Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Eversion Bile Duct Anastomosis: A Safe Alternative for Bile Duct Size Discrepancy in Deceased Donor Liver Transplantation

Bile duct size discrepancy in liver transplantation may increase the risk of biliary complications (BCs). The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety and outcomes of the eversion bile duct anastomosis technique in deceased donor liver transplantation (DDLT) with duct‐to‐duct anastomosis. A total of 210 patients who received a DDLT with duct‐to‐duct anastomosis from 2012 to 2017 were divided into 2 groups: those who had eversion bile duct anastomosis (n = 70) and those who had standard bile duct anastomosis (n = 140). BC rates were compared between the 2 groups. There was no difference in the cumulative incidence of biliary strictures (P = 0.20) and leaks (P = 0.17) between the 2 groups. The BC rate in the eversion group was 14.3% and 11.4% in the standard anastomosis group. All the BCs in the eversion group were managed with endoscopic stenting. A severe size mismatch (≥3:1 ratio) was associated with a significantly higher incidence of biliary strictures (44.4%) compared with a 2:1 ratio (8.2%; P = 0.002). In conclusion, the use of the eversion technique is a safe alternative for bile duct discrepancy in DDLT. However, severe bile duct size mismatch may be a risk factor for biliary strictures with such a technique.
Notice of RetractionEmpirical Analysis on the Volatility Transmission of RMB Exchange Rate Under the 2007 Subprime Crisis

Since the reform of RMB exchange rate regime in 2005, RMB exchange rate is much more flexible and volatile. The status and influence of RMB are greater with the sustained growth of Chinese economy. This paper investigates the international linkage between RMB exchange rate and other currency exchange rates, especially Asian currencies using the multivariate GARCH model. To investigate the impact of the financial crisis caused by the subprime crisis, we divide the sample into two parts: pre-crisis period and crisis period. Finally, we find that there is evidently shock transmission of RMB during the crisis and give a few concluding remarks and some suggestions for future research on volatility transmission of RMB exchange rate under empirical analysis.
Effects of the Brown Seaweed Laminaria japonica Supplementation on Serum Concentrations of IgG, Triglycerides, and Cholesterol, and Intestinal Microbiota Composition in Rats

The intestinal microbial communities play critical roles in various aspects of body function of the host. Prebiotics, such as dietary fiber, can affect health of the host by altering the composition of intestinal microbiota. Although brown seaweed Laminaria japonica is rich in dietary fiber, studies on its prebiotic potential are quite rare. In this study, basal diet (control), basal diet supplemented with dried L. japonica (DLJ), heat-treated dried L. japonica (HLJ), or heated dried L. japonica with added fructooligosaccharide (FHLJ) was fed to rats for 16 weeks. Serum concentrations of IgG, triglyceride, and cholesterol were measured. In addition, the intestinal microbiota composition was analyzed by high-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA gene. As compared to the control group, DLJ, HLJ, and FHLJ groups showed significantly higher serum IgG concentration, but had lower weight gain and serum triglyceride concentration. Moreover, DLJ, HLJ, and FHLJ groups showed lower Fimicutes to Bacteroidetes ratio when compared with the control group. As compared with the control group, obesity-associated bacterial genera (Allobaculum, Turicibacter, Coprobacillus, Mollicute, and Oscilibacter), and the genera with pathogenic potentials (Mollicute, Bacteroides, Clostridium, Escherichia, and Prevotella) decreased while leanness-associated genera (Alistipes, Bacteroides, and Prevotella), and lactic acid bacterial genera (Subdoligranulum, Streptococcus, Lactobacillus, Enterococcus, and Bifidobacterium) increased in all treatment groups. On the contrary, butyric acid producing genera including Subdoligranulum, Roseburia, Eubacterium, Butyrivibrio, and Anaerotruncus increased significantly only in FHLJ group. The overall results support multiple prebiotic effects of seaweed L. japonica on rats as determined by body weight reduction, enhanced immune response, and desirable changes in intestinal microbiota composition, suggesting the great potential of L. japonica as an effective prebiotic for promotion of host metabolism and reduction of obesity in humans.
Dual-Scheduler Design for C/U-Plane Decoupled Railway Wireless Networks

