Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The survival outcomes following liver transplantation (SOFT) score: validation with contemporaneous data and stratification of high‐risk cohorts

Models to project survival after liver transplantation are important to optimize outcomes. We introduced the survival outcomes following liver transplantation (SOFT) score in 2008 (1) and designed to predict survival in liver recipients at three months post‐transplant with a C statistic of 0.70. Our objective was to validate the SOFT score, with more contemporaneous data from the OPTN database. We also applied the SOFT score to cohorts of the sickest transplant candidates and the poorest‐quality allografts. Analysis included 21 949 patients transplanted from August 1, 2006, to October 1, 2010. Kaplan–Meier survival functions were used for time‐to‐event analysis. Model discrimination was assessed using the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. We validated the SOFT score in this cohort of 21 949 liver recipients. The C statistic was 0.70 (CI 0.68–0.71), identical to the original analysis. When applied to cohorts of high‐risk recipients and poor‐quality donor allografts, the SOFT score projected survival with a C statistic between 0.65 and 0.74. In this study, a validated SOFT score was informative among cohorts of the sickest transplant candidates and the poorest‐quality allografts.
Time for a "Greener" Internet

It is anticipated that the Internet traffic will continue to grow exponentially for the foreseeable future, which will require ever-growing energy (electricity). Since a lot of the Internet traffic growth comes from predictable services (such as video) there is a huge potential for decreasing future Internet energy requirements by synchronizing the operation of routers and scheduling traffic in advance, thus reducing complexity (e.g., header processing, buffer size, switching fabric speedup and memory access bandwidth speedup). Today, scheduling and synchronizing large-scale data transfer operations can be easily achieved by utilizing a choice of tens of global time sources, freely available on earth and in space. In a way, this manuscript shows how to "trade" global time for electricity utilized by the global Internet.
Cosmc is an essential chaperone for correct protein O-glycosylation

Cosmc is a molecular chaperone thought to be required for expression of active T-synthase, the only enzyme that galactosylates the Tn antigen (GalNAcα1-Ser/Thr-R) to form core 1 Galβ1–3GalNAcα1-Ser/Thr (T antigen) during mucin type O-glycan biosynthesis. Here we show that ablation of the X-linked Cosmc gene in mice causes embryonic lethality and Tn antigen expression. Loss of Cosmc is associated with loss of T-synthase but not other enzymes required for glycoprotein biosynthesis, demonstrating that Cosmc is specific in vivo for the T-synthase. We generated genetically mosaic mice with a targeted Cosmc deletion and survivors exhibited abnormalities correlated with Tn antigen expression that are related to several human diseases.
Effects of market geography and institutional quality on financial markets integration in the East African Community

xix CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION . 1 1.1 Background of the Study . 1 1.1.1 Financial Markets Integration . 2 1.1.2 Market Geography . 5 1.1.3 Institutional Quality . 6 1.1.4 The East African Community Financial Markets . 8 1.2 Research Problem . 10 1.3 Research Objectives . 13 1.4 Value of the Study . 14 1.5 Structure of the Thesis . 16 CHAPTER TWO: CONTEXT OF THE STUDY. 17 2.
The fault detection of transformer windings' deformation based on Vibration frequency response analysis

Windings' deformation is one of the most common transformer faults. The paper proposes a new method of Vibration frequency response analysis (VFRA) in order to effectively detect the deformation. A series of experiments have been conducted on a large power transformer to validate its efficiency by testifying its repetitiveness and sensitivity. The first series of experiments used VFRA on phase A under the same status in different time. VFRA was used in the second series of experiments on phase C with purposely removing its insulation pressboard. The third used VFRA to test phase C with manmade radial deformation. All the first series of experimental results are nearly the same, which shows the good repetitiveness for this method. The second and third results with the artificial faults were compared with those in normal status, which shows that VFRA can effectively detect the windings' deformation. Compared with short-circuit reactance measurement, VFRA is more sensitive.
Survey of Handwriting Instruction Practices of Elementary Teachers and Educational Programs: Implications for Occupational Therapy

