Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A new parametric model for survival data with long‐term survivors

We develop a new parametric model using the three‐parameter Burr XII distribution for the analysis of survival data with long‐term survivors, which includes the previous Weibull mixture model as a special case. The new model is applied to the analysis of a set of leukaemia data for which previous attempts in the literature using traditional parametric models were unsatisfactory due to lack of fit. It is shown that the new model improves the fit to the leukaemia data significantly and is thus capable of providing more credible answers to a variety of statistical inference problems that are of interest to medical researchers and practitioners. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Herba Artemisiae annuae tea preparation compared to sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine in the treatment of uncomplicated falciparum malaria in adults: a randomized double-blind clinical trial

SUMMARY Tea preparations from the herb Artemisia annua L. (Aa) which is used in traditional Chinese medicine might offer an inexpensive way of producing artemisinin drugs locally. We compared Aa with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) in the treatment of uncomplicated falciparum malaria in semi-immune adults. After seven days, the cure rate was 7/10 for the Aa compared to 7/9 for SP; this dropped to 4/10 for Aa and 4/9 for SP at day 14 and to 1/9 for Aa and 3/8 for SP at day 28.
Hip Joint Effusion-Synovitis Is Associated With Hip Pain and Sports/Recreation Function in Female Professional Ballet Dancers.

OBJECTIVE To compare hip joint effusion-synovitis prevalence in professional ballet dancers with nondancing athletes and to evaluate the relationship between effusion-synovitis and clinical measures and cartilage defects. DESIGN Case-control study. SETTING Elite ballet and sport. PARTICIPANTS Forty-nine professional ballet dancers and 49 age-matched and sex-matched athletes. INDEPENDENT VARIABLES Group (dancers/athletes), sex, age, years of training, Copenhagen Hip and Groin Outcome Scores (HAGOSs), hip rotation range of motion (ROM), generalized joint hypermobility (GJH), and hip cartilage defect scores. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Hip joint effusion-synovitis (absent, grade 1 = 2-4 mm, grade 2 = >4 mm) scored with 3-Tesla magnetic resonance imaging. RESULTS Hip joint effusion-synovitis was found in 22 (45%) dancers and 13 (26.5%) athletes (P = 0.06). Grade 2 effusion-synovitis was only found in dancers (n = 8, r = 0.31, P = 0.009). The prevalence of effusion-synovitis was similar in men (n = 11, 26%) and women (n = 24, 43%, P = 0.09). Female dancers with effusion-synovitis had lower HAGOS pain (r = 0.63, P = 0.001) and sports/recreation scores (r = 0.66, P = 0.001) compared with those without effusion-synovitis. The HAGOS scores were not related to effusion-synovitis in male dancers or female and male athletes (P > 0.01 for all). Effusion-synovitis was not related to hip ROM, GJH, or cartilage defect scores (P > 0.05 for all). CONCLUSIONS Hip joint effusion-synovitis was related to higher levels of pain and lower sports/recreation function in female ballet dancers. Effusion-synovitis was not related to hip rotation ROM, GJH or cartilage defects. Larger sized joint effusion-synovitis was exclusively found in dancers.
Research of optimized resource allocation strategy based on Openstack

With the unprecedentedly development of Cloud Computing, the scale and quantity of the data center has been numerously increased, how to reduce the energy consumption of the data center servers are becoming the research hotspot of the related enterprises. Nowadays, virtual machine migration techniques has become the mainly method to solve the energy consumption of the data center. In this paper, we propose an optimized virtual machine migration technique which based on OpenStack Cloud platform, avoid invalid migration with the properly threshold and time sequence prediction technique so that can save the general energy consumption of the data center.
Out of control: impact of goal structure on personal control and implications for consumer judgments

