Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Once daily busulfan cyclophosphamide is well tolerated and effective as a preparative regimen for allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant

We report a retrospective review of our institutional data using once daily intravenous (IV) busulfan (Bu) and cyclophosphamide (Cy) and total body irradiation (TBI)/Cy in patients who received allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HCT) from January 2000 to December 2006. Bu 3.2 mg/kg IV once daily × 4 days followed by Cy 60 mg/kg IV daily × 2 days was given to 42 patients. Cy 60 mg/kg IV daily for 2 days and fractionated TBI 1200 cGy delivered over 3 days was given to 60 patients. Veno-occlusive disease developed in two patients in the once daily BuCy group and no patients in the TBI/Cy group. The once daily BuCy group had significantly less transplant-related mortality (TRM) than the TBI/Cy group at 100 days (p = 0.047) and better overall survival at 1 year (p = 0.01). This review demonstrates once daily IV BuCy and allogeneic HCT is well tolerated with no unexpected TRM or differences in clinical outcomes.
Correlation of Histopathology, Islet Yield, and Islet Graft Function After Islet Autotransplantation in Chronic Pancreatitis

Objective: The number of islets available (yield) is an important predictor of insulin independence after islet autotransplantation (IAT) done at the time of total pancreatectomy to treat painful chronic pancreatitis. The aim of this study was to correlate histopathologic findings with islet yield and graft function. Methods: Pancreatic histopathology was examined in 105 adults who underwent pancreatectomy and IAT; postoperative insulin use was known in 53 cases. Histologic degree of fibrosis, acinar atrophy, inflammation, and nesidioblastosis were scored by a surgical pathologist. The correlation of histopathology with islet yield and graft function was evaluated. Results: Patients received a median of 2968 islet equivalents per kilogram. Fibrosis and acinar atrophy correlated negatively with islet yield (P < 0.001, r = −0.67), as did inflammation (P < 0.001, r = −0.43). There was a positive correlation of islet yield (P < 0.0001, r = 0.64) and a negative correlation of fibrosis (P = 0.006, r = −0.43) and acinar atrophy (P = 0.006, r = −0.42) with islet graft function. Conclusion: More severe histopathologic changes were associated with a lower islet yield and lower likelihood of insulin independence. Total pancreatectomy and IAT should not be delayed in patients with painful chronic pancreatitis refractory to medical therapy; otherwise progressive damage to the pancreas may limit islet yield and increase the risk of diabetes.Abbreviations: IAT - islet autotransplantation, CP - chronic pancreatitis
Management of minor head injuries in hospitals in Norway

Management protocols for minor head injury (MHI) should include strategies for early detection of intracranial hematomas and prevention of persistent sequelae. This study focuses on today's management of MHI in Norwegian hospitals. We report considerable inter‐hospital variation in the management of MHI. In most hospitals (81%), MHI patients are treated by general surgeons. The management is focused on the risk of complications in the acute stage. Emergency room evaluation includes assessment according to the Glasgow Coma Scale in 27 (43%) hospitals and routine radiological examination in 18 (29%). Thirty‐three (52%) hospitals discharge MHI patients without in‐hospital observation. Most hospitals (83%) offer no follow‐up. We conclude that the acute care as well as the follow‐up of MHI patients can be improved in Norwegian hospitals. Neurosurgeons and neurologists should initiate this process.
The IEEE and asset management: A discussion paper

Asset management is a subject with many meanings for many people. The aim of this paper is to provide a basis for discussion of the role of the IEEE in asset management, specifically with relation to the electric supply industry. To that end this paper provides background information on asset management, the role it has and the benefits it brings, and the current status of available standards It is proposed that the role of the IEEE is to act as a forum for discussion of Asset management related topics, and a means to influence development of standards through involvement in appropriate Standards organizations.
Bivariate Archimedean Copulas for Individual Claim Loss Reserving Models *

