Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Transarterial (chemo)embolisation for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma.

BACKGROUND Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) results in more than 600,000 deaths per year. Transarterial embolisation (TAE) and transarterial chemoembolisation (TACE) have become standard loco-regional treatments for unresectable HCC. OBJECTIVES To assess the beneficial and harmful effects of TACE or TAE. SEARCH STRATEGY We searched The Cochrane Hepato-Biliary Group Controlled Trials Register, The Cochrane Cancer Network register, The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) in The Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, EMBASE, Science Citation Index Expanded, and The Latin American Caribbean Health Sciences Literature (LILACS) from dates of inceptions up to September 2010. SELECTION CRITERIA We considered for inclusion all randomised trials that compared TACE or TAE versus placebo, sham, or no intervention. Co-interventions were allowed if comparable between intervention groups. Trials with inadequate randomisation were excluded. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS For all-cause mortality, we calculated the log hazard ratio (HR) with standard error as point estimate and pooled them for meta-analysis using the inverse variance method. Sub-group analyses were performed regarding intervention regimen, trial truncation, or co-interventions. We validated the results with trial sequential analyses. We used random-effects model in all meta-analyses in anticipation of statistical heterogeneity among the trials. MAIN RESULTS We included nine trials with 645 participants. Six trials assessed TACE versus control and three trials assessed TAE versus control. Seven trials had low risk of selection bias based on adequate generation of allocation sequence and concealment - but all these trials had other risks of bias. Three trials were stopped early due to interim inspections and one due to slow accrual. For all-cause mortality, statistical heterogeneity between trials was low to moderate (I(2)= 30%). Meta-analysis of trials with low risk of selection bias showed that TACE or TAE versus control does not significantly increase survival (HR 0.88; 95% CI 0.71 to 1.10). Two trials with low risk of selection bias, no early stopping, and no co-intervention did not establish any significant effect of TACE or TAE on overall survival (hazard ratio 1.22, 95% confidence interval 0.82 to 1.83; P = 0.33). Trial sequential analysis confirmed the absence of evidence for a beneficial effect of TACE or TAE on survival indicating the need for future randomisation of up to 383 additional participants. Substantial differences in criteria for assessing tumour response did not allow quantitative analyses. One trial investigated quality of life but did not detect any significant differences between the intervention groups. A range of adverse events including post-embolisation syndrome and serious complications were reported. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS There is no firm evidence to support or refute TACE or TAE for patients with unresectable HCC. More adequately powered and bias-protected trials are needed.
Mapping customers' service experience for operations improvement

The growing importance of the service sector in almost every economy in the world has created a significant amount of interest in service operations. In practice, many service sectors have sought and made use of various enhancement programs to improve their operations and performance in an attempt to hold competitive success. As most researchers recognize, service operations link with customers. The customers as participants act in the service operations system driven by the goal of sufficing his/her added values. This is one of the distinctive features of service production and consumption. In the paper, first, we propose the idea of service operations improvement by mapping objectively the service experience of customers from the view of customer journey. Second, a portraying scheme of service experience of customers based on the IDEF3 technique is proposed, and last, some implications on service operations improvement are given.
Structure-activity correlationship and folding of recombinant Escherichia coli dihydro folate reductase (DHFR) enzyme through biochemical and biophysical approaches

The design of any antagonist or inhibitor for any enzyme requires the knowledge of structure- function relationship of the protein and the optimum conformational states for maximum and minimum activities. Furthermore, designing of the inhibitors or drugs against an enzyme becomes easier if there is information available about various well characterized intermediate conformation of the molecule. In vivo folding pathway of any recombinant protein is an important parameter for understanding its ability to fold by itself inside the cell, which always dictates the downstream processing for the purification. In the present manuscript we have discussed about the in vivo and in vitro folding, and structure-function relationship of Dihydrofolate reductase enzyme. This is an important enzyme involved in the cell growth and hence inhibition or inactivation of the enzyme may reduce the cell growth. It was observed that the equilibrium unfolding transition of DHFR proceeds through the formation of intermediates having higher exposed surface hydrophobicity, unchanged enzymatic activity and minimum changes in the secondary structural elements. Because of enhanced surface hydrophobicity, and unchanged enzymatic activity, these intermediates could be a nice target for designing drugs against DHFR.
Flexible Plasmonics on Unconventional and Nonplanar Substrates

