Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Monitoring electromagnetic tracking error using redundant sensors

PURPOSE: The intraoperative measurement of tracking error is crucial to ensure the reliability of electromagnetically navigated procedures. For intraoperative use, methods need to be quick to set up, easy to interpret, and not interfere with the ongoing procedure. Our goal was to evaluate the feasibility of using redundant electromagnetic sensors to alert users to tracking error in a navigated intervention setup. METHODS: Electromagnetic sensors were fixed to a rigid frame around a region of interest and on surgical tools. A software module was designed to detect tracking error by comparing real-time measurements of the differences between inter-sensor distances and angles to baseline measurements. Once these measurements were collected, a linear support vector machine-based classifier was used to predict tracking errors from redundant sensor readings. RESULTS: Measuring the deviation in the reported inter-sensor distance and angle between the needle and cautery served as a valid indicator for electromagnetic tracking error. The highest classification accuracy, 86%, was achieved based on readings from the cautery when the two sensors on the cautery were close together. The specificity of this classifier was 93% and the sensitivity was 82%. CONCLUSION: Placing redundant electromagnetic sensors in a workspace seems to be feasible for the intraoperative detection of electromagnetic tracking error in controlled environments. Further testing should be performed to optimize the measurement error threshold used for classification in the support vector machine, and improve the sensitivity of our method before application in real procedures.
Chemoimmunotherapy with a modified hyper-CVAD and rituximab regimen improves outcome in de novo Philadelphia chromosome-negative precursor B-lineage acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

PURPOSE The adverse prognosis of CD20 expression in adults with de novo precursor B-lineage acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) prompted incorporation of monoclonal antibody therapy with rituximab into the intensive chemotherapy regimen hyper-CVAD (fractionated cyclophosphamide, vincristine, doxorubicin, dexamethasone). Other modifications (irrespective of CD20 expression) included early anthracycline intensification, alterations in number of risk-adapted intrathecal chemotherapy treatments for CNS prophylaxis, additional early and late intensifications, and extension of maintenance phase chemotherapy by 6 months. PATIENTS AND METHODS Two hundred eighty-two adolescents and adults with de novo Philadelphia chromosome (Ph)-negative precursor B-lineage ALL were treated with standard or modified hyper-CVAD regimens. The latter incorporated standard-dose rituximab if CD20 expression > or = 20%. RESULTS The complete remission (CR) rate was 95% with 3-year rates of CR duration (CRD) and survival (OS) of 60% and 50%, respectively. In the younger (age < 60 years) CD20-positive subset, rates of CRD and OS were superior with the modified hyper-CVAD and rituximab regimens compared with standard hyper-CVAD (70% v 38%; P < .001% and 75% v 47%, P = .003). In contrast, rates of CRD and OS for CD20-negative counterparts treated with modified versus standard hyper-CVAD regimens were similar (72% v 68%, P = not significant [NS] and 64% v 65%, P = NS, respectively). Older patients with CD20-positive ALL did not benefit from rituximab-based chemoimmunotherapy (rates of CRD 45% v 50%, P = NS and OS 28% v 32%, P = NS, respectively), related in part to deaths in CR. CONCLUSION The incorporation of rituximab into the hyper-CVAD regimen appears to improve outcome for younger patients with CD20-positive Ph-negative precursor B-lineage ALL.
Protecting Emergency Responders: Lessons Learned from Terrorist Attacks

Abstract : Just as it has for the nation as a whole, the world in which emergency responders work has changed in fundamental ways since September 11, 2001. Members of professions already defined by their high levels of risk now face new, often unknown threats on the job. At a basic level, the September 11 terrorist events have forced emergency responders to see the incidents they are asked to respond to in a new light. At the World Trade Center, 450 emergency responders perished while responding to the terrorist attacks about one-sixth of the total number of victims. Hundreds more were seriously injured. In this light, the terrorist events are also forcing emergency responders to reconsider the equipment and practices they use to protect themselves in the line of duty.
Isolation of Canine Coronary Sinus Musculature From the Atria by Radiofrequency Catheter Ablation Prevents Induction of Atrial Fibrillation

