Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Assessing Noninferiority in Treatment Trials for Severe Infectious Diseases: an Extension to the Entire Follow-Up Period Using a Cure-Death Multistate Model

ABSTRACT In current and former clinical trials for the development of antibacterial drugs, various primary endpoints have been used, and treatment effects are evaluated mostly in noninferiority analyses at the end of follow-up, which varies between studies. A more convincing and highly patient-relevant statement would be a noninferiority assessment over the entire follow-up period with cure and death as coprimary endpoints, while preserving the desired alpha level for statistical testing. To account for the time-dynamic pattern of cure and death, we apply a cure-death multistate model. The endpoint of interest is “get cured and stay alive over time. ” Noninferiority between treatments over the entire follow-up period is studied by means of one-sided confidence bands provided by a flexible resampling technique. We illustrate the technique by applying it to a recently published study and establish noninferiority in being cured and alive over a time frame of interest for the entire population, patients with hospital-acquired pneumonia, but not for the subset of patients with ventilator-associated pneumonia. Our analysis improves the original results in the sense that our endpoint is more patient benefiting, a stronger noninferiority statement is demonstrated, and the time dependency of cure and death, competing events, and different follow-up times is captured. Multistate methodology combined with confidence bands adds a valuable statistical tool for clinical trials in the context of infection control. The framework is not restricted to the cure-death model but can be adapted to more complex multistate endpoints and equivalence or superiority analyses.
Progress in Epitaxial Growth and Performance of Quantum Dot and Quantum Wire Lasers

We report on interplay of epitaxial growth phenomena and device performance in quantum dot (QD) and quantum wire (QWW) lasers based on self-organized nanostructures. InAs QDs are the most explored model system for basic understanding of "near-ideal" QD devices. Vertically-coupled growth of QDs and activated phase separation allow ultimate QD wavefunction engineering enabling GaAs lasers beyond 1400 nm and polarization-insensitive optical amplification. A feasibility of QD semiconductor optical amplifiers at terabit frequencies using InAs QDs is manifested at 1300 and 1500 nm. 1250-1300 nm QD GaAs edge emitters and VCSELs operate beyond 10 Gb/s with ultimate temperature robustness. Furthermore, temperature-insensitive operation without current or modulation voltage adjustment at >20 Gb/s is demonstrated up to ~90 degC. Light-emitting devices based on InGaN-QDs cover ultraviolet (UV) and visible blue-green spectral ranges. In these applications, InN-rich nanodomains prevent diffusion of nonequilibrium carries towards crystal defects and result in advanced degradation robustness of the devices. All the features characteristic to QDs are unambiguously confirmed for InGaN structures. For the red spectral range InGaAlP lasers are used. Growth on misoriented surfaces, characteristic to these devices, leads to nano-periodi- cally-step-bunched epitaxial surfaces resulting in two principal effects: 1) step-bunch-assisted alloy phase separation, leading to a spontaneous formation of ordered natural super lattices; 2) formation of quantum wire-like structures in the active region of the device. A high degree of polarization is revealed in the luminescence recorded from the top surface of the structures, in agreement with the QWW nature of the gain medium. QD and QWW lasers are remaining at the frontier of the modern optoelectronics penetrating into the mainstream applications in key industries.
Policy-enabled handoffs across heterogeneous wireless networks

"Access is the killer app" is the vision of the Daedalus project at UC Berkeley. Being able to be connected seamlessly anytime anywhere to the best network still remains an unfulfilled goal. Often, even determining the "best" network is a challenging task because of the widespread deployment of overlapping wireless networks. We describe a policy-enabled handoff system that allows users to express policies on what is the "best" wireless system at any moment, and make tradeoffs among network characteristics and dynamics such as cost, performance and power consumption. We designed a performance reporting scheme estimating current network conditions, which serves as input to the policy specification. A primary goal of this work is to make it possible to balance the bandwidth load across networks with comparable performance. To avoid the problem of handoff instability, i.e., many mobile hosts making the same handoff decision at essentially the same time, we designed randomization into our mechanism. Given the current "best" network, our system determines whether the handoff is worthwhile based on the handoff overhead and potential network usage duration.
Drool Control: Long‐term Follow‐up

