information for tumor‐free survival. (Liver Transpl 2003;9:664‐671.)
Variable-Eccentricity Hyperbolic-Trace TFPF for Seismic Random Noise Attenuation

Seismic noise attenuation to improve signal-to-noise ratio plays an important role in seismic data processing. In recent years, time-frequency peak filtering (TFPF) has been introduced and applied to seismic random noise attenuation successfully. However, in the conventional TFPF, the window length (WL) is fixed and used for all frequency components. As a consequence, serious loss of the effective components is unavoidable due to the inappropriate WL. The recently proposed radial-trace TFPF adapts radial-trace transform to reduce the dominant frequencies of the effective signals. Nevertheless, the radial traces with a fixed inclination angle have some limitations for bent reflection events. To resolve these shortcomings, this paper presents a novel variable-eccentricity hyperbolic-trace TFPF. In this novel method, the noisy record is first resampled along a family of spatial-temporal hyperbolic filtering traces of different bending degrees. In this way, the spatial correlation between the adjacent channels is taken into account, the linearity of the input signals is enhanced, and the estimation bias of the instantaneous frequency is reduced. Moreover, there is little difference between the reduced dominant frequencies. A fixed WL is suitable for all reduced dominant frequencies without distortion of the effective components. Finally, we evaluate the performance of our method on some synthetic records and field data. The experimental results illustrate that our proposed method attenuates random noise effectively and recovers the effective reflection events smoothly and more continuously compared with the other methods.
Does beneficiary have ability of perceiving the performance in poverty alleviation? A case study of Sichuan

Abstract The beneficiaries’ satisfaction is getting more attention in evaluation system of poverty alleviation by the government and independent third-party. But the validity of beneficiaries’ subjective evaluation for objective performance has been questioned by scholars. And there are few domestic empirical studies about the item. This article addresses the gap. The study adopted the polytomous logit model to analyze weather the subjective evaluation can reflect objective performance via “beneficiaries’ perception” as intermediate variable. Based on a case study of Sichuan province, the results show a significant correlation between the poverty alleviation performance and beneficiaries’ subjective satisfaction. The beneficiaries of poverty alleviation project can perceive the objective performance in a sense.
SAMPLE CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH BIAS IN IV ESTIMATES CAN BE SIGNED

The relative size of the treated and untreated groups, or the T/UT ratio, in an analysis sample often diverges from the T/UT ratio in the population (or original sample) because of choice‐based sampling and missing values. While divergences of the sample from the population T/UT ratio do not generate bias for many estimators, instrumental variable (IV) estimates might be biased by such divergences even when (1) the IV is analytically valid for the population and (2) the sample‐treated and ‐untreated groups are representative of the population‐treated and ‐untreated groups, respectively. We survey published empirical manuscripts to show that this issue is prevalent across various fields. We also prove that the bias in IV estimates, generated by divergences of the sample from population T/UT ratio, is a monotonic function of the difference between the sample and population T/UT ratios when the above conditions (1 and 2) are met. Based on our findings, we suggest possible solutions and provide advice on how to interpret the bias in IV estimates even when the true T/UT ratio is not known.
Evaluation of FLUENT for predicting concentrations on buildings

Predictions of concentrations on a simple rectangular building due to exhaust from a short stack on the buildings roof are obtained using flow simulations performed by FLUENT, a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) computer code. These CFD predictions are compared to a database of wind tunnel data for various wind speeds and exhaust parameters. Separate CFD simulations were simultaneously performed at Cermak Peterka Petersen (CPP) and at Colorado State University (CSU) so that the influence of operator decisions could be investigated. While generally capturing trends in the plume dispersion qualitatively, the CFD predicted concentrations were sometimes incorrect by orders of magnitude.
Changes in fibre‐adherent and fluid‐associated microbial communities and fermentation profiles in the rumen of cattle fed diets differing in hay quality and concentrate amount

ABSTRACT The rumen microbiota enable important metabolic functions to the host cattle. Feeding of starch‐rich concentrate feedstuffs to cattle has been demonstrated to increase the risk of metabolic disorders and to significantly alter the rumen microbiome. Thus, alternative feeding strategies like the use of high‐quality hay, rich in sugars, as an alternative energy source need to be explored. The aim of this study was to investigate changes in rumen microbial abundances in the liquid and solid‐associated fraction of cattle fed two hay qualities differing in sugar content with graded amounts of starchy concentrate feeds using Illumina MiSeq sequencing and quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Operational taxonomic units clustered separately between the liquid and the solid‐associated fraction. Phyla in the liquid fraction were identified as mainly Firmicutes, Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes, whereas main phyla of the fibre‐associated fraction were Bacteroidetes, Fibrobacteres and Firmicutes. Significant alterations in the rumen bacterial communities at all taxonomic levels as a result of changing the hay quality and concentrate proportions were observed. Several intermicrobial correlations were found. Genera Ruminobacter and Fibrobacter were significantly suppressed by feeding sugar‐rich hay, whereas others such as Selenomonas and Prevotella proliferated. This study extends the knowledge about diet‐induced changes in ruminal microbiome of cattle. &NA; Graphical Abstract Figure. Detailed knowledge was generated about the effects of feeding two contrasting hay qualities, differing in contents of fibrous carbohydrates and sugars with varying levels of concentrate on the rumen bacteria.
Iodine-123-iodobenzamide binding in parkinsonism: reduction by dopamine agonists but not L-Dopa.