Flexible plasmonics and metamaterials on polymeric and nonplanar substrates are demonstrated using nanostencil lithography. High-resolution fabrication with 10 nm accuracy is achieved at high throughput and low cost in a single fabrication step. Optical tuning is shown with mechanical stretching of the polymer substrate. Patterning of nanostructures on curved surfaces, including optical fibers, is demonstrated.
ANN element characterization for reflectarray antenna optimization

In this paper, artificial neural networks (ANNs) for modelling reflectarray periodic element is evaluated. A reflectarray antenna based on a 3-layer stacked patch element is chosen. Every element in the reflectarray must shift the phase of the reflection coefficient a given amount to obtain the prescribed radiation diagram. Different shifts are obtained from different geometrical configuration of the reflectarray element. Then, optimizing a whole reflectarray involves a large number of full wave electromagnetic (EM) computations. ANNs are found to represent the complex reflection coefficient of the reflectarray element as a function of the geometrical parameter, the incident angle and the frequency. A good agreement is achieved between the ANN outputs and the EM solver solutions by Method of Moment (MoM). Using ANNs in place of full wave EM simulation is proposed for reducing the time in optimization purposes.
Thermodynamic and structural description of allosterically regulated VEGF receptor 2 dimerization

Maurice S. Brozzo, Saša Bjelić, Kaisa Kisko, Thomas Schleier, Veli-Matti Leppänen, Kari Alitalo, Fritz K. Winkler and Kurt Ballmer-Hofer Paul Scherrer Institut, Molecular Cell Biology and Biomolecular Research CH-5232 Villigen PSI, Switzerland; Molecular Cancer Biology Program, Biomedicum Helsinki, Department of Pathology, Haartman Institute and Helsinki University Central Hospital, P.O. B. 63, (Haartmaninkatu 8), 00014 University of Helsinki, Finland 1 These authors contributed equally to this work. 2 To whom correspondence should be addressed: Kurt Ballmer-Hofer, Paul Scherrer Institut, Biomolecular Research, Molecular Cell Biology, CH-5232 Villigen PSI, Switzerland; e-mail: kurt.ballmer@psi.ch; phone: +4156 3104165; fax: +4156 3105288
Diagnosis of Coronary Artery Disease using Cuckoo Search and genetic algorithm in single photon emision computed tomography images

Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) is a kind of cardiovascular disease and a heart attack is the first sign of CAD. Cardiac SPECT is one of the efficient methods to diagnose the disease. Plaque buildup in the walls of the arteries causes CAD and makes them narrow over time. Therefore, one of the most important issues is automating of CAD early detection. In the literature, various classification methods have been presented. Also, a lot of feature selection techniques have been developed to reduce the high dimension of extracted features of images in SPECT. In this paper, a method has been proposed for early diagnosis of CAD from SPECT heart images. The Cuckoo Search and Genetic algorithm are employed for selecting the optimal set of features which can lessen feature vector dimension from 44 to 5 features. Detection rate of 77.19% is obtained by using Bagging algorithm for classifying SPECT data. Results show the proposed method has high performance comparing with other recently researches.
mGlu5 negative allosteric modulators: a patent review (2010 – 2012)