This study reports the long‐term follow‐up of a group of severely retarded cerebral‐ palsied children who were conditioned to control their oral drooling by means of an electronic device and shaping and conditioning procedures. Improvement was maintained in these children at nine months, and a larger group of children who were trained by the same method attained significant improvement in drooling both at one week and at three months.
Allocation and access mechanisms for spectrum sharing in CRNs - a brief review

Radio spectrum perceives the need for a new paradigm considering its ineffectual use. With such an incentive, Cognitive Radio (CR) paved its way to exploit unused frequency bands in an opportunistic fashion. CR extends different functionalities for its dynamic behavior amongst which spectrum sharing holds a significant place. This paper reviews the state-of-art proposals on the subject of spectrum sharing in CRN and presents an overview on the attributes of allocation and access mechanisms. Finally, it highlights some of the challenging issues for future research in this area.
Human Eosinophils Have an Intact Smad Signaling Pathway Leading to a Major Transforming Growth Factor-β Target Gene Expression

Background: There is a paradoxical finding that eosinophils are frequently accumulated at the sites of allergic inflammation where transforming growth factor (TGF)-β, a negative regulator of eosinophil survival, is upregulated; however, eosinophil accumulation is persistent. We thus hypothesized that eosinophils might have aberrant TGF-β signaling and be unresponsive to TGF-β. To test the hypothesis, we examined the expression and function of Smad proteins, which are central mediators for TGF-β signaling, in human eosinophils. Methods: Eosinophils were isolated from the peripheral blood of normal donors, and the expression and activation of endogenous Smad proteins were examined by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting. The Smad function in the transcription of the major TGF-β target gene Smad7 was investigated using a dominant negative form of Smad3. The effect of TGF-β on eosinophil survival was then evaluated by a cell viability assay using normal and asthmatic eosinophils. Results: Human eosinophils expressed mRNAs and proteins of TGF-β typeI and type II receptors, Smad2, Smad3 and Smad4. TGF-β induced the phosphorylation of Smad2 in eosinophils, which was blocked by SB431542, an inhibitor of TGF-β type I receptor kinase. A dominant negative Smad3 protein suppressed TGF-β-induced Smad7 mRNA expression in eosinophils. Finally, TGF-β prevented granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor- or interferon-γ-mediated survival of eosinophils obtained from asthmatic patients as well as normal subjects. Conclusion: Human eosinophils have an intact Smad signaling pathway leading to a major TGF-β target gene expression. Thus, eosinophils might become resistant to TGF-β only in in vivo circumstances.
Observational study comparing non‐invasive blood pressure measurement at the arm and ankle during caesarean section

Upper‐arm non‐invasive blood pressure measurement during caesarean section can be uncomfortable and unreliable because of movement artefact in the conscious parturient. We aimed to determine whether ankle blood pressure measurement could be used instead in this patient group by comparing concurrent arm and ankle blood pressure measured throughout elective caesarean section under regional anaesthesia in 64 term parturients. Bland‐Altman analysis of mean difference (95% limits of agreement [range]) between the ankle and arm was 11.2 (−20.3 to +42.7 [−67 to +102]) mmHg for systolic arterial pressure, −0.5 (−21.0 to +19.9 [−44 to +91]) mmHg for mean arterial pressure and −3.8 (−25.3 to +17.8 [−41 to +94]) mmHg for diastolic arterial pressure. Although ankle blood pressure measurement is well tolerated and allows greater mobility of the arms than measurement from the arm, the degree of discrepancy between the two sites is unacceptable to allow routine use of ankle blood pressure measurement, especially for systolic arterial pressure. However, ankle blood pressure measurement may be a useful alternative in situations where arm blood pressure measurement is difficult or impossible.
Comparison of conventional and substrate integrated waveguide filters for satellite communication

