Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Liver transplantation for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma in patients without liver cirrhosis

Summary Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) arising in noncirrhotic and nonfibrotic liver (NC‐HCC) is a rare type of malignancy frequently found in healthy young individuals. Partial liver resection is the treatment of choice with expected 5‐year survival rates between 40% and 70%. As a result of absence of any symptom, a considerable number of patients are diagnosed when the malignancy has progressed to an advanced stage and the tumor has turned already unresectable. Some other patients suffer from intrahepatic recurrence after previous liver resection that cannot be re‐resected or locally ablated. In these situations, liver transplantation (LT) may be the only potentially curative treatment. The indication for LT in NC‐HCC patients, however, is not well established. The preliminary results of recent analysis of the European Liver Transplant Registry (ELTR) together with a literature review identified over 150 patients transplanted for NC‐HCC during the last 15 years. In contrast to the historical data, these studies showed 5‐year survival rates at 50–70% in well‐selected patients. Important determinants of poor outcome are macrovascular invasion, lymph node involvement, and time interval of <12 months when LT is used as rescue therapy for intrahepatic recurrence after a previous partial liver resection. Interestingly, outcomes after both liver resection and LT for NC‐HCC are much less influenced by tumor size than is the case with cirrhotic HCC. A large tumor size per se should, therefore, not to be seen as a strict contraindication for performing LT in patients with NC‐HCC.
Chaperones Rescue Luciferase Folding by Separating Its Domains*

Background: Bulk experiments show that Luciferase refolding requires the aid of chaperone proteins. Results: Single-molecule experiments show that partially unfolded Luciferase can refold without chaperones but that chaperones are required for refolding from complete denaturation. Conclusion: The N-terminal domain of Luciferase serves to chaperone refolding, and chaperones may serve to emulate this effect. Significance: Understanding protein folding can be used to develop new therapeutics to target intermediates. Over the last 50 years, significant progress has been made toward understanding how small single-domain proteins fold. However, very little is known about folding mechanisms of medium and large multidomain proteins that predominate the proteomes of all forms of life. Large proteins frequently fold cotranslationally and/or require chaperones. Firefly (Photinus pyralis) luciferase (Luciferase, 550 residues) has been a model of a cotranslationally folding protein whose extremely slow refolding (approximately days) is catalyzed by chaperones. However, the mechanism by which Luciferase misfolds and how chaperones assist Luciferase refolding remains unknown. Here we combine single-molecule force spectroscopy (atomic force microscopy (AFM)/single-molecule force spectroscopy) with steered molecular dynamic computer simulations to unravel the mechanism of chaperone-assisted Luciferase refolding. Our AFM and steered molecular dynamic results show that partially unfolded Luciferase, with the N-terminal domain remaining folded, can refold robustly without chaperones. Complete unfolding causes Luciferase to get trapped in very stable non-native configurations involving interactions between N- and C-terminal residues. However, chaperones allow the completely unfolded Luciferase to refold quickly in AFM experiments, strongly suggesting that chaperones are able to sequester non-natively contacting residues. More generally, we suggest that many chaperones, rather than actively promoting the folding, mimic the ribosomal exit tunnel and physically separate protein domains, allowing them to fold in a cotranslational-like sequential process.
Cigarette smoking and endogenous sex hormones in postmenopausal women.

