Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
External Beam Radiation Therapy (EBRT) for Patients with Malignant Pheochromocytoma and Non-Head and -Neck Paraganglioma: Combination with 131I-MIBG

Abstract In patients with malignant pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma, 131I-MIBG radiotherapy can achieve an objective response rate of 30–50% with the dose limiting toxicity being hematologic. Patients with disseminated disease, who also have a few index bulky or symptomatic lesions, may benefit from the addition of targeted external beam radiotherapy alone or in combination with systemic 131I-MIBG. The records of patients with malignant paraganglioma who were treated with external beam radiotherapy at the University of Pennsylvania from February 1973 to February 2011 were reviewed in an institutional review board approved retrospective study. Of the 17 patients with tumors in the thorax, abdomen, or pelvis, 76% had local control or clinically significant symptomatic relief for at least 1 year or until death. As expected, the predominant toxicity was due to irradiation of tumor-adjacent normal tissues without clinically significant hematologic toxicity. Due to widespread systemic metastases with areas of bulky, symptomatic tumor, 5 of the 17 patients were treated with sequential 131I-MIBG (2 mCi/kg per treatment) and external beam radiotherapy to 9 sites. In these patients, all areas that were irradiated with external beam radiotherapy showed durable objective response despite all patients eventually experiencing out-of-field systemic progression requiring other treatment. Four of these patients remain alive with excellent performance status 16, 18, 23, and 24 months after external beam radiotherapy. External beam radiotherapy can be highly effective in local management of malignant paraganglioma and can be used in conjunction with 131I-MIBG due to nonoverlapping toxicities with excellent control of locally bulky tumors.
Author ' s personal copy Adverse selection in mortgage securitization

Using several large data sets of mortgage loans originated between 2004 and 2007, we find that in the prime mortgage market, banks generally sold low-default-risk loans into the secondary market while retaining higher-default-risk loans in their portfolios. In contrast, these lenders retained loans with lower prepayment risk relative to loans they sold. Securitization strategy of lenders changed dramatically in 2007 as the crisis set in with most unwilling to retain higher-default-risk loans in return for lower prepayment risk. Contrary to the prime market, the subprime market does not exhibit any clear pattern of adverse selection. & 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Correlations of hippocampal atrophy and focal low-frequency magnetic activity in Alzheimer disease: volumetric MR imaging-magnetoencephalographic study.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Patients with Alzheimer disease (AD) have more low-frequency activity on conventional EEG and increased focal magnetoencephalographic (MEG) dipole density (DD) in delta and theta bands. This activity concurs with atrophy and reduced metabolic and perfusion rates, particularly in temporoparietal structures. The relationship between functional and structural measures and their conjoined capability to improve the diagnosis of AD were assessed in this study. METHODS Whole-head MEG recordings were obtained in 15 patients in whom the diagnosis of AD had been made and in 16 healthy control subjects during a resting condition. MR imaging volumetric data were also obtained; these included global cerebral, temporal lobe, and hippocampal volumes. RESULTS DD in the delta and theta bands was enhanced in the AD group compared with the healthy control subjects. Slow-wave activity differed significantly between the groups in the temporoparietal regions of both hemispheres. Left hippocampal volume was correlated with left temporal and parietal delta DD and left temporal theta DD. A combination of left hippocampal volume and left temporal theta DD enabled correct classification in 87.1% of the patients with AD or control subjects. CONCLUSION Results support the predominant role of temporoparietal hypofunction as defined by DD and hippocampal structural deficits shown on MR images in patients with AD. A multidisciplinary perspective of different techniques may improve our understanding of the disease and our diagnostic abilities.
Diagnostic criteria

Prevalence Day for this investigation was 31 December 1959. Most of the patients were examined during the autumn of 1959 and the rest in the winter of 1960. The author examined all personally. A few of the patients were examined in the out-patient department of Sentralsykehuset, Tonsberg, others while they were in the neurological department there, but most of them (90) were examined in their homes. I t has been established that the patients examined in the autumn of 1959 were alive on Prevalence Day. In order to facilitate the work, examinations and findings were noted on stencilled forms. If there were case histories from previous hospitalizations and earlier out-patient examinations, as there were in the majority of cases, this information was included. In this way one was able to control the information given by patients. I t was often surprising how easily a patient was able to forget when his first attack of the disease occurred. If one is to obtain an accurate picture of the course of the disease in a patient, it is of incalculable importance that there be earlier records to which reference can be made. Diagnostic criteria were essentially the same as those used by Allison in his investigations (Allison €5' Millar 1954 and Alter, Allison, Talbert 6' Kurlund 1960) and suggested for general use by Allison at the World Federation of Neurology's Commission on Biometry and Genetics (Oxford 1960).
Using Quality of Life Measures in a Phase I Clinical Trial of Noni in Patients With Advanced Cancer to Select a Phase II Dose