Previously, we have proposed a C/U-plane (Control/User plane) decoupled railway wireless network in which higher frequency bands are adopted by small cells to provide wider available spectra for the U-plane of passengers’ services. In order to guarantee reliable connectivity to wayside eNodeBs (eNBs), an onboard mobile relay (MR), consisting of two components, namely, MR-UE (User Equipment) and MR-AP (Access Point), is employed to forward passengers’ services over backhaul links between MR-UE and wayside eNBs. The remaining problem here is how to utilize spectra effectively and efficiently under this new configuration. Since a given wayside eNB hosts only one single accessed user most of the time, we design an additional uplink scheduler for the MR-UE to self-manage the usage of uplink resources, avoiding the complicated uplink grant procedure commonly used in the conventional cellular systems. Moreover, we develop eNB schedulers to coordinate the spectra in small cells. To deal with occasional multi-user scenarios, we propose an uplink scheduler switcher for the macro cell to judge which uplink scheduler should be activated. Furthermore, an uplink resource allocation scheme with high spectrum efficiency is deliberately designed for the new dual-scheduler configuration. Finally, we carry out theoretical analysis and numerical simulations to demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed scheme.
Examination of the Porosity in Reactive Air Brazed Joints by Ultrasonic Testing

Reactive air brazing (RAB) has been developed as a method to join ceramics and steel, using CuO as a reactive agent that interacts with the surface of the ceramic, enabling a wetting by the molten filler metal. A major benefit of this method is the fact that the joining process can be carried out in an ambient atmosphere, in contrast to active brazing processes, which need to be performed in a vacuum furnace. In the past, several investigations were conducted to improve the mechanical bonding properties for both methods. A sealed gas‐tightness is also important for innovative applications such as solid oxide fuel cells. In this regard, the reduction of porosity, which is necessary in order to achieve reproducible joints with a long lifetime, presents a challenge. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct fundamental analyses of the driving forces and mechanisms of the formation of voids in the interfacial area to guarantee a reliable joint quality. In this study, the authors used an ultrasonic testing method in the realm of the immersion technique to evaluate the porosity in brazements produced with varying process parameters. A major goal was to assess the influence of the cooling stage on the pore formation. The advantage of this non‐destructive method is the possibility to scan the entire joint area using just one scan. The investigations were flanked by SEM analyses on different cross‐sections.
Polynomial Curve Slope Compensation for Peak-Current-Mode-Controlled Power Converters

Linear ramp slope compensation (LRC) and quadratic slope compensation (QSC) are commonly implemented in peak-current-mode-controlled dc–dc converters in order to minimize subharmonic and chaotic oscillations. Both compensating schemes rely on the linearized state-space averaged model (LSSA) of the converter. The LSSA ignores the impact that switching actions have on the stability of converters. In order to include switching events, the nonlinear analysis method based on the Monodromy matrix was introduced to describe a complete-cycle stability. Analyses on analog-controlled dc–dc converters applying this method show that system stability is strongly dependent on the change of the derivative of the slope at the time of switching instant. However, in a mixed-signal-controlled system, the digitalization effect contributes differently to system stability. This paper shows a full complete-cycle stability analysis using this nonlinear analysis method, which is applied to a mixed-signal-controlled converter. Through this analysis, a generalized equation is derived that reveals for the first time the real boundary stability limits for LRC and QSC. Furthermore, this generalized equation allows the design of a new compensating scheme, which is able to increase system stability. The proposed scheme is called polynomial curve slope compensation (PCSC) and it is demonstrated that PCSC increases the stable margin by 30% compared to LRC and 20% to QSC. This outcome is proved experimentally by using an interleaved dc–dc converter that is built for this work.
Do Transit-Oriented Developments (TODs) and Established Urban Neighborhoods Have Similar Walking Levels in Hong Kong?