CONTEXT Sex hormones play a key role in women's health, but little is known about lifestyle factors that influence their levels. OBJECTIVE The objective of the study was to investigate the relationship between cigarette smoking habits and endogenous sex hormone levels in postmenopausal women. DESIGN AND PARTICIPANTS This was a cross-sectional study among 2030 postmenopausal women aged 55-81 yr from the Norfolk population of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer. All women were at least 1 yr postmenopausal and not currently using hormone replacement therapy. General linear models were used to examine the relationship between smoking habits and sex hormone levels. RESULTS Among current smokers, the daily number of cigarettes smoked was associated with increased levels of testosterone (19-37%), free testosterone (19-34%), 17-hydroxprogesterone (17-22%), androstenedione (2-23%), SHBG (6-10%), and estradiol (-2 to 15%). Stratified analysis for body mass index revealed an interaction such that the association with SHBG was restricted to lean women, whereas a smoking-related increase in free estradiol was found only in overweight women. No clear dose-response relationship was observed for estrone, although its levels were highest in heavy smokers. Current smoking habit was associated with a larger difference in sex hormone levels than lifetime cigarette exposure as measured by pack-years. Among former smokers, sex hormones were at levels of never smokers within 1-2 yr of smoking cessation. CONCLUSIONS Cigarette smoking is associated with higher circulating levels of androgens, estrogens, 17-hydroxprogesterone, and SHBG in postmenopausal women. The almost immediate lower levels with smoking cessation may indicate that hormone related disease risks could potentially be modified by changing smoking habits.
Minority carrier lifetime limitations in Si wafer solar cells with gallium phosphide window layers

III-V materials are very attractive top absorbers for highly efficient Si based multi-junction solar cells. In case of direct growth on Si wafers, a high quality hetero interface for the passivation of the silicon bottom cell should be achieved and the degradation of the Si minority carrier bulk lifetime has to be avoided. In this paper we show that diffusion barriers can reduce the contamination of the Si absorber and lead to minority carrier lifetimes of 1120 μs after thermal treatment at 1050 °C in the metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy reactor. With an adapted growth and solar cell process we could fabricate Si solar cells with an open circuit voltage of 634 mV.
Reconstruction of Metabolic Pathways, Protein Expression, and Homeostasis Machineries across Maize Bundle Sheath and Mesophyll Chloroplasts: Large-Scale Quantitative Proteomics Using the First Maize Genome Assembly1[W][OA]

Chloroplasts in differentiated bundle sheath (BS) and mesophyll (M) cells of maize (Zea mays) leaves are specialized to accommodate C4 photosynthesis. This study provides a reconstruction of how metabolic pathways, protein expression, and homeostasis functions are quantitatively distributed across BS and M chloroplasts. This yielded new insights into cellular specialization. The experimental analysis was based on high-accuracy mass spectrometry, protein quantification by spectral counting, and the first maize genome assembly. A bioinformatics workflow was developed to deal with gene models, protein families, and gene duplications related to the polyploidy of maize; this avoided overidentification of proteins and resulted in more accurate protein quantification. A total of 1,105 proteins were assigned as potential chloroplast proteins, annotated for function, and quantified. Nearly complete coverage of primary carbon, starch, and tetrapyrole metabolism, as well as excellent coverage for fatty acid synthesis, isoprenoid, sulfur, nitrogen, and amino acid metabolism, was obtained. This showed, for example, quantitative and qualitative cell type-specific specialization in starch biosynthesis, arginine synthesis, nitrogen assimilation, and initial steps in sulfur assimilation. An extensive overview of BS and M chloroplast protein expression and homeostasis machineries (more than 200 proteins) demonstrated qualitative and quantitative differences between M and BS chloroplasts and BS-enhanced levels of the specialized chaperones ClpB3 and HSP90 that suggest active remodeling of the BS proteome. The reconstructed pathways are presented as detailed flow diagrams including annotation, relative protein abundance, and cell-specific expression pattern. Protein annotation and identification data, and projection of matched peptides on the protein models, are available online through the Plant Proteome Database.
A second analysis of patients with decompression illness transported via physician-staffed emergency helicopters

50 Journal of Emergencies, Trauma, and Shock I 10:1 I January March 2017 latent phase refers to an asymptomatic period, where hernias are discovered incidentally on radiologic imaging performed for other reasons. Patients presenting during the obstructive phase are symptomatic often from gastrointestinal (GI) obstruction or perforation, or from cardiovascular compromise secondary to worsening herniation of abdominal contents into the thorax. [4]
Herb use, vitamin use, and diet in low-income, postpartum women.