The estimation of loss reserves for incurred but not reported (IBNR) claims presents an important task for insurance companies to predict their liabilities. Recently, individual claim loss models have attracted a great deal of interest in actuarial literature, which overcome some shortcomings of aggregated claim loss models. The dependence of the event times with the delays is a crucial issue for estimating the claim loss reserving. In this paper, we propose to use semi-competing risks copula and semi-survival copula models to fit the dependence structure of the event times with the delays in individual claim loss model. A nonstandard two-step procedure is applied to our setting in which the associate parameter and one margin are estimated based on an ad hoc estimator of the other margin. The asymptotic properties of the estimators are established as well. A simulation study is carried out to evaluate the performance of the proposed methods.
THE DENSITY VARIANCE–MACH NUMBER RELATION IN SUPERSONIC, ISOTHERMAL TURBULENCE

We examine the relation between the density variance and the mean-square Mach number in supersonic, isothermal turbulence, assumed in several recent analytic models of the star formation process. From a series of calculations of supersonic, hydrodynamic turbulence driven using purely solenoidal Fourier modes, we find that the “standard” relationship between the variance in the log of density and the Mach number squared, i.e., , with b = 1/3, is a good fit to the numerical results in the supersonic regime up to at least Mach 20, similar to previous determinations at lower Mach numbers. While direct measurements of the variance in linear density are found to be severely underestimated by finite resolution effects, it is possible to infer the linear density variance via the assumption of log-normality in the probability distribution function. The inferred relationship with Mach number, consistent with with b = 1/3, is, however, significantly shallower than observational determinations of the relationship in the Taurus Molecular Cloud and IC5146 (both consistent with b ≈ 0.5), implying that additional physics such as gravity is important in these clouds and/or that turbulent driving in the interstellar medium contains a significant compressive component. Magnetic fields are not found to change this picture significantly, in general reducing the measured variances and thus worsening the discrepancy with observations.
CSI enhancement for multi-user superposed transmission using the second best feedback

In this paper we investigate and enhance the user-pairing probability in a system employing multi-user superposition transmission (MUST). In order to improve the multiuser pairing probability, we propose an additional feedback of the second best channel state information (CSI) consisting of channel quality indicator (CQI) and precoding matrix indicator (PMI). We analyze the pairing-probability and show that the additional feedback increases significantly the pairing possibilities at the scheduler. By system level simulations we confirm that the proposed enhanced feedback is improving significantly MUST performance in the context of MUST operation on the same-beam with Gray-mapped super-constellation. In addition, we suggest a simple link-to-system mapping for maximum likelihood (ML) MUST receiver, which can re-use legacy mutual-information-to-block-error-rate tables.
Pharmacological Profile of 2-Bromoterguride at Human Dopamine D2, Porcine Serotonin 5-Hydroxytryptamine 2A, and α2C-Adrenergic Receptors, and Its Antipsychotic-Like Effects in Rats

Dopaminergic, serotonergic, and adrenergic receptors are targets for therapeutic actions in schizophrenia. Dopamine D2 receptor partial agonists such as aripiprazole represent a treatment option for patients with this severe disorder. The ineffectiveness of terguride, another D2 receptor partial agonist, in treating schizophrenia was recently attributed to its considerably high intrinsic activity at D2 receptors. In this study, we used functional assays for recombinant D2 receptors and native 5-hydroxytryptamine 2A (5-HT2A), α2C-adrenergic, and histamine H1 receptors to compare the pharmacological properties of terguride and three of its halogenated derivatives (2-chloro-, 2-bromo-, 2-iodoterguride) with those of aripiprazole. Subsequently, we studied the antidopaminergic effects of 2-bromoterguride using amphetamine-induced locomotion (AIL). Its influence on spontaneous behavior was tested in the open field. Extrapyramidal side effect (EPS) liability was evaluated by catalepsy test. In a guanosine 5′-O-(3-[35S]thio)triphosphate ([35S]GTPγS) binding assay, 2-chloro-, 2-bromo-, and 2-iodoterguride produced intrinsic activities at human D2short (hD2S) receptors that were half as high as the intrinsic activity for terguride; aripiprazole lacked agonist activity. 2-Bromoterguride and aripiprazole activated D2S receptor-mediated inhibition of cAMP accumulation to the same extent; intrinsic activity was half as high as that of terguride. All compounds tested behaved as antagonists at human D2long/Gαo (hD2L/Gαo) receptors. Compared with aripiprazole, terguride and its derivatives displayed higher affinity at porcine 5-HT2A receptors and α2C-adrenoceptors and lower affinity at H1 receptors. 2-Bromoterguride inhibited AIL and did not induce catalepsy in rats. Because of its in vitro and in vivo properties, 2-bromoterguride may be a strong candidate for the treatment of schizophrenia with a lower risk to induce EPS.
Color Sectors and Edge Features for Content-Based Image Retrieval