Background—The junction between the coronary sinus (CS) musculature and both atria contributes to initiation of atrial tachyarrhythmias. The current study investigated the effects of CS isolation from the atria by radiofrequency catheter ablation on the induction and maintenance of atrial fibrillation (AF). Methods and Results—Using an optical mapping system, we mapped action potentials at 256 surface sites in 17 isolated and arterially perfused canine atrial tissues containing the entire musculature of the CS, right atrial septum, posterior left atrium, left inferior pulmonary vein, and vein of Marshal. Rapid pacing from each site before and after addition of acetylcholine (0.5 &mgr;mol/L) was applied to induce AF. Epicardial radiofrequency catheter ablation at CS-atrial junctions isolated the CS from the atria. Rapid pacing induced sustained AF in all tissues after acetylcholine. Microreentry within the CS drove AF in 88% of preparations. Reentries associated with the vein of Marshall (29%), CS-atrial junctions (53%), right atrium (65%), and pulmonary vein (76%) (frequently with 2–4 simultaneous circuits) were additional drivers of AF. Radiofrequency catheter ablation eliminated AF in 13 tissues before acetylcholine (P<0.01) and in 5 tissues after acetylcholine. Radiofrequency catheter ablation also abbreviated the duration of AF in 12 tissues (P<0.01). Conclusions—CS and its musculature developed unstable reentry and AF, which were prevented by isolation of CS musculature from atrial tissue. The results suggest that CS can be a substrate of recurrent AF in patients after pulmonary vein isolation and that CS isolation might help prevent recurrent AF.
Jitter analysis of general charge sampling amplifiers

In this paper we present a simple analytical model for the estimation of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) due to clock jitter for a general charge sampling amplifier. The proposed analytical model is compared with a previously published more complex model. Finally, we compare charge sampling and voltage sampling in terms of SNR due to clock jitter
FDTD-SUPML simulation of photonic integrated circuits

Accurate modeling of photonic integrated circuits (PIC) is essential for development of high performance optical components. In this work, a finite difference time domain method (FDTD), combined with a simplified uniaxial perfectly matched layer boundary condition is presented to efficiently analyze light propagation in PIC. The FDTD-SUPML formulation can be easily applied to complex optical components. Numerical examples illustrate that this combined approach gives high accuracy.
The Prevalence, Symptom Characteristics, and Impact of Irritable Bowel Syndrome in an Asian Urban Community

OBJECTIVE:To study the epidemiology, symptom characteristics and impact of IBS in an urban Asian population.METHODS:A validated bowel symptom questionnaire was administered at face-to-face interviews to a random sample of 3,000 households in Singapore.RESULTS:The response rate was 78.2% (n = 2,276, 1,143 males and 1,133 females). The age, sex, and racial distribution of our respondents were similar to the general population and there was no significant difference between respondents and nonrespondents by type of household. The prevalence of IBS was 11.0%, 10.4%, and 8.6% by Manning (>1 criteria), Rome I and Rome II criteria, respectively. There was a higher prevalence of IBS in those <50 years of age (9.7%vs 5.8% 50 or > years, p = 0.002), with more than 6 years of education (9.8%vs 5.9% 6 year or <, p = 0.002) and living in landed property (16.8%vs 8.2% living in apartments and public housing, p = 0.008). There was no striking preponderance of female IBS subjects. Chronic constipation was a more common bowel disturbance than chronic diarrhea among our IBS subjects (51.0%vs 12.8%). CONCLUSIONS:The prevalence and impact of IBS in our Asian urban society are greater than previously appreciated. We believe that our results provide a useful window to the future trends of gastrointestinal diseases for health and education authorities in developing Asian countries to look into.
Design of a gain flattened doped fiber amplifier with stabilized power output for WDM transmissions