INTRODUCTION Little is known about herb use among underserved postpartum women and their patterns of communication about herb use with prenatal providers. METHODS We interviewed women from the postpartum unit at an urban hospital about herb use during pregnancy, socioeconomic factors, prenatal vitamin use, and diet. We asked women if they discussed use of herbs and vitamins with their prenatal care providers and asked about their satisfaction with these discussions. We reviewed inpatient chart medication lists for herb use. RESULTS Of 160 women surveyed, 39% reported using herbs during pregnancy. Sixty-five percent of participants took a prenatal vitamin. Fifty-seven percent of herb users (n = 40) reported taking prenatal vitamins. Herb users were significantly more likely to report making any dietary change during their pregnancies than non-herb users (P = .03). Only 38% of herb users discussed it with their prenatal providers, and 82% were satisfied with the conversation. Of all 160 participants, 125 had prenatal vitamin use documented, and no women had herbal medicine use documented in the medical record during their birth hospitalization. DISCUSSION We report a higher frequency of herb use during pregnancy than other studies. The fact that women of all backgrounds and economic statuses report using herbs during pregnancy makes it even more important for all women to be asked about their use of herbs.
PI controller design using artificial bee colony algorithm for MPPT of photovoltaic system supplied DC motor-pump load

Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) is used in Photovoltaic (PV) systems to maximize its output power. A new MPPT system has been suggested for PV-DC motor pump system by designing two PI controllers. The first one is used to reach MPPT by monitoring the voltage and current of the PV array and adjusting the duty cycle of the DC/DC converter. The second PI controller is designed for speed control of DC series motor by setting the voltage fed to the DC series motor through another DC/DC converter. The suggested design problem of MPPT and speed controller is formulated as an optimization task which is solved by Artificial Bee Colony (ABC) to search for optimal parameters of PI controllers. Simulation results have shown the validity of the developed technique in delivering MPPT to DC series motor pump system under atmospheric conditions and tracking the reference speed of motor. Moreover, the performance of the ABC algorithm is compared with Genetic Algorithm for various disturbances to prove its robustness. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Complexity, 2015
Reassortant Avian Influenza A(H5N1) Viruses with H9N2-PB1 Gene in Poultry, Bangladesh

Bangladesh has reported a high number of outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) (H5N1) in poultry. We identified a natural reassortant HPAI (H5N1) virus containing a H9N2-PB1 gene in poultry in Bangladesh. Our findings highlight the risks for prolonged co-circulation of avian influenza viruses and the need to monitor their evolution.
Designing Autolanding Neuro-Controller Using PID and Optimal Strategies

Designing a Neuro Controller for longitudinal autolanding system of a commercial jet transport has been considered. To train the neuro controller there are so many strategies in selecting the training data. In this paper, first a PID and an optimal controller for autolanding system have been designed. Then, the outputs of these two classic controllers have been used to train the neuro controller separately. Furthermore, the robustness of the controllers has been investigated by applying the gust and changing the flight conditions. Other advantages and disadvantages of the controllers have also been discussed. Simulation results show that PID controllers due to their robustness and Optimal controllers due to their performance are good candidates to train the neuro-controller
NAV-reformen: Støvet legger seg etter en turbulent omstilling

Vi utnytter den trinnvise gjennomføringen av NAV-reformen til å undersøke om den lokale etableringen av NAV-kontorer har påvirket ulike brukergruppers sannsynlighet for å komme i arbeid. Vårt hovedfunn er at opprettelsen av NAVkontorene alt i alt medførte at det tok lengre tid for både arbeidsledige og sosialhjelpsmottakere å komme i arbeid. Det ser ut til at de negative effektene primært gjorde seg gjeldende de første par årene etter den lokale NAVetableringen. Det er dermed grunn til å tro at den ugunstige utviklingen har sammenheng med selve omstillingsprosessen, og ikke nødvendigvis reflekterer at den nye modellen fungerer dårligere enn den gamle.1
Posture recognition in visual surveillance of archeological sites