A sharp drop in physical activity and skyrocketing obesity rate has accompanied rapid urbanization in China. The urban planning concept of transit-oriented development (TOD) has been widely advocated in China to promote physical activity, especially walking. Indeed, many design features thought to promote walking—e.g., mixed land use, densification, and well-connected street network—often characterize both TODs and established urban neighborhoods. Thus, it is often assumed that TODs have similar physical activity benefits as established urban neighborhoods. To verify this assumption, this study compared walking behaviors in established urban neighborhoods and transit-oriented new towns in Hong Kong. To address the limitation of self-selection bias, we conducted a study using Hong Kong citywide public housing scheme, which assigns residents to different housing estates by flat availability and family size rather than personal preference. The results show new town residents walked less for transportation purpose than urban residents. New town residents far from the transit station (800–1200 m) walked less for recreational purpose than TOD residents close to a rail transit station (<400 m) or urban residents. The observed disparity in walking behaviors challenges the common assumption that TOD and established urban neighborhoods have similar impact on walking behavior. The results suggest the necessity for more nuanced planning strategies, taking local-level factors into account to promote walking of TOD residents who live far from transit stations.
Wall thinning defect estimation using pulsed IR thermography in transmission mode

A method to determine wall thinning defect depths using the peak contrast slope method based on the transmission mode of pulsed IR thermography is presented. An analytical one-dimensional model of transient heat diffusion is used to deduce the proportionality factor between the time at peak contrast and the defect depth for a wide range of defect depths. The method has been corroborated with finite element model-based simulations. Experimental validation was carried out for four defect depths in steel.
Protein Kinase C (cid:2) Affects Ca 2 (cid:3) Mobilization and NFAT Cell Activation in Primary Mouse T Cells

Protein kinase C (PKC) (cid:2) is an established component of the immunological synapse and has been implicated in the control of AP-1 and NF- (cid:4) B. To study the physiological function of PKC (cid:2) , we used gene targeting to generate a PKC (cid:2) null allele in mice. Consistently, interleukin 2 production and T cell proliferative responses were strongly reduced in PKC (cid:2) -deficient T cells. Surprisingly, however, we demonstrate that after CD3/CD28 engagement, deficiency of PKC (cid:2) primarily abrogates NFAT transactivation. In contrast, NF- (cid:4) B activation was only partially reduced. This NFAT transactivation defect appears to be secondary to reduced inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate generation and intracellular Ca 2 (cid:3) mobilization. Our finding suggests that PKC (cid:2) plays a critical and nonredundant role in T cell receptor–induced NFAT activation. system as previously described (22). Nanomolar values of cytoplasmic Ca 2 (cid:3) concentration were calculated from the ratios of background subtracted images (excitation wavelength 350 and 385 nm, emis-sion wavelength 510 nm) according to the calibration procedure and equations previously described (23). Experiments have been performed at least four times with similar outcomes. Inositol 1,4,5-Trisphosphate (IP 3 ) Measurement. Mature CD3 (cid:3) T cells were stimulated by cross-linking of CD3 as described above. The stimulations were terminated by the addition of ice cold TCA followed by 15 min of incubation on ice. The samples were centrifuged at 1,400 g at 4 (cid:19) C for 15 min, and the supernatant was extracted with 10 vol water-saturated diethyl ether neutralized with 1 M NaHCO 3 . IP 3 was quantitated in duplicate samples using a competitive [ 3 H]IP 3 binding assay (Amersham Biosciences) according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Experiments have been performed at least three times in duplicates with similar outcomes.
Infinitesimal Weak Rigidity, Formation Control of Three Agents, and Extension to 3-dimensional Space