Introduction: The design and development of small molecule negative allosteric modulators (NAMs) of the metabotropic glutamate receptor subtype 5 (mGlu5) has been an area of intense interest for over a decade. Potential roles have been established for mGlu5 NAMs in the treatment of diseases such as pain, anxiety, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), Parkinson's disease levodopa-induced dyskinesia (PD-LID), fragile X syndrome (FXS), autism, addiction, and depression. Areas covered: This review begins with an update of the clinical trial efforts with mGlu5 NAMs. Following that update, the review summarizes small molecule mGlu5 NAM patent applications published between 2010 and 2012. These summaries are subdivided into three separate groups: inventions related to improvements in drug properties and/or developability, new chemical entities that contain a disubstituted alkyne, and new chemical entities that do not contain a disubstituted alkyne. Expert opinion: Given the abundant promise found within the mGlu5 NAM field, optimism remains that a drug will emerge from this therapeutic class. Still, the launch of a new drug is far from a certainty. It is encouraging to observe the ever-increasing chemical diversity among mGlu5 NAMs. Finally, in spite of the mature nature of this field, room remains for new advancements.
Comparison of localized proton NMR signals of skeletal muscle and fat tissue in vivo: Two lipid compartments in muscle tissue

In vivo 1H NMR spectra of small volumes‐of‐interest (VOI) were localized in human soleus muscle (8 ml) and compared with volume selective spectra of subcutaneous fat tissue and femoral yellow bone marrow (2 ml). All examinations were performed by the double spin echo (PRESS) localization technique. To provide comparability, spectra of different tissues were recorded using identical sequence timing. Clearly improved resolution of the lipid signals of muscle tissue was obtained using long echo times TE > 200 ms. The spectra of muscle tissue exhibit lipid signals that stem from two compartments with a difference of their resonance frequencies of about 0.2 ppm (Larmor frequency difference 12‐13 Hz at 1.5 T). The existence of two fatty acid compartments is supported by measurements of the relaxation times and line shape analysis. Both compartments contain fatty acids or triglycerides with similar composition. Probably one compartment corresponds to fat cells within muscle tissue, the other compartment with lower Larmor frequency is located within muscle cells.
Computability of solutions of operator equations

We study operator equations within the Turing machine based framework for computability in analysis. Is there an algorithm that maps pairs (T, u) (where T is given in form of a program) to solutions of Tx = u ? Here we consider the case when T is a bounded linear mapping between Hilbert spaces. We are in particular interested in computing the generalized inverse T†u, which is the standard concept of solution in the theory of inverse problems. Typically, T† is discontinuous (i. e. the equation Tx = u is ill‐posed) and hence no computable mapping. However, we will use effective versions of theorems from the theory of regularization to show that the mapping (T, T *, u, ‖T†u ‖) ↦ T†u is computable. We then go on to study the computability of average‐case solutions with respect to Gaussian measures which have been considered in information based complexity. Here, T† is considered as an element of an L2‐space. We define suitable representations for such spaces and use the results from the first part of the paper to show that (T, T *, ‖T†‖ L 2 ) ↦ T† is computable. (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Real‐time geometric distortion correction for interventional imaging with echo‐planar imaging (EPI)

Many MR‐guided interventional procedures rely on fast imaging sequences for providing images in real‐time with a precise relation between the target position in the image and its true position. Echo‐planar imaging (EPI) methods are very fast but prone to geometric distortions. Here, we propose a correction method designed for real‐time conditions, adapting existing approaches based on dual EPI acquisition with varying echo times. The method is demonstrated with MR‐thermometry for guiding thermal therapies. The proposed approach imposes a small penalty in acquisition speed but adds negligible latency to data processing, an important element for interventions of mobile organs. Magn Reson Med, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
High prevalence of kidney disease in two rural communities in Kosovo and Metohia