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to investigate perceptions of elementary school teachers on training in handwriting instruction received during their education, as well as their current classroom practices. The quantity and quality of training in handwriting instruction provided by baccalaureate degree-granting teacher education programs in North Carolina was also examined. An online survey was administered to each population identified to inquire about handwriting instruction practices. Results from 505 teachers and 16 professors indicated that while handwriting instruction content is valued by both teachers and professors, varied levels of training were provided to the teachers. Implications for occupational therapy practice are discussed including strategies for school-based therapists.
The Effect of Psychological Capital and Organizational Support on Innovational Behavior and Silence Behavior of Technical Innovation Personnel in Strategic Emerging Industry

Chinese strategic emerging industry has been developed rapidly in recent years. As the important guarantee and intellectual support required in the development of this kind industry, enterprise technology innovation talents have become the most significant strength to promote the enterprise technology and industry progress. Therefore, how to guide and motivate their creativity ability at the most extent has come to be a vital scientific question. In order to search for the improvement path to such employees’ innovation ability, the current study mainly investigated the effect of both psychological capital and organizational support on innovation and silence behavior within technical innovation personnel. Through the regression analysis of 350 questionnaires, our results showed that both psychological capital and organizational support had worthy negative effect on their silence behavior and positive effect on their innovation behavior, respectively; meanwhile, psychological capital and organizational support showed interaction effect to both innovation and silence behavior within technical innovation personnel. According to our results, in order to better motivate employees’ innovation ability, corporations should take supportive policies and improve employees’ psychological capital.
Building the Regenerative Microenvironment with Functional Biomaterials forSpinal Cord Injury Repair

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a devastating injury resulting in changes in the spinal cord’s motor, sensory, or autonomic functions. Following SCI, an inhibitory environment develops at the injury site for neural regeneration. In this review, we summary the strategies to rebuild the regenerative microenvironment with functional biomaterials for SCI repair mainly based on our research. We have developed a functional biomaterial consisting of collagen scaffolds and biologically active molecules (neurotrophic factor or the antagonists to myelin-associated inhibitor), and stem cells to rebuild a nerve regeneration microenvironment. Specifically, (1) the linear ordered collagen scaffold (LOCS) was used to guide the neural regeneration along its fibers and decrease the formation of glial scars, (2) collagen binding neurotrophic factors were incorporated into the scaffolds to promote neuronal survival and neural fiber regeneration, (3) antagonists to myelin-associated inhibitors were added to the scaffold to direct the neuronal differentiation of the native or transplanted neural stem cells at the injury site, (4) mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) were also added to the scaffold to reduce the acute inflammatory response due to SCI. These strategies were found to promote neural regeneration and functional recovery in SCI animals. In addition, the endogenous neural stem cells (NSCs) or implanted NSCs could be differentiated into neurons, which re-established the neuronal circuits to improve SCI repair under the favorable environment.
Polynomial distance measurement for ECG based biometric authentication

Existing electrocardiography (ECG) based biometric systems are constantly being challenged by higher misclassification error, longer acquisition time, larger template size, slower processing time and pertinence of abnormal beats within the biometric template. These challenges are the prime hindrance for ECG based biometric being commercialized as a pervasive authentication mechanism. At least,ECGbased biometric can provide a secured mechanism for cardiac patients being monitored over telephony network. In this paper, we present a polynomial distance measurement (PDM) method for ECG based biometric authentication for the very first time, according to the literature and to the best of our knowledge. The proposed PDM method is up to 12 times faster than existing algorithms, requires up to 6.5 times less template storage, needs only 2.49 (average) acquisition time with the highest accuracy rate (up to 100 per cent) when experimented on a population size of 15. Moreover, this proposed ECG based biometric system was deployed on a mobile phone based telemonitoring scenario with multilayer authentication mechanism upholding its applicability.
Loop Elimination, a Sound Optimisation Technique for PTTP Related Theorem Proving