We provide a new image retrieval model which integrates the spatial distributing information of colors and the shape features. The color features are represented by an amelioration of HSV color model: color sector. To describe the relative position and orientation of objects within the image, hue edges in the image, computed using Canny approach, are processed by Hough transform to generate the spatial histogram which is used as shape representation. To address matching of image, we define two global distance measures based on the accumulative distance and vector-based distance to compare the similarity of two images. Experimental results indicate that our approach provides higher retrieval rate than that of single feature (color), is a better tradeoff between high efficiency and reasonable precision.
Security in Distributed Adaptive Networks Using Rsa Cryptographic Algorithm

Information security in distributed systems and the use of networks for carrying data between computers is a major factor that has affected security. In this paper, we discuss security and propose security metrics issues in the context of Adaptive Distributed Systems [ADS]. A key premise of ADS is to collect detailed information based on the changes in the environment and choose efficient mechanisms (algorithms and/or encryption techniques, and secured and cost effective communication channel) for exchanging the gathered information between the targets distributed systems and the central monitoring system. Security issues in distributed systems have been solved using techniques such as cryptographic algorithms i.e. using RSA algorithm
How Reproducible Is Bioluminescent Imaging of Tumor Cell Growth? Single Time Point versus the Dynamic Measurement Approach

To determine the most robust and reproducible parameters for noninvasively estimating tumor cell burden in a murine model, we used real-time in vivo bioluminescent imaging to assess the growth kinetics and dissemination of luciferase-transfected Raji B-cell lymphoma. Bioluminescent signals were acquired every minute for 40 minutes after luciferin injection every other day post-tumor injection. The total 40-minute area under the curve (AUC) of photon intensity (photons/second) was calculated and compared with simplified fixed time point observations (every 5 minutes from 5 to 40 minutes after substrate injection). There was substantial variability in the shape of the time signal intensity curves at different stages of tumor growth in both the intravenous and subcutaneous models. The coefficient of variance in the AUC was 0.27 (intravenous) and 0.36 (subcutaneous) as values determined by fitting the curve, whereas the 20-minute time point measurement varied at 0.29 (intravenous) and 0.37 (subcutaneous). In both the subcutaneous and intravenous models, single time point measurements at 20 minutes had the highest correlation value with AUC. This simplified single time point measurement appears appropriate to estimate the total tumor burden in this model, but the substantial variance at each measurement must be considered in experimental designs.
E-selectin S128R polymorphism is associated with cancer risk: a meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND Genetic factors have been shown to play an important role in the development of cancers. However, individual studies may fail to completely demonstrate complicated genetic relationships because of small sample size. Therefore, we performed a meta-analysis to evaluate the association of E-selectin Ser128Arg (S128R) with cancer risk. MATERIALS AND METHODS A literature search in PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Science Direct, SpringerLink, EBSCO, Wanfang, and Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure databases was carried out to identify studies of the association between E-selectin S128R polymorphism and cancer risk. The odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs) were used to assess the strength of association. RESULTS A total of eight studies involving 1,675 cancer cases and 2,285 controls were included in the meta-analysis. In overall populations, S128R polymorphism seemed to be associated with cancer risk (Arg allele vs Ser allele: OR=1.65, 95%CI =1.33-2.04, p<0.01; Arg/Arg+Arg/Ser vs Ser/Ser: OR=1.87, 95%CI =1.48-2.36, p<0.01; Arg/Ser vs Ser/Ser: OR=1.80, 95%CI =1.51-2.14, p<0.01). Similarly, subgroup analysis by ethnicity and source of control also revealed that this polymorphism was related to cancer risk. CONCLUSIONS Our meta-analysis revealed that there was association between the E-selectin S128R polymorphism and the risk of cancer. Further large and well-designed studies are needed to confirm this association.
1 Plasmonic refractive index sensor with high figure of 2 merit based on concentric-rings resonator 3