A systematic survey was carried out in an enclave in Kosovo and Metohia, with the aim of assessing the prevalence of kidney diseases. The survey involved 423 (180 males) adult inhabitants from two small settlements, Velika Hoča and Orahovac, and included an interview, medical documentation, physical, ultrasound, and laboratory examinations. Persons with any detected disorder indicating kidney disease were invited for additional examination of kidney function. Using urine dipstick test, proteinuria was detected in 19.1% and hemoglobinuria in 4.5% of the examined subjects. Glomerular filtration rate (Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) formula) below 60 mL/min/1.73 m2 was found in 5.2% of subjects. Kidney ultrasound examination detected reduced length of right and left kidneys in 38 and 24 persons, respectively. Cysts were also a frequent finding, but polycystic kidney, hydronephrosis, and kidney stones were found in about 2% each. The analysis of data obtained by the present examination and available medical documentation revealed kidney and urinary tract diseases in 98 persons: 52 patients with already known disease and 46 patients detected in the survey. Out of them in 22 patients diagnosis of kidney disease could not be established during the survey but laboratory analyses indicated that they might suffer from tubulointerstitial disease: 14 had tubular dysfunctions, 8 of them low-grade proteinuria, and 12 had a positive family history for kidney disease. In the enclave of Velika Hoča and Orahovac the prevalence of kidney disease was 7.0% indicating that these communities might be placed among those with a high prevalence of kidney disease in Serbia.
Visual consciousness explained by its impairments.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW The scientific study of the visual consciousness has been marked by significant recent achievements, resulting from an interaction between the exploration of cognition in both brain-damaged patients and healthy individuals. Several neuropsychological syndromes contain marked dissociations which permit the identification of principles related to the neurophysiology of consciousness. The generality of these principles can then be evaluated in healthy individuals using a combination of experimental psychology paradigms, and functional brain-imaging tools. RECENT FINDINGS In this article, I review major findings originating from the exploration of neuropsychological syndromes such as 'blindsight', visual form agnosia, optic ataxia, and neglect, and explain how they can be accounted for by a 'global workspace' model. SUMMARY These results constitute important constraints for neural theories of consciousness, and they are crucial to help clinicians handle patients affected with complex neurovisual disorders.
MobiCrowd: simulating crowds with periodic and social mobility

In this paper we develop a novel crowd simulation framework, MobiCrowd, which aims to generate agent-based collective flocking behaviors with periodic and social mobility. The underlying scenario is that the behaviors of people an urban area are governed by two fundamental factors: (a) spatial-temporal daily routines: stay/sleep at home, work in offices, and move between homes and offices, and (b) social interaction: those acquainted with each other might move together. MobiCrowd is proposed to simulate and produce the real-world phenomenon of human movements, and provide a platform to study urban dynamics and could be used in online games and animation industry.
Raman study of anorthite , calcium Tschermak ' s pyroxene , and gehlenite in crystalline and glassy states

Raman spectra are reported for crystalline anorthite (An), calcium Tschermak's pyroxene (CaTs), gehlenite (Geh), and glasses of CaAl2Si2Os (An), CaAlAlSiO6 (CaTs), and CazAlAlSiOz (Geh) composition. A small degree of Si-Al disorder in anorthite is indicated by the presence of weak Si-O-Si antisymmetric stretching modes in its spectrum. The spectrum of the glass of An composition closely resembles that of crystalline An. This correspondence indicates that the predominant species in An glass is composed of a random network of four-membered rings of TOa tetrahedra (where T : Si or Al). The spectra of glasses of CaTs and Geh compositions do not resemble the spectra of their respective crystals. In the spectrum of glass of CaTs composition the y,(T-O-T) band appears at lower frequency (-564 cm-') than the z"(T-O-T) band of crystalline CaTs (651 cm-'). The 2,,(T-O-T) bands in the 900-1200 cm-r region are also at lower frequencies and are relatively stronger than the zu,(T-O-T) bands in the glass of An composition. The lower frequency of the zu,(T-O-T) is due to an increase in Al/Si from I in An glass to 2 in CaTs glass. The increase in the relative intensity of the zu,(T-O-T) bands is due to nonbridging oxygens. The presence of free Ca2* ions, and possibly a small amount of Al3* in six-fold coordination, is responsible for these nonbridging oxygens in the glass. In the spectrum of glass of Geh composition the z,(T-O-T) band appears at lower frequency (552 cm-t) than in the spectrum of crystalline Geh (626 cm-r). The shift of the band toward lower frequencies in the spectrum of the glass of Geh composition indicates that most of the Al3+ ions are tetrahedrally coordinated and act as network formers. A strong band at -896 cm-rin the spectrum of Geh glass is attributed to the presence of an appreciable amount of SiOXgroups in the glass network. The structure of glass of Geh composition is thus highly polymerized with CaAlzOr present in the network. The 0.33 nonbridging oxygen per network-forming cation (Si-Al), as required by the stoichiometry of the glass to charge-balance the Ca2* ion, exists in the form of SiOXgroups in the glass network.
A homolog of human transcription factor NF-X1 encoded by the Drosophila shuttle craft gene is required in the embryonic central nervous system