In this paper we present loop elimination, an important optimisation technique for first-order theorem proving based on Prolog technology, such as the Prolog Technology Theorem Prover or the DLog Description Logic Reasoner. Although several loop checking techniques exist for logic programs, to the best of our knowledge, we are the first to examine the interaction of loop checking with ancestor resolution. Our main contribution is a rigorous proof of the soundness of loop elimination.
Risks and benefits of structured antiretroviral drug therapy interruptions in HIV-1 infection

BackgroundStructured interruptions of antiretroviral therapy of HIV-1 infected individuals are currently being tested in clinical trials to study the effect interruptions have on the immune responses and control of virus replication. ObjectiveTo investigate the potential risks and benefits of interrupted therapy using standard population dynamical models of HIV replication kinetics. MethodsStandard population dynamical models were used to study the effect of structured therapy interruptions on the immune effector cells, the latent cell compartment and the emergence of drug resistance. ConclusionsThe models suggest that structured therapy interruption only leads to transient or sustained virus control if the immune effector cells increase during therapy. This increase must more than counterbalance the increase in susceptible target cells induced by therapy. The risk of inducing drug resistance by therapy interruptions or the risk of repopulating the pool of latent cells during drug-free periods may be small if the virus population remains at levels considerably below baseline. However, if the virus load increases during drug-free periods to levels similar to or higher than baseline before therapy, both these risks increase dramatically.
Ambidexterity: The Interplay of Supply Chain Management Competencies and Enterprise Resource Planning Systems on Organizational Performance

AMBIDEXTERITY: THE INTERPLAY OF SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT COMPETENCIES AND ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING SYSTEMS ON ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE Serdar Turedi Old Dominion University, 2016 Director: Dr. Ling Li Understanding the business value of information systems (IS) is one of the key issues among practitioners. Specifically, the role of IS in supply chain management (SCM) is one of the main areas that practitioners focus, as the largest portion of production costs are traceable back to supply chain costs. Hence, inter-organizational systems (IOS) gain importance as a result of the increased competition between supply chain networks. Particularly, implementation of enterprise resource planning (ERP), which is a type of IOS, becomes the new trend among organizations. Although organizations use similar ERP, some gained significant benefits by using them, while others struggled to achieve the same level of success. The performance differences among ERP using organizations illustrate that ERP accrues several indirect benefits to organizational performance via intermediating organizational capabilities. SCM explorative and exploitative competencies are two such capabilities. Although, previous research indicates that ERP needs to be supported by mature SCM processes to maximize the benefits of ERP, there is still a lack of knowledge of how ERP is used to improve SCM competencies and increase performance. Thus, the goal of this study is to evaluate the indirect benefits that accrue to organizations via the mediating effect of SCM competencies on the relationship between effective ERP usage for SCM and organizational performance. Customer relationship management (CRM), customer service management (CSM), supplier relationship management (SRM) are adopted as the three key ERP based SCM processes, and profitability, market value, and productivity are utilized as the three main aspects of overall organizational performance. PLS-SEM is used to investigate this relationship. Overall, this dissertation demonstrates that effective ERP usage for SCM improves SCM competencies, which leads to higher organizational performance. Specifically, the results suggest that although effective ERP usage for CRM is related to both SCM explorative and exploitative competence, effective ERP usage for CSM experience better SCM explorative competence, and effective ERP usage achieves better SCM exploitative competence. The results also indicate that, while SCM exploitative competence influences all three aspects of organizational performance, SCM explorative competence affects only the market value and organizations that manage to balance SCM explorative and exploitative competence efforts outperform their competitors.
A novel math method of image morphing

Image morphing has received much attention in recent years. It mainly involves feature specification, geometric transformation and color blending. Here, a novel calculation method of image morphing is proposed. First, a novel coordinate system called triangle coordinate system is defined, which has a great advantage in geometric transformation. Second, corresponding feature points on images are marked. Third, cartesian coordinates of all pixels are converted into triangle coordinates for geometric transformation. Finally, color is blended and interpolated. Experiments given in the paper show that the method proposed is practicable.
18F-2-deoxyglucose deposition and regional flow in pigs with chronically dysfunctional myocardium. Evidence for transmural variations in chronic hibernating myocardium.