Aim: This paper presents empirical foundations for the study of the effect of goal structure on consumer judgment through lack of personal control. Methods: Three experiments were conducted. Results: Our experiments indicate that mental representation of consumer goal does affect personal control in opposite direction according to goal structure, namely the representation of the focal goal from the related tasks and subtasks. Conclusion: Because perceived order in one's environment primarily derives from personal control, when feelings of personal control are low, people should seek for structure and order their environment. Such an heuristics should affect consumer judgments by preferring strict categories when his/her goal is not structured, and at the opposite, by embracing the chaos in the means allowing goal pursuit when his/her goal is highly structured. This paper demonstrate that manipulation of goal structure (high vs. low) affects personal control in opposite directions.
Massive left atrial and interatrial septal calcification after mitral valve replacement.

assive calcification of left atrium is an uncommon complication of long-standing rheumatic valvular disease, and is most often observed in patients with a previous operation on mitral valve. Most patients have experienced symptoms for more than 15 years. Massive calcification of the left atrium generally spared the interatrial septum in the previous studies. However, to our knowledge, fewer than five cases have presented as full left atrial calcification (Table).
Plasmonic electromagnetically induced transparency in metallic nanoparticle–quantum dot hybrid systems

We study the variation of the energy absorption rate in a hybrid semiconductor quantum dot–metallic nanoparticle system doped in a photonic crystal. The quantum dot is taken as a three-level V-configuration system and is driven by two applied fields (probe and control). We consider that one of the excitonic resonance frequencies is near to the plasmonic resonance frequency of the metallic nanoparticle, and is driven by the probe field. The other excitonic resonance frequency is far from both the plasmonic resonance frequency and the photonic bandgap edge, and is driven by the control field. In the absence of the photonic crystal we found that the system supports three excitonic-induced transparencies in the energy absorption spectrum of the metallic nanoparticle. We show that the photonic crystal allows us to manipulate the frequencies of such excitonic-induced transparencies and the amplitude of the energy absorption rate.
Male reproductive function in uraemia: efficacy of haemodialysis and renal transplantation.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the impact of maintenance haemodialysis and live-related renal transplantation on the reproductive potential of men with end-stage renal disease. PATIENTS AND METHODS The plasma levels of testosterone, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) were determined, and semen analysed, in 19 men (22-41 years old) with advanced uraemia after 6 months of dialysis and again 6 months after renal transplantation. Eight patients who had azoospermia or severe oligospermia underwent testicular biopsy after 6 months of dialysis and again 6 months after the transplant. RESULTS Following dialysis, levels of testosterone were low in 17 patients and levels of LH and FSH were elevated in 15 and eight patients, respectively. Four patients each had azoospermia and severe oligospermia. The testicular tissue was hypospematogenic in three patients, showed late-maturation arrest in four and germ cell aplasia in one. After renal transplantation, testosterone and LH levels returned to normal in 15 and 13 patients, respectively, while FSH levels became normal in only two patients. The recovery of testosterone and LH levels after transplantation was statistically significant. Semen quality improved in 13 patients, with the improvement in sperm density and motility being statistically significant. Testicular histology revealed normal spermatogenesis in four patients, while three continued to show late-maturation arrest. The wives of five of the transplanted patients conceived. CONCLUSIONS The impairment of testicular function seen in advanced uraemia is not reversible by maintenance haemodialysis. In contrast, after successful transplantation, steroidogenic function became almost normal while spermatogenic function showed a striking if incomplete recovery.
Comparison of seven liver allocation models with respect to lives saved among patients on the liver transplant waiting list