The main aim of this work is to present a simple and reliable approach to the estimation of human body postures. The applicative context is the visual surveillance of an archaeological site. Motion detection and object recognition subsystems process image sequences coming from a still camera. Whenever a human is detected, his postures are characterized by the proposed pose estimation module. Then the results are fed to a HMM subsystem that identifies the current activity of the examined subject The proposed algorithm is based on an unsupervised clustering approach that makes the system substantially independent from any a-priori assumption about the possible output postures. The features selected for posture estimation are the horizontal and vertical histograms of binary shapes. A modified version of the Manhattan distance is used for both cluster identification and for run-time classification. After extensive experimental tests with different clustering schema, the BCLS algorithm (basic competitive learning scheme) has been selected. The proposed approach makes possible to change the number of classes, during the classification phase, without repeating the training step. Moreover it provides a measure of the reliability of its results. The proposed method has been verified on sequences acquired while typical illegal activities involved in stealing were simulated in a real archaeological site.
The Impact of the Subprime Crisis on Canadian Banks’ Stock Returns

This paper analyses the impact of the United States’ (US) subprime crisis on Canadian banks’ stock returns, using event study methodology. Our results suggest that despite their holdings of US toxic (subprime) mortgage-backed assets, Canadian banks have been solid in the face of the subprime crisis and the global 2007-2008 financial crisis. In spite of the huge 2007-2008 US financial turmoil, characterized by the failure of many financial institutions, Canadian banks’ stock returns were not negatively impacted by subprime events before March 14-16, 2008; more than a year after the beginning of the crisis. The fear of contagion coming from the US has been very limited. As shown by the CIBC case — the most exposed Canadian bank to subprime assets — the situation has been very well managed by banks. Moreover, the Government of Canada Insured Mortgage Purchase Program and Canadian Lenders Assurance Facility had been very helpful, and had positively impacted Canadian banks’ stock returns.
Sogou Neural Machine Translation Systems for WMT17

We describe the Sogou neural machine translation systems for the WMT 2017 Chinese ↔ English news translation tasks. Our systems are based on a multi-layer encoder-decoder architecture with attention mechanism. The best translation is obtained with ensemble and reranking techniques. We also pro-pose an approach to improve the named entity translation problem. Our Chinese → English system achieved the highest cased B LEU among all 20 submitted systems, and our English → Chinese system ranked the third out of 16 submitted systems. 1
The role of communication and trust in explaining customer loyalty: An extension to the ECSI model

Loyalty has, over the past decade, become a crucial construct in marketing, and particularly in the burgeoning field of customer relationship management. This paper shows that customer loyalty can be explained to a substantial degree by customer satisfaction, trust, and communication, and shows the direct and indirect effects among those constructs and other constructs in an extension of the European Customer Satisfaction Index (ECSI) model. Both ECSI model and the extended model are estimated with data from a survey carried out among customers of the banking sector. Within the limitations of the study, the theoretical and managerial implications of these findings are discussed.
Influence of Compressive Gear on Powerlifting Performance: Role of Blood Flow Restriction Training