BACKGROUND Hibernating myocardium in patients with collateral-dependent myocardium is characterized by relative reductions in resting flow and increases in the uptake of 18F-2-deoxyglucose (FDG) in the fasting state. We performed the present study to examine whether these key physiological alterations could be produced in a porcine model of chronic coronary occlusion and to assess whether the adaptations consistent with hibernation varied across the myocardial wall. METHODS AND RESULTS We chronically instrumented pigs (n = 18) with a fixed occluder on the proximal left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD). Three months later, ventricular function, regional myocardial perfusion, and FDG deposition (by excised tissue counting or positron emission tomography) were assessed in pigs after an over-night fast in the closed-chest anesthetized state. Total LAD occlusion with angiographic collaterals was present in the majority of animals. Left ventriculography showed severe anterior hypokinesis, and resting perfusion was significantly reduced in the hibernating LAD region in comparison with the normal remote regions (subendocardium: 0.80 +/- 0.06 versus 1.07 +/- 0.06 mL.min-1.g-1, P < .001; full-thickness: 0.87 +/- 0.04 versus 0.99 +/- 0.06 mL.min-1.g-1, P < .01). There was a twofold increase in full-thickness fasting FDG uptake in the dysfunctional LAD region (1.8 +/- 0.2 by positron emission tomography versus 1.9 +/- 0.1 by ex vivo counting). Ex vivo tissue counting revealed a pronounced transmural variation in FDG uptake in the hibernating region (LAD/normal), which averaged 2.5 +/- 0.2 in the subendocardium, 1.9 +/- 0.2 in the midmyocardium, and 1.4 +/- 0.1 in the subepicardium. CONCLUSIONS These results demonstrate that pigs instrumented with a proximal LAD stenosis develop hibernating myocardium characterized by relative reductions in resting function and perfusion in association with increased uptake of FDG in the fasting state. The transmural variations in relative resting flow and FDG uptake suggest that myocardial adaptations consistent with hibernation are most pronounced in the subendocardial layers and vary in relation to local coronary flow reserve.
Copula-Based Statistical Health Grade System Against Mechanical Faults of Power Transformers

A health grade system against mechanical faults of power transformers has been little investigated compared to those for chemical and electrical faults. This paper thus presents a statistical health grade system against mechanical faults in power transformers used in nuclear powerplant sites where the mechanical joints and/or parts are the ones used for constraining transformer cores. Two health metrics-RMS and root mean square deviation of spectral responses at harmonic frequencies-are first defined using vibration signals acquired via insite sensors on 54 power transformers in several nuclear powerplants in 16 months. We then investigate a novel multivariate statistical model, namely copula, to statistically model the populated data of the health metrics. The preliminary study shows that the proposed health metrics and statistical health grade system are feasible to monitor and predict the health condition of the mechanical faults in the power transformers.
Nanopore Sensing.