NF-X1 is a novel cytokine-inducible transcription factor that has been implicated in the control of immune responses in humans, presumably by regulating expression of class II major histocompatibility genes. Here we report the cloning and genetic characterization of the first reported NF-X1 homolog, which is encoded by the Drosophila melanogaster shuttle craft (stc) gene. The deduced sequence of the fly and human proteins defines a new family of molecules distinguished by a novel cysteine-rich DNA-binding motif (consisting of seven copies of the consensus sequence Cx3Cx3LxCGx0-5HxCx3CHxGxCx2Cx7-9CxC). We have identified and begun a phenotypic characterization of mutations in the stc gene. stc mutants die at the end of embryogenesis, when they appear to be incapable of coordinating the typical peristaltic contraction waves normally required for embryos to hatch into feeding first instar larvae. Preliminary evidence indicates that the resulting lethality of this behavioral defect is accompanied by subtle morphological abnormalities in the central nervous system, where in wild-type embryos, STC protein is normally localized in the nuclei of repeated cell clusters within each neuromere and brain lobe. Thus, the NF-X1 homolog encoded by the Drosophila stc gene defines a new family of putative transcription factors and plays an essential role in the completion of embryonic development. This study presents the first in vivo genetic analysis of a member of this new protein family.
The Research of Distributed Remote Digital Control Experimental Teaching System

Students in industrial control need to learn design and analyze their own experiments. In train of system design, the tutor cannot guide every student. This paper describes a computer-based approach applied to a laboratory course in industrial control systems. Based on PC-LabCard and intranet, experimental teaching system have been developed. Students can thus acquire experience in the real behaviour of the various industrial-type subsystems. Teaching system allows students to build experiments on their own design. The tutor monitors the course and results in real time. The experiment become standard for every trainer. The system provided interactive tools for understanding complex concepts.
A Large Infrared Shell Associated with BI Crucis

Spitzer IRAC and MIPS images reveal a large dust emission feature ~6′ in diameter which appears to be a shell in close proximity to, and perhaps physically related to, the D-type Mira symbiotic BI Cru. Smaller optical lobes are already known to be emanating from some symbiotics including BI Cru. However, this is the first extended structure found in the IR which is associated with a symbiotic Mira system. The IR shell of BI Cru is more than 5 times larger in arc size than the star’s optical lobe. Published distance estimates imply that the IR shell is ~4 to ~8 pc in diameter, which is larger than the largest optical lobe known to be associated with any Mira symbiotic system. The large disparity between its IR and optical shell sizes, along with what appear to be multiple intersecting arcs, suggest that BI Cru has undergone multiple mass-loss episodes. A trend of rapidly increasing brightness toward longer wavelengths, along with a much more diffuse structure at 70 μm than at shorter wavelengths, and suggests a greater abundance of relatively colder and older dust which may be the remnant of earlier mass outflows.