This paper deals with the design and comparison between 5th order waveguide (WG) and substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) filters for satcom applications, e.g. very small aperture terminals (VSAT). The filters are designed for the passband from 13.75 GHz to 14.5 GHz and realized using non-symmetrical inductive irises. Rogers RO4003c substrate was used for the SIW structure. An insertion loss (IL) of less than 0.8 dB within the desired bandwidth is achieved for the WG filter and 3.3 dB in case of the SIW filter.
Health care use by children diagnosed as having developmental delay.

BACKGROUND Although children with developmental delay are known to have increased health care use, it is unclear what proportion of that health care use is related to associated chronic health conditions. OBJECTIVES To assess the prevalence of isolated developmental delay and to determine the role of developmental delay in health care use controlling for chronic health conditions. DESIGN Retrospective cohort study using Washington State Medicaid claims records from November 1, 1990, to December 31, 1997, an administrative data set that contains both International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification codes and billed services. PATIENTS AND SETTING Children born between November 1, 1990, and December 31, 1992, diagnosed as having developmental delay before the age of 5 years, enrolled in Medicaid within 1 month of birth, and continuously enrolled for at least 12 months. Four control subjects per case were matched on date of birth and duration of continuous enrollment in Medicaid. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Visits to physicians, emergency departments, other practitioners, or hospitals by year of life. RESULTS One thousand two hundred forty-two children having developmental delay and 5370 children without developmental delay were included. One percent of those who met study criteria had developmental delay without chronic health conditions and 30% of the children with developmental delay had no associated chronic health conditions. Boys were 1.6 times as likely to have a diagnosis of developmental delay. Developmental delay was independently associated with increased health care use by all 4 measures used. CONCLUSION Developmental delay increases health care use apart from associated chronic health conditions.
Proliferation of exogenously injected primordial germ cells (PGCs) into busulfan-treated chicken embryos.

AIM This study was designed to investigate the effect of busulfan treatment on the proliferation of chicken primordial germ cells (PGCs) in vivo, focusing on the preferential settlement of PGCs onto the germinal ridges of chicken embryos. METHODS Busulfan (250 ng/egg) was injected into the egg white of freshly oviposited fertilized eggs, which were then incubated. Embryonic development and viability were examined, and exogenous PGCs collected from embryonic blood vessels were injected into the germinal crescent region of recipient embryos. The number of PGCs resided onto germinal ridges of the right and left sides were compared. RESULTS Busulfan had a slight harmful effect on the embryo viability and the PGCs proliferation. The number of PGCs resided onto the left side of germinal ridges was slightly higher as compared with the right side. CONCLUSION Busulfan suppressed the viability of embryos and the proliferation of endogenous PGCs in the recipient embryos. However, the number of exogenous PGCs proliferated was higher in embryos treated with busulfan than those without busulfan. Data also suggest the possibility of a preferential residence of PGCs toward the left side of the germinal crescent region as compared with the right, which may be due to a more advanced functional development of the left gonad than the right.
Evaluating software cost estimation models using particle swarm optimisation and fuzzy logic for NASA projects: a comparative study

Bidding for contracts depends mainly on estimated costs of a given project, which makes an accurate estimation of effort and time required very important with great impact on budget computation and project success. Inaccurate estimates are likely lead to one or all of the following negative outcomes: failure in making a profit, increased probability of incomplete project and delay of project delivery date. In this paper, we provide a comparison between models developed for software cost estimation using particle swarm optimisation (PSO) algorithm, fuzzy logic (FL), and well-known cost estimation models such as Halstead, Walston-Felix, Bailey-Basili and Doty models. The performance of the developed models is evaluated based on the mean magnitude of relative error (MMRE) for NASA software projects.
Mathematical Modeling in Ecology: Simulating the Reintroduction of the Extinct Passenger Pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius)