In this paper, we introduce new concepts of weak rigidity matrix and infinitesimal weak rigidity for planar frameworks. The weak rigidity matrix is used to directly check if a framework is infinitesimally weakly rigid while previous work can check a weak rigidity of a framework indirectly. An infinitesimal weak rigidity framework can be uniquely determined up to a translation and a rotation (and a scaling also when the framework does not include any edge) by its inter-neighbor distances and angles. We apply the new concepts to a three-agent formation control problem with a gradient control law, and prove instability of the control system at any incorrect equilibrium point and convergence to a desired target formation. Also, we propose a modified Henneberg construction, which is a technique to generate minimally rigid (or weakly rigid) graphs. Finally, we extend the concept of the weak rigidity in R^2 to the concept in R^3.
Working Together: Contributions of Corpus Analyses and Experimental Psycholinguistics to Understanding Conversation

As conversation is the most important way of using language, linguists and psychologists should combine forces to investigate how interlocutors deal with the cognitive demands arising during conversation. Linguistic analyses of corpora of conversation are needed to understand the structure of conversations, and experimental work is indispensable for understanding the underlying cognitive processes. We argue that joint consideration of corpus and experimental data is most informative when the utterances elicited in a lab experiment match those extracted from a corpus in relevant ways. This requirement to compare like with like seems obvious but is not trivial to achieve. To illustrate this approach, we report two experiments where responses to polar (yes/no) questions were elicited in the lab and the response latencies were compared to gaps between polar questions and answers in a corpus of conversational speech. We found, as expected, that responses were given faster when they were easy to plan and planning could be initiated earlier than when they were harder to plan and planning was initiated later. Overall, in all but one condition, the latencies were longer than one would expect based on the analyses of corpus data. We discuss the implication of this partial match between the data sets and more generally how corpus and experimental data can best be combined in studies of conversation.
HSET overexpression fuels tumor progression via centrosome clustering-independent mechanisms in breast cancer patients

Human breast tumors harbor supernumerary centrosomes in almost 80% of tumor cells. Although amplified centrosomes compromise cell viability via multipolar spindles resulting in death-inducing aneuploidy, cancer cells tend to cluster extra centrosomes during mitosis. As a result cancer cells display bipolar spindle phenotypes to maintain a tolerable level of aneuploidy, an edge to their survival. HSET/KifC1, a kinesin-like minus-end directed microtubule motor has recently found fame as a crucial centrosome clustering molecule. Here we show that HSET promotes tumor progression via mechanisms independent of centrosome clustering. We found that HSET is overexpressed in breast carcinomas wherein nuclear HSET accumulation correlated with histological grade and predicted poor progression-free and overall survival. In addition, deregulated HSET protein expression was associated with gene amplification and/or translocation. Our data provide compelling evidence that HSET overexpression is pro-proliferative, promotes clonogenic-survival and enhances cell-cycle kinetics through G2 and M-phases. Importantly, HSET co-immunoprecipitates with survivin, and its overexpression protects survivin from proteasome-mediated degradation, resulting in its increased steady-state levels. We provide the first evidence of centrosome clustering-independent activities of HSET that fuel tumor progression and firmly establish that HSET can serve both as a potential prognostic biomarker and as a valuable cancer-selective therapeutic target.
Massive CSI Acquisition for Dense Cloud-RANs With Spatial-Temporal Dynamics

Dense cloud radio access networks (cloud-RANs) provide a promising way to enable scalable connectivity and handle diversified service requirements for massive mobile devices. To fully exploit the performance gains of dense cloud-RANs, channel state information of both the signal link and interference links is required. However, with limited radio resources for training, the channel estimation problem in dense cloud-RANs becomes a high-dimensional estimation problem, i.e., the number of measurements will be typically smaller than the dimension of the channel. In this paper, we shall develop a generic high-dimensional structured channel estimation framework for dense cloud-RANs, which is based on a convex structured regularizing formulation. Observing that the wireless channel possesses ample exploitable statistical characteristics, we propose to convert the available spatial and temporal prior information into appropriate convex regularizers. Simulation results demonstrate that exploiting the spatial and temporal dynamics can achieve good estimation performance even with limited training resources. The alternating direction method of multipliers algorithm is further adopted to solve the resultant large-scale high-dimensional channel estimation problems. The proposed framework thus enjoys modeling flexibility, low training overhead, and computation cost scalability.
The Comparison of Several Kinds of Permutation Entropy