The gain spectrum of an Erbium Doped Fiber Amplifier (EDFA) has a peak centered at 1532nm and a broad peak with relatively low gain centered at 1550nm. In many applications like soliton based systems which makes use of EDFA repeaters and Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) systems where EDFA is used for amplifying a large number of wavelengths, gain fluctuations in EDFA has to be confined within specified limits over a wide span of wavelengths. Many methods of gain stabilization in EDFA has already been proposed in the recent past. In our work, we propose a novel method for gain contouring and output power stabilization in Erbium Doped Fiber Amplifiers. The amplifier with gain control is designed and simulated. The flattening of gain spectrum of EDFA is achieved by photonic switching using Optical Add Drop Multiplexers (OADM) and Fiber Bragg Gratings (FBG). The stabilization of gain and output power of EDFA is also experimentally verified. In the proposed feedforward technique, the output power stabilization is achieved by proper selection of modulator parameters.
The Mitochondrial Protein Import Machinery of Plants (MPIMP) database

The Mitochondrial Protein Import Machinery of Plants database (MPIMP) is an Internet-accessible database containing detailed information on the protein import apparatus of plant mitochondria. The Arabidopsis genome was searched for com-ponents of the mitochondrial protein import apparatus using components from the well-characterized model system of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Twenty six homologues of 34 components could be found, encompassing the essential components for the general and carrier import pathways. The database is available through the Internet at http://millar3.biochem. uwa.edu. au/~lister/index.html.
Power asymmetries in the cosmic microwave background temperature and polarization patterns

We test the asymmetry of the Cosmic Microwave Background anisotropy jointly in temperature and polarization. We study the hemispherical asymmetry, previously found only in the temperature field, with respect to the axis identified by Hansen et al. (2009). To this extent, we make use of the low resolution WMAP 5 year temperature and polarization Nside = 16 maps and the optimal angular power spectrum estimator BolPol (Gruppuso et al. 2009). We consider two simple estimators for the power asymmetry and we compare our findings with Monte Carlo simulations which take into account the full noise covariance matrix. We confirm an excess of power in temperature angular power spectrum in the Southern hemisphere at a significant level, between 3� and 4� depending on the exact range of multipoles considered. We do not find significant power asymmetry in the gradient (curl) component EE (BB) of polarized angular spectra. Also cross-correlation power spectra, i.e. TE, TB, EB, show no significant hemispherical asymmetry. We also show that the Cold Spot found by Vielva et al. (2004) in the Southern Galactic hemisphere does not alter the significance of the hemispherical asymmetries on multipoles which can be probed by maps at resolution Nside = 16. Although the origin of the hemispherical asymmetry in temperature remains unclear, the study of the polarization patter could add useful information on its explanation. We therefore forecast by Monte Carlo the Planck capabilities in probing polarization asymmetries.
Explicit and Implicit Evaluation of Physician Adherence to Hypertension Guidelines

This study evaluated physician adherence to the Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (JNC 7) hypertension guidelines in 6 community‐based clinics. Explicit review of retrospective medical record data for patients with uncontrolled hypertension measured guideline adherence using 22 criteria. Mean overall guideline adherence was 53.5% and did not improve significantly over time. Random‐effects models demonstrated significant associations between guideline adherence and various demographic and medical predictors, including age, minority status, comorbid conditions, and number of medications. A subsequent implicit review evaluated the degree to which nonadherence was justifiable and identified factors that might have affected adherence. Nonadherence was rated as justifiable for only 6.6% of the failed explicit criteria. In general, adherence to the JNC 7 guidelines was modest even when barriers that might have affected adherence were taken into consideration.
A Secure and Efficient Order Preserving Encryption Scheme for Relational Databases

Encryption is a well-studied technique for protecting the confidentiality of sensitive data. However, encrypting relational databases affects the performance during query processing. Preserving the order of the encrypted values is a useful technique to perform queries over the encrypted database with a reasonable overhead. Unfortunately, the existing order preserving encryption schemes are not secure against known plaintext attacks and statistical attacks. In those attacks, it is assumed that the attacker has prior knowledge about plaintext values or statistical information on the plaintext domain. This paper presents a novel database encryption scheme called MV-POPES (Multivalued Partial Order Preserving Encryption Scheme), which allows privacy-preserving queries over encrypted databases with an improved security level. Our idea is to divide the plaintext domain into many partitions and randomize them in the encrypted domain. Then, one integer value is encrypted to different multiple values to prevent statistical attacks. At the same time, MV-POPES preserves the order of the integer values within the partitions to allow comparison operations to be directly applied on encrypted data. Our scheme is robust against known plaintext attacks and statistical attacks. MV-POPES experiments show that security for sensitive data can be achieved with reasonable overhead, establishing the practicability of the scheme.
Reproductive history and carotid intima‐media thickness