ABSTRACT. The purpose of this study was to determine a maximum tolerated dose of noni in cancer patients and whether an optimal quality of life-sustaining dose could be identified as an alternative way to select a dose for subsequent Phase II efficacy trials. Dose levels started at two capsules twice daily (2 g), the suggested dose for the marketed product, and were escalated by 2 g daily in cohorts of at least five patients until a maximum tolerated dose was found. Patients completed subscales of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) QLQ-C30 quality of life (physical functioning, pain, and fatigue) the brief fatigue inventory (BFI), questionnaires at baseline and at approximately 4-week intervals. Blood and urine were collected at baseline and at approximately 4-week intervals for measurement of scopoletin. Fifty-one patients were enrolled at seven dose levels. The maximum tolerated dose was six capsules four times daily (12 g). Although no dose-limiting toxicity was found, seven of eight patients at the next level (14 g), withdrew due to the challenges of ingesting so many capsules. There were dose-related differences in self-reported physical functioning and pain and fatigue control. Overall, patients taking three or four capsules four times daily experienced better outcomes than patients taking lower or higher doses. Blood and urinary scopoletin concentrations related to noni dose. We concluded that it is feasible to use quality of life measures to select a Phase II dose. Three or four capsules four times daily (6–8 g) is recommended when controlling fatigue, pain, and maintaining physical function are the efficacies of interest. Scopoletin, a bioactive component of noni fruit extract, is measurable in blood and urine following noni ingestion and can be used to study the pharmacokinetics of noni in cancer patients.
Mass spectrometry-based proteomic pattern analysis for prostate cancer detection using neural networks with statistical significance test-based feature selection

Mass spectrometry-based proteomics provides a promising approach for accurate diagnosis of different diseases. However, there are some problems in the mass spectral data such as huge volume, data complexity and the presence of noise. These problems make analyzing the proteomic pattern difficult. In this paper, a neural network-based system is proposed for proteomic pattern analysis for prostate cancer screening. The system consists of three stages: feature selection based on statistical significant test, classification by a Radial Basis Function Neural Network (RBFNN) and a probabilistic neural network (PNN), and finally results optimization through ROC analysis. The experimental results show that the proposed system's performance is excellent in comparison with the existing tools. The high sensitivity (97.1%) and specificity (96.8%) of the proposed system when combined with prostatic biopsy are expected to help in early detection of prostate cancer.
[Life quality of patients after cholecystectomy].

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the quality of life in patients who underwent laparoscopic and open cholecystectomy for chronic cholecystolithiasis. METHODS A prospective survey was made on 25 patients receiving laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC group) and 26 patients receiving open cholecystectomy (OC group). The quality of life was measured with the gastrointestinal quality of life index (GLQI) preoperatively, and at 2, 5, 10 and 16 weeks after the operation. RESULTS The mean preoperative GLQI scores of all dimensions of the quality of life were 112.5 and 110.3 in the LC and OC groups respectively. In the LC group, the quality of life was not considerably reduced at 2 weeks after operation, with a mean GLQI score of 110. There was a significant improvement both in total mean score and in the aspects of symptomatology, emotional and physiological status from 5 to 16 weeks after LC operation. In the OC group, the GLQI score reduced to 102.0 at 2 weeks after surgery (P < 0.05). There were significant reductions in the aspects of symptomatology, physiological and social status as well. The GLQI scores reached to the preoperative level of 115.6 at 10 weeks after the operation (P > 0.05). The patients experienced significant improvements of GLQI at 16 weeks after OC operation (P < 0.01 or P < 0.05). The LC group showed better GLQI scores than did the OC group for up to 10 weeks postoperatively (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS LC is betler or more rapidly than OC is improving the quality of life postoperatively. The assessment of the quality of life is valuable for measuring the outcome of surgical treatment.
Resistance of the Suckling Guinea Pig to Lithocholic Acid‐Induced Cholestasis

Although immaturity of the liver and synthesis of monohydroxy bile acids have been implicated as pathogenic factors in neonatal cholestasis, there is no direct evidence to show that these bile acids induce cholestasis in the newborn. In the present investigation, we compared the effects of lithocholic acid (LCA) injection on bile flow in suckling (2‐week‐old) and adult (12‐week‐old) guinea pigs. Bile flow was not modified by LCA in 2‐week‐old animals, but it was reduced by 50 to 80% in the adults, the decrease being dose‐dependent. In the newborn, the injected LCA was mainly secreted in bile (>90%), while in the adults it was distributed between the liver and bile. The percentage of biliary bile acids (as determined by gas‐liquid chromatography) in the two groups was similar before and after LCA injection. Morphologic lesions characteristic of LCA‐induced cholestasis were observed only in the adult guinea pigs. This study demonstrates that the newborn guinea pig is less susceptible to cholestasis induced by 90 to 180 /imoles per kg body weight of lithocholate and that, in the neonatal liver, there is no defect in the transport of this bile acid from blood to bile.
Cochrane review: virtual reality for stroke rehabilitation.