The patients with end‐stage liver disease (ESLD) on the liver transplant waiting list are prioritized for transplant based on the model for end‐stage liver disease (MELD) score. We developed and used an innovative approach to compare MELD to six proposed alternatives with respect to waiting list mortality. Our analysis was based on United Network for Organ Sharing data of patients with ESLD on the waiting list between January 2006 and June 2009. We compared six allocation models to MELD. Two models were based on reweighting the variables used by MELD: an “updated” MELD, and ReFit MELD. Four models also included serum sodium: MESO, MeldNa, UKELD, and ReFit MELDNa. We estimated that UKELD and the updated MELD would result in significantly fewer lives saved. There were no significant differences between the other models. Our new approach can supplement standard methods to provide insight into the relative performance of liver allocation models in reducing waiting list mortality. Our analysis suggests that UKELD and the updated MELD score would not be optimal for reducing waiting list mortality in the United States.
Vision-based Computed Torque Control for Parallel Robots

This paper presents a novel approach to dynamic control of parallel robots based on the end-effector pose and velocity visual measurement. We show that computed torque control in joint space is unsuitable for parallel robots and that computed torque control in Cartesian space requires the end-effector pose and velocity estimation. Relying on a recent work showing ability of camera to measure both the pose and the velocity of a mobile object, we propose an original vision-based computed torque control scheme. Improvements are discussed and simulation results show the expected performances
Xanthones from the green branch of Garcinia dulcis

Abstract Two new prenylated xanthones, namely dulcisxanthone H and dulcisxanthone I along with garciniaxanthone C, were isolated from the dichloromethane extract of the green branch of Garcinia dulcis. Their structures were elucidated by the analysis of 1-D and 2-D NMR spectral data. Their antibacterial activities were also examined. Two new prenylated xanthones named dulcisxanthone H and dulcisxanthone I were isolated from the green branch of Garcinia dulcis.
Receiving a diagnosis of inoperable lung cancer: Patients’ perspectives of how it affects their life situation and quality of life

Lung cancer is a disease with many biomedical and psychological symptoms. The diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer induces adverse effects. Having an inoperable lung cancer there are few possibilities of being cured. Management of patients with inoperable disease is directed at relieving local or systemic symptoms. The purpose of this study is to describe how it affects the patients’ life situation and quality of life. Data was collected by qualitative interviews where the patient's lived experiences were articulated. Twenty-three Swedish patients diagnosed and starting palliative treatment for inoperable lung cancer were interviewed. The interviews were audio-taped and transcribed verbatim. Data were interpreted trough interpretive phenomenology. Six themes were identified that were important for the informants’ experience of their life situation and quality of life. The themes were: Experience of uncertainty; including time of waiting and thoughts, experience of hope; about a prolonged life, network as support; being treated as the person they are thoughts of death; is there time to conclude their lives? , feelings of shame and guilt; they have caused the disease by themselves and next of kin reactions; sadness, guilt, worries and anger. These six themes gave a structure presenting the essence: Living as usual. Maintaining independency and integrity were important, as well as maintaining status, being treated as the person they always had been and that they experience that they had a meaning to fulfill in life. They were living as usual. The findings of this study point out the importance of improving the care of people afflicted with lung cancer, as well as promoting support for the next of kin, since they are significantly important for these patients’ experiences of quality of life. This knowledge and understanding will be useful for development of interventions and guidelines for treatment.
Generation of the seizure discharge in thin sections from the guinea pig brain in chloride-free medium in vitro.

1.Electrical activities of the thin sections prepared from the guinea pig hippocampus were studied in vitro in artificial media of modified composition.2. When Cl ion in the medium was substituted with large anions (such as propionate ion), a train of afterdischarge consisting of large spike potentials and superposed on a slow wave was elicited by a single shock applied to the section.The spontaneous discharges were observed as well.3. The discharge propagated through the slice at a speed of 1 to 3cm/sec.4. A complete silence of electrical activities (post-afterdischarge extinction) followed the afterdischarge in some stage of the experiments.5. The discharge was augmented by phenobarbital sodium in low concentrations but suppressed in high concentrations of the anesthetic.6. The discharge was found to originate in the dentate gyrus.7. It was concluded that the discharge was akin to the seizure discharge. Its generation in the present experimental condition was considered due to suppression of inhibitory mechanisms.
Body Schema and Corporeal Self-Recognition in the Alien Hand Syndrome