Background. Intima‐media thickness (IMT) of the carotid arteries is a valid measure of preclinical atherosclerosis which may predict cardiovascular outcomes. Metabolic and hormonal changes associated with the reproductive history of women may contribute to the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Methods. In a population‐based cross‐sectional study comprising 746 Finnish women, aged 45–74 years, associations of reproductive history (assessed by questionnaire) and measures of subclinical atherosclerosis (by ultrasonographic detection) were studied. Statistical methods included linear and logistic regression models. Results. Mean carotid IMT was positively associated with parity, but after adjustment for age its statistical significance disappeared. Women with a history of stillbirth tended to have higher IMT than other women. History of hysterectomy was an independent determinant of carotid plaque in models with age, blood pressure, fasting blood glucose and cholesterol, body mass index (BMI), education and smoking (odds ratio (OR): 0.32; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.11–0.96). But when oophorectomy (yes/no) was included in the model, this association lost its statistical significance (adjusted OR: 0.36; 95% CI: 0.11–1.22). A history of stillbirth was associated with an increased age‐adjusted risk of plaque (OR=3.43; 95% CI: 1.07–11.05), but in the fully adjusted model it lost its statistical significance (OR=3.61; 95% CI: 0.86–15.23). Conclusion. Stillbirth was associated with increased risk of atherosclerotic plaque. Atherosclerosis is a lifelong process to which stillbirth is related. However, due to the cross‐sectional design of this study, the causality of this association remains unclear.
Neurophysiologic and Statistical Analysis of Failures in Automatic Sleep Stage Classification

This paper analyses some of the challenges in automatic multiclass sleep stage classification. Six electroencephalographic (EEG) and two electrooculographic (EOG) channels were used in this study. A set of significant features are selected by a minimum-redundancy maximum-relevance (mRMR) criterion and then classified using support vector machine (SVM). The system is tested on 14 subjects suspected of having sleep apnea. The automatic sleep staging showed a 77.70% (±15.8) sensitivity and 95.49% (±2.68) specificity. From the analysis comparing EEG records with visual and automatic classification, we found that the main cause of failures are the similarities between adjacent phases of sleep, in particular in discriminating N1 and N2. Based on the variation of the values of the features it is possible to implement some thresholds and to apply some heuristic rules to improve the performance.
Crystal structure of a phage library-derived single-chain Fv fragment complexed with turkey egg-white lysozyme at 2.0 A resolution.

The three-dimensional structure of the single-chain Fv fragment 1F9 in complex with turkey egg-white lysozyme (TEL) has been determined to a nominal resolution of 2.0 A by X-ray diffraction. The scFv fragment 1F9 was derived from phage-display libraries in two steps and binds both hen and turkey egg-white lysozyme, although the level of binding affinity is two orders of magnitude greater for the turkey lysozyme. The comparison of the crystal structure with a model of the single-chain Fv fragment 1F9 in complex with hen egg-white lysozyme (HEL) reveals that in the latter a clash between Asp101 in lysozyme and Trp98 of the complementarity determining region H3 of the heavy chain variable domain occurs. This is the only explanation apparent from the crystal structure for the better binding of TEL compared to HEL. The binding site topology on the paratope is not simply a planar surface as is usually found in antibody-protein interfaces, but includes a cleft between the light chain variable domain and heavy chain variable domain large enough to accommodate a loop from the lysozyme. The scFv fragment 1F9 recognizes an epitope on TEL that differs from the three antigenic determinants recognized in other known crystal structures of monoclonal antibodies in complex with lysozyme.
The Incidence of Akathisia in the Treatment of Schizophrenia with Aripiprazole, Asenapine and Lurasidone: A Meta-Analysis