Herein, we provide an up-to-date overview of the field of nanopore sensing with emphases placed on the advances made in the most recent two years (2014–2016). We will cover traditional sensing platforms including biological nanopores and solid-state nanopores with a focus on the recent demonstrations of new applications. Additionally, we will discuss novel nanopore sensing platforms such as plasmonic nanopores and hybrid nanopores. An outlook of nanopore sensing will be provided for future developments and directions in the field. We specifically do not consider applications from industry, where details related to specific components and operating conditions are often closely guarded.
Applying Rounding‐Up Integral Linear Interpolation to the Scan‐Conversion of Filled Polygons

This paper is motivated by a special linear interpolation problem encountered in scan‐line algorithms for scan‐conversion of filled polygons. rounding‐up integral linear interpolation is defined and its efficient computation is discussed. The paper then incorporates rounding‐up integral linear interpolation into a scan‐line algorithm for filled polygons, and it discusses the implementation of the algorithm. This approach has the advantage of only requiring integer arithmetic in the calculations. Furthermore, the approach provides a unified treatment for calculating span extrema for left and right edges of the polygon that guarantees the mutual exclusiveness of the ownership of boundary pixels of two filled polygons sharing an edge.
Plasma Free Hemoglobin: A Novel Diagnostic Test for Assessment of the Depth of Burn Injury

Background: Accurate determination of the depth of burn injury is difficult, even for experienced surgeons. The authors hypothesized that the level of plasma free hemoglobin following burn injury is correlated to the depth of burn injury, and they evaluated this hypothesis in a murine model. Methods: Full-thickness and partial-thickness burn injuries of varying sizes were inflicted on 38 and 36 male Wistar rats, respectively. Blood specimens were taken at 0, 15, 30, 45, and 60 minutes after burn injury, and the levels of plasma free hemoglobin were determined spectrophotometrically. Results: Full-thickness burns cause two times more hemolysis than partial-thickness burns (p < 0.05). A linear correlation was demonstrated between plasma free hemoglobin levels and total body surface area burned in both the full-thickness (r = 0.91, p < 0.001) and partial-thickness burn groups (r = 0.94, p < 0.001). The correlation between the quantity of hemolysis and the total body surface area burned was strongest at 15 minutes after the onset of burn injury. The levels of free hemoglobin peaked rapidly between 15 and 30 minutes after thermal injury and declined thereafter. Conclusions: The authors' data suggest that the level of plasma free hemoglobin after burn injury is related to the size and depth of burn injury. This test can potentially be a valuable diagnostic adjunct in the assessment of burns.
An Empirical Assessment Of The EFQM Excellence Model In Purchasing

This study focuses on the important concepts of quality management, internal customer satisfaction, and business performance within the neglected purchasing unit of manufacturing firms on the basis of the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) Excellence Model, thus, filling a void in the existing literature. In doing so, this study tests the viability of the EFQM model in a single functional unit. Three hypothesis were generated based on the EFQM model to identify the specific relationships between purchasing’s quality management practices (EFQM enabler), internal customer satisfaction, and business performance (EFQM results). The hypotheses were tested through structural equation modeling based on a sample of 306 purchasing agents within manufacturing. The results indicated that the EFQM seem to be a viable model that represents what impacts implementing QMP enablers will have on the resultants, ICS and OP. Additionally, the results identified that the extent of adoption of quality management purchasing has a direct positive impact on improving internal customer satisfaction and an indirect positive impact on business performance mediated by internal customer satisfaction, as predicted by the EFQM model. This study highlights the positive impact of adoption of EFQM in the purchasing area, thus, lends support to purchasing departments trying to justify the implementation of quality management practices to their administrations. Additionally, it gives upper management, looking for ways to improve the company’s bottom line, the specifics to do this through the implementation of quality management practices in purchasing. Management and purchasing departments are given a blueprint for improving their performance.
Lower Bounds for the Disk Packing Constant

An osculatory packing of a disk, U, is an infinite sequence of disjoint disks, f Un }, contained in U, chosen so that, for n _ 2, U,, has the largest possible radius, r,,, of all disks fitting in U\(U1 U. U U.-1). The exponent of the packing, S, is the least upper bound of numbers, t, such that E r = 0. Here, we present a number of methods for obtaining lower bounds for S, based on obtaining weighted averages of the curvatures of the U,,. We are able to prove that S > 1.28467. We use a number of well-known results from the analytic theory of matrices.