AIM Virtual reality and interactive video gaming are innovative therapy approaches in the field of stroke rehabilitation. The primary objective of this review was to determine the effectiveness of virtual reality on motor function after stroke. The impact on secondary outcomes including activities of daily living was also assessed. METHODS Randomised and quasi-randomised controlled trials that compared virtual reality with an alternative or no intervention were included in the review. The authors searched the Cochrane Stroke Group Trials Register, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, electronic databases, trial registers, reference lists, Dissertation Abstracts, conference proceedings and contacted key researchers and virtual reality manufacturers. Search results were independently examined by two review authors to identify studies meeting the inclusion criteria. RESULTS Nineteen studies with a total of 565 participants were included in the review. Variation in intervention approaches and outcome data collected limited the extent to which studies could be compared. Virtual reality was found to be significantly more effective than conventional therapy in improving upper limb function (standardised mean difference, SMD) 0.53, 95% confidence intervals [CI] 0.25 to 0.81)) based on seven studies, and activities of daily living (ADL) function (SMD 0.81, 95% CI 0.39 to 1.22) based on three studies. No statistically significant effects were found for grip strength (based on two studies) or gait speed (based on three studies). CONCLUSION Virtual reality appears to be a promising approach however, further studies are required to confirm these findings.
Stochastic Centralized Dispatch Scheme for AC/DC Hybrid Smart Distribution Systems

This paper presents a two-stage stochastic centralized dispatch scheme for AC/DC hybrid smart grids. The developed dispatch scheme coordinates the operations of a variety of distributed energy resources (DERs), such as distributed generators (DGs) and energy storage systems (ESSs). It also ensures the coordinated charging of electric vehicles (EVs) and models the degradation of their batteries that occurs due to vehicle-to-grid (V2G). The energy coordination problem has been formulated as a two-stage day-ahead resource scheduling problem, with the intermittent supply; the variable demand, which includes EVs; and the fluctuating real-time energy price modeled as random variables. The first stage produces day-ahead dispatch decisions for the dispatchable DG units. For a set of possible scenarios over the next 24 h, the second stage determines appropriate corrective decisions with respect to the import/export schedule, storage charging/discharging cycles, and EV charging/discharging patterns. The objective is to minimize the expected total operating cost while satisfying operational and technical constraints. The new two-stage stochastic centralized dispatch model has been tested on a 38-bus AC/DC hybrid distribution system. The simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the developed scheme for optimally coordinating the various components of future AC/DC hybrid smart grids. To demonstrate the necessity for uncertainty modeling, the value of the stochastic solution (VSS) and the expected value of perfect information (EVPI) have been applied for comparing the stochastic solution obtained and the deterministic one.
An Automatic and Robust System for Identification of Problematic Call Centre Conversations

In this Globalized world, the Call Centers and BPOsare increasing at an exponential rate. There is stiff competitionamong various companies and every company wants to have itsclients happy and satisfied with the resolution of the problems. For this purpose, Agent Quality Monitoring is an importantrequirement. Since in a typical Call Centre, thousands of calls aremade by agents in a single day, it is not possible to manuallyidentify problematic calls by monitoring each and every agentclientconversation. Moreover, sometimes, individual monitoringis biased. What is non problematic for one can be problematic foranother individual. Moreover, it is almost impossible to manuallyidentify problematic calls in a language one doesn't know. Without a suitable technical approach, it is difficult to identifyproblematic calls without translating the call contents into ourlanguage, which often leads to security and privacy concerns fora private company. In this paper a sample of calls was taken anda proper technical approach is used to analyze the calls. Thedesign of the proposed system is language independent. In thisproject, we make use of Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifier based on 4 robust audio features, namely MelFrequency Cepstral Coefficients (MFCCs), Energy, Volume andZero Crossing Rate (ZCR). The support vectors are obtained bytraining the sample data set. The SVM Classifier is based on asimple algorithm which solves the two class problem andclassifies the calls as problematic or non-problematic. Duringexperiments 87.5% of the calls are identified correctly.
Design of high efficiency resonant coil and receiver IC for wireless power transfer in mobile device