A plasmonic refractive index (RI) sensor based on metal-insulator-metal (MIM) 11 waveguide coupled with concentric double rings resonator (CDRR) is proposed and investigated 12 numerically. Utilizing the novel supermodes of the CDRR, the FWHM of the resonant wavelength 13 can be modulated, and a sensitivity of 1060 nm/RIU with high figure of merit (FOM) 203.8 is realized 14 in the near-infrared region. The unordinary modes as well as the influence of structure parameters 15 on the sensing performance are also discussed. Such plasmonic sensor with simple framework and 16 high optical resolution could be applied to on-chip sensing systems and integrated optical circuits. 17 Besides, the special cases of biosensing and triple rings are also discussed. 18
Pattern of growth hormone secretion during a 24-hour fast in normal adults.

The Introduction of sensitive radioimmunological techniques for the determination of human growth hormone (GH) (1,2) has made it possible to study its concentration in plasma under various physiological and pathological conditions. Secretion of GH has been shown to respond to different stimuli, e.g., hypoglycemia (3), infusion of certain amino acids (4) and physical activity (5), but the relative importance of these factors for the release of hormone under physiological conditions has not yet been fully established. Considerable variations in the hormone level of an individual have been observed when repeated determinations were done on a single day. This and the occasional finding of unexpectedly high concentrations after an overnight fast have complicated our understanding of the normal regulation of GH concentration in plasma. Very little is known about the physiological variations of GH release during a 24-hour period. We report determinations of GH during a 24-hour fast in normal adults. These studie.
Approximate Bayesian Computation in Evolution and Ecology

In the past 10 years a statistical technique, approximate Bayesian computation (ABC), has been developed that can be used to infer parameters and choose between models in the complicated scenarios that are often considered in the environmental sciences. For example, based on gene sequence and microsatellite data, the method has been used to choose between competing models of human demographic history as well as to infer growth rates, times of divergence, and other parameters. The method fits naturally in the Bayesian inferential framework, and a brief overview is given of the key concepts. Three main approaches to ABC have been developed, and these are described and compared. Although the method arose in population genetics, ABC is increasingly used in other fields, including epidemiology, systems biology, ecology, and agent-based modeling, and many of these applications are briefly described. 379 A nn u. R ev . E co l. E vo l. Sy st . 2 01 0. 41 :3 79 -4 06 . D ow nl oa de d fr om w w w . a nn ua lr ev ie w s. or g by A ri zo na S ta te U ni ve rs ity o n 08 /1 4/ 11 . F or p er so na l u se o nl y. ES41CH18-Beaumont ARI 1 October 2010 14:56
A comparative analysis of island floras challenges taxonomy‐based biogeographical models of speciation