The Passenger Pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius) was an iconic species of bird in eastern North America that comprised 25-40% of North American avifauna. Passenger Pigeons went extinct in 1914 due to excessive hunting over the previous 50 years. Current research aims to de-extinct the Passenger Pigeon and someday release the species into its historic range. To determine under which conditions a Passenger Pigeon could survive a reintroduction into a natural habitat, we used two types of models. First, we used a system of delay differential equations to explore the relationship between the young pigeon, adult pigeon, nest predator, and raptor populations. The model incorporates logistic population growth, an Allee effect, and a Holling Type III functional response. Next, we developed a spatially explicit, agent-based model to simulate the population dynamics of the Passenger Pigeon in a number of present-day forest environments. The model incorporates the following stochastic processes: varying availability of food sources, reproduction, and natural death of the Passenger Pigeon. Bio-energetics, tree distributions, and other ecological values were obtained from literature. Results from our simulations suggest that the Passenger Pigeon could survive a reintroduction into a natural environment.
Contact Lens-Induced Discomfort and Protein Changes in Tears

Purpose Ocular discomfort is among the main causes of contact lens wear discontinuation. This study investigated the association between subjective ocular comfort ratings and diurnal changes in tear protein concentrations with and without contact lens wear. Methods The study was a prospective, open-label, single-group two-staged investigation. Basal tears were collected from 30 experienced contact lens wearers twice a day (morning and evening) using a noninvasive method without lens wear (stage 1) and during wear of Etafilcon A contact lenses (stage 2) for 7 to 10 days. Subjects rated their ocular comfort on a scale of 1 to 100 (with 100 as extremely comfortable) at each time of tear collection. Tears were analyzed using liquid quadrupole mass spectrometry in conjunction with selected reaction monitoring (SRM) method. Results End-of-day comfort was reduced when wearing lenses (87.8 ± 14.3 AM vs. 79.2 ± 16.6 PM) compared to no lens wear (88.3 ± 12.6 AM vs. 84.7 ± 13.3 PM) (AM vs. PM, p < 0.05). A greater reduction in comfort over the day was seen during lens wear (p < 0.01). The concentration of prolactin-induced protein increased from morning to evening in both stages (mean ± SD; 0.08 ± 0.04 mg/ml, AM vs. 0.09 ± 0.05 mg/ml, PM, p < 0.05). There was no change in the concentration of lactoferrin (1.20 ± 0.77 mg/ml), lysozyme (2.11 ± 1.50 mg/ml), lipocalin 1 (1.75 ± 0.99 mg/ml), or proline-rich protein 4 (0.80 ± 0.49 mg/ml). The prolactin-induced protein concentration was negatively associated with discomfort levels in tears (p < 0.05, r = −0.29). Conclusions Only the absolute concentration of prolactin-induced protein correlated with subjective comfort ratings. Taking into consideration that prolactin-induced protein can be associated with disruption in water transport in lacrimal glands, our findings may indicate that changes to aqueous secretion are associated with contact lens discomfort.
Green Information Systems, Green Culture and Green Innovation Effectiveness: a Triad Model

Contemporary organizations recognize the importance of green innovation for their competitive advantages in the long run, and most existing studies focus on its impacts on organizational performances. Based on the resource-based view, this study examines the roles that green information systems (IS) infrastructure and green culture play in green innovation as tangible and intangible resources. In addition to their direct impacts, green IS infrastructure and green culture may have indirect relationships with green innovation through the alignment between two as well as their alignments with green innovation. The hypothesized triadic relationships among green IS infrastructure, green culture and green innovation effectiveness were tested with survey observations collected from organizations in China. The statistical analyses supported all the direct relationships as hypothesized, but yielded mixed results on the mediating relationships. The alignment between GIS and green innovation had positive effect, the alignment between green IS and green culture had insignificant effect, and the alignment between green culture and green innovation had negative effect. In addition, each aspect of alignment played somewhat different roles across organizations of different sizes.
Comparison of DNA replication in cells from prokarya and eukarya