Objective: The alien hand syndrome (AHS) is a rare neuropsychological disorder characterized by involuntary, yet purposeful, hand movements. Patients with the AHS typically complain about a loss of agency associated with a feeling of estrangement for actions performed by the affected limb. The present study explores the integrity of the body representation in AHS, focusing on 2 main processes: multisensory integration and visual self-recognition of body parts. Three patients affected by AHS following a right-hemisphere stroke, with clinical symptoms akin to the posterior variant of AHS, were tested and their performance was compared with that of 18 age-matched healthy controls. Method: AHS patients and controls underwent 2 experimental tasks: a same-different visual matching task for body postures, which assessed the ability of using your own body schema for encoding others’ body postural changes (Experiment 1), and an explicit self-hand recognition task, which assessed the ability to visually recognize your own hands (Experiment 2). Results: As compared to controls, all AHS patients were unable to access a reliable multisensory representation of their alien hand and use it for decoding others’ postural changes; however, they could rely on an efficient multisensory representation of their intact (ipsilesional) hand. Two AHS patients also presented with a specific impairment in the visual self-recognition of their alien hand, but normal recognition of their intact hand. Conclusion: This evidence suggests that the AHS following a right-hemisphere stroke may involve a disruption of the multisensory representation of the alien limb; instead, self-hand recognition mechanisms may be spared.
40 Gb/s Transimpedance-AGC Amplifier and CDR Circuit for Broadband Data Receivers in 90 nm CMOS

High-speed front-end amplifiers and CDR circuits play critical roles in broadband data receivers as the former needs to perform amplification at high data rate and the latter has to retime the data with the extracted low-jitter clock. In this paper, the design and experimental results of 40 Gb/s transimpedance-AGC amplifier and CDR circuit are described. The transimpedance amplifier incorporates reversed triple-resonance networks (RTRNs) and negative feedback in a common-gate configuration. A mathematical model is derived to facilitate the design and analysis of the RTRN, showing that the bandwidth is extended by a larger factor compared to using the shunt-series peaking technique, especially in cases when the parasitic capacitance is dominated by the next stage. Operating at 40 Gb/s, the amplifier provides an overall gain of 2 kOmega and a differential output swing of 520 mVpp with for input spanning from to . The measured integrated input-referred noise is 3.3muArms. The half-rate CDR circuit employs a direction-determined rotary-wave quadrature VCO to solve the bidirectional-rotation problem in conventional rotary-wave oscillators. This guarantees the phase sequence while negligibly affecting the phase noise. With 40 Gb/s 231 - 1 PRBS input, the recovered clock jitter is and 0.7psrms. The retimed data exhibits 13.3 pspp jitter with BER . Fabricated in 90 nm digital CMOS technology, the overall amplifier consumes 75 mW and the CDR circuit consumes 48 mW excluding the output buffers, all from a 1.2 V supply.
KEPLER OBSERVATIONS OF THREE PRE-LAUNCH EXOPLANET CANDIDATES: DISCOVERY OF TWO ECLIPSING BINARIES AND A NEW EXOPLANET

Three transiting exoplanet candidate stars were discovered in a ground-based photometric survey prior to the launch of NASA's Kepler mission. Kepler observations of them were obtained during Quarter 1 of the Kepler mission. All three stars are faint by radial velocity follow-up standards, so we have examined these candidates with regard to eliminating false positives and providing high confidence exoplanet selection. We present a first attempt to exclude false positives for this set of faint stars without high-resolution radial velocity analysis. This method of exoplanet confirmation will form a large part of the Kepler mission follow-up for Jupiter-sized exoplanet candidates orbiting faint stars. Using the Kepler light curves and pixel data, as well as medium-resolution reconnaissance spectroscopy and speckle imaging, we find that two of our candidates are binary stars. One consists of a late-F star with an early M companion, while the other is a K0 star plus a late M-dwarf/brown dwarf in a 19 day elliptical orbit. The third candidate (BOKS-1) is an r = 15 G8V star hosting a newly discovered exoplanet with a radius of 1.12 RJupiter in a 3.9 day orbit.
Anomaly Detection in Wireless Sensor Networks