Speciation on islands, and particularly the divergence of species in situ, has long been debated. Here, we present one of the first, complete assessments of the geographic modes of speciation for the flora of a small oceanic island. Cocos Island (Costa Rica) is pristine; it is located 550 km off the Pacific coast of Central America. It harbors 189 native plant species, 33 of which are endemic. Using phylogenetic data from insular and mainland congeneric species, we show that all of the endemic species are derived from independent colonization events rather than in situ speciation. This is in sharp contrast to the results of a study carried out in a comparable system, Lord Howe Island (Australia), where as much as 8.2% of the plant species were the product of sympatric speciation. Differences in physiography and age between the islands may be responsible for the contrasting patterns of speciation observed. Importantly, comparing phylogenetic assessments of the modes of speciation with taxonomy‐based measures shows that widely used island biogeography approaches overestimate rates of in situ speciation.
Analyzing Gene Expression from Marine Microbial Communities using Environmental Transcriptomics

Analogous to metagenomics, environmental transcriptomics (metatranscriptomics) retrieves and sequences environmental mRNAs from a microbial assemblage without prior knowledge of what genes the community might be expressing. Thus it provides the most unbiased perspective on community gene expression in situ. Environmental transcriptomics protocols are technically difficult since prokaryotic mRNAs generally lack the poly(A) tails that make isolation of eukaryotic messages relatively straightforward 1 and because of the relatively short half lives of mRNAs 2. In addition, mRNAs are much less abundant than rRNAs in total RNA extracts, thus an rRNA background often overwhelms mRNA signals. However, techniques for overcoming some of these difficulties have recently been developed. A procedure for analyzing environmental transcriptomes by creating clone libraries using random primers to reverse-transcribe and amplify environmental mRNAs was recently described was successful in two different natural environments, but results were biased by selection of the random primers used to initiate cDNA synthesis 3. Advances in linear amplification of mRNA obviate the need for random primers in the amplification step and make it possible to use less starting material decreasing the collection and processing time of samples and thereby minimizing RNA degradation 4. In vitro transcription methods for amplifying mRNA involve polyadenylating the mRNA and incorporating a T7 promoter onto the 3 end of the transcript. Amplified RNA (aRNA) can then be converted to double stranded cDNA using random hexamers and directly sequenced by pyrosequencing 5. A first use of this method at Station ALOHA demonstrated its utility for characterizing microbial community gene expression 6.
A Review of Multitaper Spectral Analysis

Nonparametric spectral estimation is a widely used technique in many applications ranging from radar and seismic data analysis to electroencephalography (EEG) and speech processing. Among the techniques that are used to estimate the spectral representation of a system based on finite observations, multitaper spectral estimation has many important optimality properties, but is not as widely used as it possibly could be. We give a brief overview of the standard nonparametric spectral estimation theory and the multitaper spectral estimation, and give two examples from EEG analyses of anesthesia and sleep.
Author ' s personal copy Nonlinear stabilization in infinite dimension q

Significant advances have taken place in the last few years in the development of control designs for nonlinear infinite-dimensional systems. Such systems typically take the form of nonlinear ODEs (ordinary differential equations) with delays and nonlinear PDEs (partial differential equations). In this article we review several representative but general results on nonlinear control in the infinite-dimensional setting. First we present designs for nonlinear ODEs with constant, time-varying or state-dependent input delays, which arise in numerous applications of control over networks. Second, we present a design for nonlinear ODEs with a wave (string) PDE at its input, which is motivated by the drilling dynamics in petroleum engineering. Third, we present a design for systems of (two) coupled nonlinear first-order hyperbolic PDEs, which is motivated by slugging flow dynamics in petroleum production in off-shore facilities. Our design and analysis methodologies are based on the concepts of nonlinear predictor feedback and nonlinear infinite-dimensional backstepping. We present several simulation examples that illustrate the design methodology. 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
A vector space method to quantify agreement in qualitative data

Interrater agreement in qualitative research is rarely quantified. We present a new method for assessing interrater agreement in the coding of focus group transcripts, based on vector space methods. We also demonstrate similarities between this vector method and two previously published interrater agreement methods. Using these methods, we showed that interrater agreement for the qualitative data was quite low, attributable in part to the subjective nature of the codes and in part to the very large number of possible codes. These methods of assessing interrater agreement have the potential to be useful in determining and improving reliability of qualitative codings.