UNLABELLED The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of treatment with L-Dopa or a dopamine agonist, or both, on specific striatal 123I-iodobenzamide (IBZM) binding using an intraindividual longitudinal design. METHOD We prospectively studied the effect of dopaminomimetic treatment on specific [123I]IBZM binding measured by SPECT in 29 patients with a clinical diagnosis of Parkinson's disease, none of whom had previously received dopaminomimetic drugs. The patients had been selected on the basis of normal subsequent specific [123I]IBZM binding, semiquantitatively calculated as the basal ganglia/frontal cortex ratio, and a positive response to the dopamine agonist apomorphine before initiation of dopaminomimetic therapy. A second 123I-IBZM SPECT investigation was performed after 3-6 mo of treatment with L-Dopa or a dopamine agonist, or both. RESULTS Specific [123I]IBZM binding was unchanged in 10 patients treated with L-Dopa alone. However, after treatment with a dopamine agonist there was a significant decline in specific [123I]IBZM binding (p < 0.05). After treatment with a combination of L-Dopa and a dopamine agonist, specific [123I]IBZM binding was reduced without reaching a level of significance (p = 0.08). CONCLUSION Short-term treatment with a dopamine agonist but not with L-Dopa reduces specific [123I]IBZM binding. Therefore, before performing an [123I]IBZM SPECT scan in patients previously treated with dopaminomimetic drugs, dopamine agonists should be discontinued.
Ultralow-Power Radar Sensors for Ambient Sensing in the ${V}$ -Band

The design considerations and circuit topologies of a family of ultralow-power fundamental-frequency and second-harmonic 60-GHz radar sensors are described. The single-chip sensor architecture features four low-noise-matched receivers, either a fundamental-frequency 60-GHz voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) or 30-GHz VCO + doubler, and a static divide-by-8192 chain which is turned OFF 95% of the time to save DC power. On-die measurements show a power consumption of 42 mW from a single 1.2-V supply, 10% frequency tuning range, −104 to −108 dBc/Hz phase noise at 10-MHz offset, 10-dB conversion gain per receiver, and −7-dBm transmitter output power at the antenna pads. Several 45-nm SOI-CMOS sensor dies were flip-chip mounted on a <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$7\times 7$ </tex-math></inline-formula> mm<sup>2</sup> flexible interposer which also includes four receive- and two transmit antennas. Doppler and direction of arrival tests were conducted over distances of several tens of centimeters.
Growth Hormone Therapy in GH-deficient Adults: Continuous vs. Alternate-days Treatment

In the present report, we have compared 12 months of rhGH therapy given daily (D) at the beginning and then on alternate days (A) to 20 subjects with severe adult-onset GH deficiency (GHD). Aim of the study was to establish whether the lower frequency injection regimen is as effective as the daily dose. Measurements included: IGF-I levels, body composition (BF%), lipid profile, insulin sensitivity by homeostasis model assessment (HOMA-IR) and quantitative insulin check index (QUICKI), as well as thyroid function. Evaluation on A therapy was performed both 12 and 36 hours after the last rhGH injection. The final rhGH dose was 0.3 +/- 0.1mg/day. During A, the dose used in D was doubled and given on alternate days. Recombinant hGH given during the A period induced changes in IGF-I levels, BF% and lipid profile comparable to daily treatment. HOMA-IR increased similarly after both regimens, though QUICKI did not significantly change. A significant reduction in serum FT4 levels occurred after both D and A therapy, so that an adjustment of L-T4 replacement dose in 5 of 20 patients was necessary. No differences were found in the various parameters after 12 and 36 hours post rhGH injection. In conclusion, rhGH therapy given on alternate days is clinically effective and may result in improved patient compliance. Monitoring glucose tolerance and thyroid function while on rhGH is essential.
Presenting the Cloud as Files and Directories

Managing virtual components requires specialised tools, that differ in their user interfaces, underlying information models and in their dependencies of specific platforms and auxiliary services. This paper proposes the use of the familiar file-system structure as a means of representation for the IT infrastructure, its organisational structure and its physical and virtual components. Thus, by using common file-managing tools, an administrator or user can view and manage the infrastructure as a whole. We study how operations on such a file-system can be employed to trigger management operations on the infrastructure and how the changes to the file-system reflect changes in the infrastructure. A proof-of-concept prototype illustrates this incipient approach.