This paper describes the design of resonant coil and receiver IC for wireless power transfer (WPT) based on magnetic resonance method in mobile device. The coil is modeled and optimized based on magnetic simulation tool to obtain maximum power transfer efficiency. The fabricated receiver IC consists of rectifier, DC-DC converter and charging control circuit is designed to reduce the power loss in the power conversion stages. Based on the design procedure magnetically coupled resonator are fabricated at 6.78MHz resonance frequency. The power transfer efficiency of the WPT systems are analyzed based on simulation and measurement results for variation of distance between transmitter and receiver. At a distance of 30mm, the measurement result shows that the power transfer efficiency is 51%. The resonant coils and the fabricated chip determined the maximum efficiency of 72.1% and 70.2% respectively in 30mm distance.
Should patients with acute exacerbation of chronic bronchitis be treated with antibiotics? Advantages of the use of fluoroquinolones

ABSTRACT The pathological changes in chronic bronchitis (CB) produce airflow obstruction, reduce the effectiveness of the mucocilliary drainage system and lead to bacterial colonisation of bronchial secretion. The presence of bacteria induces an inflammatory response mediated by leukocytes. There is a direct relationship between the degree of impairment of the mucocilliary drainage system, the density of bacteria in mucus and the number of leukocytes in the sputum. Purulent sputum is a good marker of a high bacterial load. Eventually, if the number of leukocytes is high, their normal activity could decrease the effectiveness of the drainage system, increase the bronchial obstruction and probably damage the lung parenchyma. Whenever the density of bacteria in the bronchial lumen is ≥ 106 CFU/mL, there is a high probability that the degree of inflammatory response will lead to a vicious cycle which in turn tends to sustain the process. This situation can arise during the clinical course of any acute exacerbation of CB, independently of its aetiology, provided the episode is sufficiently severe and/or prolonged. Fluoroquinolones of the third and fourth generation are bactericidal against most microorganisms usually related to acute exacerbations of CB. Their diffusion to bronchial mucus is adequate. When used in short (5-day) treatment they reduce the bacterial load in a higher proportion than is achieved by βlactam or macrolide antibiotics given orally. Although the clinical cure rate is similar to that obtained with other antibiotics, the time between exacerbations could be increased.
Vehicle Lateral Control and Yaw Stability Control through Differential Braking

This paper examines the effectiveness of a brake-by-wire system with the uses of differential brake torque for lateral control and yaw stability control in the context of intelligent vehicle highway systems. Differential braking easily realized by the brake-by-wire system can generate the vehicle yaw moment. The resulting yaw moment affects vehicle lateral position and yaw rate, thereby providing a limited steering function. The steering function achieved through BBW system can then be used to control lateral position in an unintended road departure system. A 7-DOF model is developed to capture the vehicle longitudinal, lateral and yaw motion, and the other four degrees of motion representing the wheel dynamics. Since the 7-DOF model is rather complicated for controller design, a linearized vehicle model is presented for the explanation of the idea of differential braking and for the control design. A fuzzy logic controller is developed to explore the feasibility and capability of BBW systems for lateral control and yaw stability control. Simulation results on the nonlinear vehicle model are used to illustrate the effectiveness of the fuzzy logic control approach for lateral control and yaw stability control with differential braking
Strategy Implementation - External Environment Alignment

For any business, as to grow and prosper, managers must be able to anticipate, recognize and deal with change in the internal and external environment. This paper examines the relationship between the external environment and strategy implementation process, taking into account two perspectives of analysis. The first one defines the impact of environmental characteristics on the implementation process. Respondents were asked to evaluate the level of environment uncertainty in everyday business through the level of change complexity and turbulence. The second one defines the enterprise response and proactiveness in external data collecting, processing and identification of opportunities. The paper is based on empirical research, conducted in large Croatian enterprises. The sample includes 78 enterprises and includes respondents from different hierarchical levels and business functions. Enterprises do not associate the lack of implementation success to the context uncertainty. Respondents, regardless of their position within the organization, emphasize they have a lack of competencies managing rapidly evolving situations. Enterprises, with a higher level of proactiveness in researching context characteristics, demonstrate a greater level of preparation in opportunities exploitation. In addition, private enterprises, mainly focused on international market, perceive a higher level of context uncertainty.
Characteristic impedance of asymmetrical differential traces: Closed-form relations for signal integrity analysis

Analytical models of high-speed interconnects are becoming increasingly important due to the large number and repetitive nature of signal integrity simulations. In this paper, closed-form relations are developed to calculate the characteristic impedance of differential traces routed on asymmetrical dual stripline layers. The solution is based on Schwartz-Christoffel transformation in combination with the partial capacitance concept. Numerical examples demonstrating the accuracy of the proposed method have been presented.