It is now supposed that utilization of DNA as genetic material emerged after an RNA world existed (Gesteland and Atkins 1993) and that all contemporary organisms evolved from a common ancestor related to primitive photosynthetic bacteria (Woese and Pace 1993). It is therefore not surprising that cells in the three major kingdoms, Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya, use roughly similar strategies and mechanisms for genome duplication. Nevertheless, the diversity of DNA replication is evident when the varied strategies used for replication of bacteriophage, plasmid, and virus genomes in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes are considered. This diversity becomes obvious when scanning the chapters that summarize the replication of virus genomes later in this book (Hassell and Brinton; Stenlund; Hay; Challberg; Yates; Traktman; Cotmore and Tattersall; Seeger and Mason; Bisaro; Ahrens et al.). I do not attempt to review these varied mechanisms here but rather focus on comparing the replication of cellular DNA in bacteria and eukaryotes. Unfortunately, except for some studies on DNA polymerases, little is known about the process of DNA replication in Archaea, and therefore inclusion of this kingdom adds little to the discussion. In organisms from bacteria to the multicellular eukaryotes, DNA replication is intimately coupled to the physiology of the individual cell and to global growth controls imposed on a population of cells, whether in a colony of bacteria or in a subset of cells within a developing organism. These regulatory pathways are different in bacteria and eukaryotes and also vary between different cell types within a single.
Simulator Training to Automaticity Leads to Improved Skill Transfer Compared With Traditional Proficiency-Based Training: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Objective:We hypothesized that novices will perform better in the operating room after simulator training to automaticity compared with traditional proficiency based training (current standard training paradigm). Background:Simulator-acquired skill translates to the operating room, but the skill transfer is incomplete. Secondary task metrics reflect the ability of trainees to multitask (automaticity) and may improve performance assessment on simulators and skill transfer by indicating when learning is complete. Methods:Novices (N = 30) were enrolled in an IRB-approved, blinded, randomized, controlled trial. Participants were randomized into an intervention (n = 20) and a control (n = 10) group. The intervention group practiced on the FLS suturing task until they achieved expert levels of time and errors (proficiency), were tested on a live porcine fundoplication model, continued simulator training until they achieved expert levels on a visual spatial secondary task (automaticity) and were retested on the operating room (OR) model. The control group participated only during testing sessions. Performance scores were compared within and between groups during testing sessions. Results:Intervention group participants achieved proficiency after 54 ± 14 and automaticity after additional 109 ± 57 repetitions. Participants achieved better scores in the OR after automaticity training [345 (range, 0–537)] compared with after proficiency-based training [220 (range, 0–452; P < 0.001]. Conclusions:Simulator training to automaticity takes more time but is superior to proficiency-based training, as it leads to improved skill acquisition and transfer. Secondary task metrics that reflect trainee automaticity should be implemented during simulator training to improve learning and skill transfer.
New approaches for the analysis of molecular recognition using the IAsys evanescent wave biosensor

Trends in the analysis of molecular recognition using the IAsys evanescent wave biosensor are outlined. Diversification of sensor surface chemistry, an open cuvette format and the advent of robotics controlled by intelligent software are widening the range and throughput of applications. Analyses of binding and dissociation are now carried out across a wide spectrum of biomolecules, including protein, nucleic acid, carbohydrate and lipid. Determinations are obtained from a range of experimental formats. These include qualitative ‘yes/no’ screening assays, through semi quantitative ranking of kinetic association, dissociation and equilibrium constants for a family of binding partners, to deriving constants comparable with those which would be obtained in free solution. A dependence of the initial rate of biomolecular association on concentration allows analyte concentration to be measured—an increasingly common application class. This is often employed in situations where a rapid determination is required. The ability to recover bound analyte from the sensor surface in sufficient amounts for subsequent characterization is opening up new routes to the parallel analysis of structure and function. Copyright © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.