Abstract Godawa, TM, Credeur, DP, and Welsch, MA. Influence of compressive gear on powerlifting performance: Role of blood flow restriction training. J Strength Cond Res 26(5): 1274–1280, 2012—This study investigated the effects of powerlifting gear on training volume and performance, defined by the squat, bench press, and deadlift. Eighteen powerlifters (18–26 years) were randomized into either a group that trained and competed using compressive gear (CG) or without the gear (NON). Training volume, volume progression, and powerlifting performance were assessed before and after 10 weeks of training. Training volume increased in the first 4 weeks for both groups. Volume lifted for squat and the totals were greater in the CG. There was an increase in squat (19.05 ± 30.97 lb, p = 0.02), deadlift (19.05 ± 21.17 lb, p = 0.001), and the total score (44.00 ± 60.44 lb, p = 0.005) for both the groups. The improvements in squat (CG = 33.85 vs. NON = 5.74, p = 0.07) and totals (CG = 66.59 vs. NON = 23.67, p = 0.15) were greater in the CG. Both groups showed a significant and similar increase in the Wilks scores (+13.54 points, p = 0.03). There was a trend toward greater volume progression in those wearing CG during the initial stages of training. Both the groups significantly improved performance for the squat, and deadlift, and had higher totals, and Wilks scores, indicating significant strength gains. The greater magnitude of improvements in the squat and totals for the CG lifters suggests an ergogenic potential of training with powerlifting gear.
Managing Strategies at Beijing Olympic Catering Services Project

This research uses the case study method to analyze strategic management practices for the Beijing Olympic Catering Services Project. The data from this research were collected through observations and interviews of the management team. Through a systematic approach, the study reports on management practices reflected in strategic moves, management structure, human resources, purchasing, operation controls, and food safety in a shortterm joint-venture project. It is hoped that this study provides insights for future mega-event catering-service projects.
A Metric for The Activeness of an Object Oriented Component Library

In this paper, an attempt has been made to analyze the Activeness of an Object Oriented Component Library and develop a special type of software metric called Component Activeness Quotient which is defined as the degree of readiness of an OOCL. The advantages of the CAQ include a possible comparison between various OOCLs leading to selection of the best OOCL for use during the development task, and Stability of the software can be gauged as indicated by the value of the CAQ. The disadvantage of the CAQ is that it may have some error because of its subjective and random nature. The paper also tries to improvise the calculation of the Activeness Quotient. The extreme case of a software organization having an RQ greater than 1 and MQ equal to 0 was not handled by the method of taking an average of RQ and MQ to calculate the AQ. The improvisation is that the AQ must be equal to a product of MQ and RQ and this is mentioned in the Appendix.
Change and Stability in Childhood Clique Membership, Isolation From Cliques, and Associated Child Characteristics

This study explored the role of clique membership and clique isolation in children's psychosocial adjustment. We identified change and stability in early elementary school clique membership and investigated behavioral characteristics related to this change and stability. Participants were first-grade pupils (N = 300), followed over a 1-year period. Clique membership was identified through social network analysis. Differences between children with a stable versus changing clique membership status were tested using peer nominations and teacher ratings. Clique members were better adjusted than nonclique members. Externalizing behavior, less prosocial behavior, and low social preference preceded clique estrangement. Stable-isolates increased in externalizing behavior, whereas children who became part of a dyad or included in a clique showed a decrease in externalizing behavior.
CHINESE PINYIN INPUT METHOD FOR MOBILE PHONE Feng

Chinese input method is one of the most difficult problems in Chinese Language Processing. And to input Chinese word in mobile phone effectively is an even bigger challenge. In this paper, we propose a new Chinese pinyin input method in mobile phone. This method uses a compact statistical bigram based language model. Also, to meet the special requirements of Chinese pinyin input in mobile phone, we introduce some new features for the search engine and user interface of our system.
Deal or no deal

Purpose – Information typically posted on group buying websites includes number of previous buyers, whether a limit has been placed on purchase number, and the time remaining until the deal expires. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that these factors may interact such that, under certain circumstances, purchase likelihood is reduced.Design/methodology/approach – The paper first examines actual online data; the authors then follow this with a 2×2×2 experiment in which they demonstrate psychological process.Findings – Providing previous‐buyer‐number information can have a positive effect on a consumer's decision to purchase at an online group buying website (e.g. Groupon). Imposing a purchase limit can increase these positive effects, but providing information on time‐to‐expiration (if it is relatively long) can negate the effects. Both perceived value and anticipated regret are found to be mediating factors.Research limitations/implications – It is possible that effects may be attenuated as a re.