Wireless sensor networks usually comprise a large number of sensors monitoring changes in variables. These changes in variables represent changes in physical quantities. The changes can occur for various reasons; these reasons are highlighted in this work. Outliers are unusual measurements. Outliers are important; they are information-bearing occurrences. This work seeks to identify them based on an approach presented in [1]. A critical review of most previous works in this area has been presented in [2], and few more are considered here just to set the stage. The main work can be described as this; given a set of measurements from sensors that represent a normal situation, [1] proceeds by first estimating the probability density function (pdf) of the set using a data-split approach, then estimate the entropy of the set using the arithmetic mean as an approximation for the expectation. The increase in entropy that occurs when strange data is recorded is used to detect unusual measurements in the test set depending on the desired confidence interval or false alarm rate. The results presented in [1] have been confirmed for different test signals such as the Gaussian, Beta, in one dimension and beta in two dimensions, and a beta and uniform mixture distribution in two dimensions. Finally, the method was confirmed on real data and the results are presented. The major drawbacks of [1] were identified, and a method that seeks to mitigate this using the Bhattacharyya distance is presented. This method detects more subtle anomalies, especially the type that would pass as normal in [1]. Finally, recommendations for future research are presented: the subject of interpretability, especially for subtle measurements, being the most elusive as of today.
The Effects of Smoking on Glutathione Levels in Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid

Cigarette smoke contains high concentrations of oxidants and reactive oxygen species. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of long-term cigarette smoking on glutathione (GSH) levels in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid. Nineteen current cigarette smokers and seven healthy nonsmoking volunteers were included in the study. BAL was performed by infusion of five sequential 20 ml aliquots and each aliquot was immediately aspirated. The levels of GSH were determined in BAL fluids. The epithelial lining fluid volume was calculated by the ratio of urea concentration in BAL fluid to that in serum. Lower GSH levels were observed in the BAL fluid of current smokers than in that of nonsmokers (8.28 ± 0.78, 12.74 ± 1.09 µM respectively, p
Fixed-dose combination of perindopril with indapamide in spontaneously hypertensive rats: haemodynamic, biological and structural effects

Objective The present study was designed to test the effects of chronic combined treatment with low doses of an angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor (perindopril) and of the diuretic indapamide in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). Methods Adult SHR were treated with placebo or increasing doses of the combination of the drugs (0.3, 1 and 3 mg/kg per day; ratio of doses 0.32). In a separate set of experiments, the effect of the drugs combined (1 mg/kg per day) was compared with those induced by each drug alone. Results The drug combination dose-dependently decreased systolic blood pressure and its hypotensive effect was more marked than those induced by each treatment administered alone (untreated 208 ± 5 mmHg, indapamide 185+ 5 mmHg, perindopril 150 ± 3 and the combination 123 ± 7 mmHg). A 12-week treatment with the drug combination (1 mg/kg per day) was not accompanied by any change in diuresis or urinary excretion of Na+ or K+. The same treatment decreased cardiac hypertrophy and collagen. At the vascular level, the drug combination decreased aortic, carotid and femoral media cross-sectional areas, as well as aortic and carotid collagen density. This latter effect was accompanied by a significant increase in carotid artery compliance assessed in vivo at constant pressure. Finally, in isolated aortae, chronic combined drug treatment was associated with an increased basal release of nitric oxide and a decrease in the hypertension-induced endothelium-dependent contractions in response to acetylcholine. Conclusion These experiments suggest that chronic combined treatment with low doses of an angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor and a diuretic such as indapamide may be of value in the treatment of hypertension.