Akathisia is a troubling side effect that leads to non-adherence with antipsychotic regimens. Second generation antipsychotics (SGAs) tend to cause less akathisia than older agents but the risk still exists and rates vary between agents. Little is known about the incidence of akathisia among the newer SGAs. The purpose of this study was to conduct a meta-analysis of akathisia incidence rates for three of the newer SGAs: aripiprazole, asenapine, and lurasidone. Data were drawn from published and unpublished clinical trials comparing the drug of interest to either placebo or another SGA in adults with schizophrenia. Twenty-four studies (11 aripiprazole, 5 asenapine, and 8 lurasidone) provided incidence rates for akathisia and related nervous system events. Data showed that the relative risk (RR) of akathisia was double that of controls, with lurasidone having the highest individual RR at 2.7 [CI: 2-3.6]. Sensitivity analysis changed the RR of akathisia to less than 10%. The RR of akathisia was still elevated (1.75 [1.4-2.1]) when these drugs were compared only to actives (older SGAs). Agitation and anxiety RRs were also higher with the newer SGAs as compared to the older SGAs. Previous theory suggests antagonism of serotonin (5-HT)2A receptors may decrease akathisia risk. Expectations were that aripiprazole, asenapine and lurasidone would have a low incidence of akathisia, as all display strong antagonism at 5-HT2A. However, in this study all three had a significantly higher risk of akathisia compared to placebo or other SGAs. This suggests the pathophysiology of akathisia involves other receptors and is multifactorial.
A SNR-Enhanced Mutual-Capacitive Touch-Sensor ROIC Using an Averaging With Three Specific TX Frequencies, a Noise Memory, and a Compact Delay Compensation Circuit

To enhance the signal-to-noise ratio of a mutual-capacitive touch-sensor, three methods are used to implement read-out integrated circuit (ROIC); an averaging method with three specific transmitter frequencies of (n + 0.5) times the frequency of a gate driving signal (GCLK) of LCD with an integer n, a noise memory method that eliminates the dc and low frequency noise by subtracting the noise data from the measured data, and a compact delay compensation method. A digital dual-loop phase-locked-loop generates the three specific frequencies automatically from GCLK. The proposed ROIC applied to a 14×16 touch-sensor panel on a 7.9-in LCD achieves the SNR of 52.9 dB with the frame rate of 367 Hz. The ROIC chip with a 0.35-μm CMOS process takes an area of 5.64 mm2 and consumes power of 29.7 mW.
A Sensitive Method for Specific Quantitation of Secretory IgA

A method to quantitate specifically secretory IgA (SIgA) has been developed using the enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay. The IgA in the test sample was adsorbed to anti‐α antibodies attached to plastic tubes via a coat of IgA myeloma protein. The reacted SIgA was determined using anti‐secretory component antiserum conjugated with alkaline phosphatase. The technique permitted quantiations of secretory IgA in biological fluids like milk, urine, and Saliva with reproducibility of ±7%, down to 0.03 mg/l. In contrast to earlier techniques, the presence of up to 15794 of serum IgA without secretory component (SC) and free SC did not disturb the measurements of SIgA. Furthermore, variations in pH and osmolarity, within biological ranges in secretions, did not influence the estimations.
Current progress of siRNA/shRNA therapeutics in clinical trials

Through a mechanism known as RNA interference (RNAi), small interfering RNA (siRNA) molecules can target complementary mRNA strands for degradation, thus specifically inhibiting gene expression. The ability of siRNAs to inhibit gene expression offers a mechanism that can be exploited for novel therapeutics. Indeed, over the past decade, at least 21 siRNA therapeutics have been developed for more than a dozen diseases, including various cancers, viruses, and genetic disorders. Like other biological drugs, RNAi‐based therapeutics often require a delivery vehicle to transport them to the targeted cells. Thus, the clinical advancement of numerous siRNA drugs has relied on the development of siRNA carriers, including biodegradable nanoparticles, lipids, bacteria, and attenuated viruses. Most therapies permit systemic delivery of the siRNA drug, while others use ex vivo delivery by autologous cell therapy. Advancements in bioengineering and nanotechnology have led to improved control of delivery and release of some siRNA therapeutics. Likewise, progress in molecular biology has allowed for improved design of the siRNA molecules. Here, we provide an overview of siRNA therapeutics in clinical trials, including their clinical progress, the challenges they have encountered, and the future they hold in the treatment of human diseases.