Permutation entropy is widely used in medical, biological, mechanical, image processing and other fields, especially fault diagnosis. The permutation entropy (PE) is used to evaluate the complexity and randomicity of the time series. The multiscale permutation entropy (MPE) is an improvement method of PE and is often used to evaluate the time series of physiological systems and mechanical systems. Both of them have the advantages of simplicity, noise robustness and low computational complexity. A modified multiscale permutation entropy (MMPE) that the mean value is replaced by the median value is proposed in this paper. The PE, MPE and MMPE of different signals are compared. Simulation results show that MMPE is more stable than MPE for the high-frequency signal.
On the Origin and Evolutionary History of NANOG

Though pluripotency is well characterized in mammals, many questions remain to be resolved regarding its evolutionary history. A necessary prerequisite for addressing this issue is to determine the phylogenetic distributions and orthology relationships of the transcription factor families sustaining or modulating this property. In mammals, the NANOG homeodomain transcription factor is one of the core players in the pluripotency network. However, its evolutionary history has not been thoroughly studied, hindering the interpretation of comparative studies. To date, the NANOG family was thought to be monogenic, with numerous pseudogenes described in mammals, including a tandem duplicate in Hominidae. By examining a wide-array of craniate genomes, we provide evidence that the NANOG family arose at the latest in the most recent common ancestor of osteichthyans and that NANOG genes are frequently found as tandem duplicates in sarcopterygians and as a single gene in actinopterygians. Their phylogenetic distribution is thus reminiscent of that recently shown for Class V POU paralogues, another key family of pluripotency-controlling factors. However, while a single ancestral duplication has been reported for the Class V POU family, we suggest that multiple independent duplication events took place during evolution of the NANOG family. These multiple duplications could have contributed to create a layer of complexity in the control of cell competence and pluripotency, which could explain the discrepancies relative to the functional evolution of this important gene family. Further, our analysis does not support the hypothesis that loss of NANOG and emergence of the preformation mode of primordial germ cell specification are causally linked. Our study therefore argues for the need of further functional comparisons between NANOG paralogues, notably regarding the novel duplicates identified in sauropsids and non-eutherian mammals.
Control/User Plane Decoupled Architecture Utilizing Unlicensed Bands in LTE Systems

The explosive growth of wireless traffic demands and the shortage of licensed spectra motivate us to explore the utilization of unlicensed bands (including mmWave bands and opened licensed bands of other wireless systems for the future) in LTE systems, so-called LTE-U. However, since unlicensed spectra are normally distributed over high-frequency bands and may suffer from random and uncontrollable interference, there are many research challenges for LTE-U systems ahead. To tackle these challenges, we propose a C/U decoupled system architecture for LTE-U systems, which has the advantages of lower complexity, higher flexibility, higher reliability, and higher system capacity. Specifically, we first design a framework and the corresponding system procedures for our proposed C/U decoupled LTE-U systems, including network architecture, frame structure, and centralized resource management procedure. Then we put forward the corresponding enabling and supporting technologies to solve the research challenges, including frequent inter-microcell handoffs, available unlicensed spectrum harvesting, and quality of service guarantee for traffic with high reliability requirements. We also conduct a simulation study to demonstrate the performance gain of the unlicensed spectra transmissions in our proposed LTE-U systems. Finally, we discuss several remaining research challenges, which could be potential topics for future research.