Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
High-sensitivity C-reactive protein, lipoprotein-related phospholipase A2, and acute ischemic stroke

Background Serum biomarkers may be useful for early diagnosis of acute ischemic stroke, exclusion of other diseases that may mimic stroke, and prediction of infarct volume. We evaluated serum high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and lipoprotein-related phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2) in patients who had acute ischemic stroke. Methods In 200 patients who presented to an emergency service (acute ischemic stroke, 102 patients; control with no stroke, 98 patients), stroke patients were evaluated with the Canadian neurological scale and diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging, and all patients were evaluated with the Glasgow coma scale and their serum hs-CRP level and Lp-PLA2 activity were assessed. The volume of stroke lesions was calculated from magnetic resonance images. Results Patients who had stroke had higher mean serum hs-CRP level (stroke, 7±6 mg/dL; control, mean ± standard deviation 1±1 mg/dL; P≤0.001) and Lp-PLA2 activity (stroke, mean ± standard deviation 113±86 nmol/min/mL; control, mean ± standard deviation 103±50 nmol/min/mL; P≤0.001) than control patients who did not have stroke. The mean hs-CRP level and Lp-PLA2 activity were higher in patients who had greater stroke severity (lower Canadian neurological scale score) and were higher in patients who had larger volume strokes. Conclusion Higher hs-CRP level and Lp-PLA2 activity are significantly associated with more severe neurologic impairment and larger infarct size in patients who have acute ischemic stroke. These biomarkers may be useful for rapid diagnosis and prediction of ischemic tissue volume in the early stage of ischemic stroke. These findings may be important for health care facilities that have limited access to emergency computed tomography scanning for the diagnosis of stroke.
Information Management & Computer Security Estimates of success rates of remote arbitrary code execution attacks

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify the importance of the factors that influence the success rate of remote arbitrary code execution attacks. In other words, attacks which use software vulnerabilities to execute the attacker’s own code on targeted machines. Both attacks against servers and attacks against clients are studied. Design/methodology/approach – The success rates of attacks are assessed for 24 scenarios: 16 scenarios for server-side attacks and eight for client-side attacks. The assessment is made through domain experts and is synthesized using Cooke’s classical method, an established method for weighting experts’ judgments. The variables included in the study were selected based on the literature, a pilot study, and interviews with domain experts. Findings – Depending on the scenario in question, the expected success rate varies between 15 and 67 percent for server-side attacks and between 43 and 67 percent for client-side attacks. Based on these scenarios, the influence of different protective measures is identified. Practical implications – The results of this study offer guidance to decision makers on how to best secure their assets against remote code execution attacks. These results also indicate the overall risk posed by this type of attack. Originality/value – Attacks that use software vulnerabilities to execute code on targeted machines are common and pose a serious risk to most enterprises. However, there are no quantitative data on how difficult such attacks are to execute or on how effective security measures are against them. The paper provides such data using a structured technique to combine expert judgments.
B-ISDN/ATM traffic and congestion control

A traffic control architectural framework for broadband integrated services digital network asynchronous transfer mode (B-ISDN/ATM) is outlined. Network congestion control procedures are devised, complemented by specific end-terminal controls. The network congestion control system is partitioned into three domains: network-element internal, networkwide, and call-level controls. A selective discard mechanism based on traffic tagging and monitoring via both a rate enforcement module and a selective discard module is proposed, along with a set of preventive, protective-reactive, adaptive-reactive, and adaptive-reactive-supportive mechanisms. The need for a traffic descriptor, either statistical or operational, logically related to both call admission control and usage parameter control, is discussed. <<ETX>>
UvA-DARE ( Digital Academic Repository ) A prospective , randomized trial of structured treatment interruption for patients with chronic HIV type 1 infection

Disclaimer/Complaints regulations If you believe that digital publication of certain material infringes any of your rights or (privacy) interests, please let the Library know, stating your reasons. In case of a legitimate complaint, the Library will make the material inaccessible and/or remove it from the website. Please Ask the Library: http://uba.uva. nl/en/contact, or a letter to: Library of the University of Amsterdam, Secretariat, Singel 425, 1012 WP Amsterdam, The Netherlands. You will be contacted as soon as possible.
A Framework and Model for Understanding the Creation and Sources of Trust

With the advent of the internet and rise of less personal, face to face interaction in online commerce, as well as increasing reports of fraud and security breaches, trust has become a critical part of conducting business in the digital economy. This paper develops a framework and model for understanding and building trust by combining some landmark research on the creation and production of trust with the dimensions of trust identified in the literature: ability, benevolence and integrity. By combining these dimensions in a matrix with the types of trust production based on characteristics, process and institutions, the paper develops a robust 3 x 3 matrix which to categorize and understand trust production and sources of trust. This framework can help researchers, practitioners and consumers understand trust creation and assist businesses in developing a comprehensive strategy for managing trust.
Comparative study of two robust online rotor resistance estimators for induction machine adaptive control

This paper presents two adaptive variable structure identifiers that provide finite time convergent estimate of the induction motor (IM) rotor resistance under feasible persistent of excitation condition. Experiments show that both approaches achieved very good estimation of the rotor resistance which is subjected to online large variation (up to 75%) during operation of the induction motor and are robust with respect to the variation of the stator resistance (up to 100%), measurement noise, modeling errors, discretization effects and parameter uncertainties. The results illustrate globally the superiority of the second approach. Important advantages of the proposed algorithms include that they are suitable for IM adaptive control and are relatively simple to implement in real-time.
Prognostic and Predictive Value of CpG Island Methylator Phenotype in Patients with Locally Advanced Nonmetastatic Sporadic Colorectal Cancer

Purpose. In the present study, the prognostic significance of CpG island methylator phenotype (CIMP) in stage II/III sporadic colorectal cancer was evaluated using a five-gene panel. Methods. Fifty stage II/III colorectal cancer patients who received radical resection were included in this study. Promoter methylation of p14ARF, hMLH1, p16INK4a, MGMT, and MINT1 was determined by methylation specific polymerase chain reaction (MSP). CIMP positive was defined as hypermethylation of three or more of the five genes. Impact factors on disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) were analyzed using Kaplan-Meier method (log-rank test) and adjusted Cox proportional hazards model. Results. Twenty-four percent (12/50) of patients were characterized as CIMP positive. Univariate analysis showed stage III (P = 0.049) and CIMP positive (P = 0.014) patients who had significantly inferior DFS. In Cox regression analysis, CIMP positive epigenotype was independently related with poor DFS with HR = 2.935 and 95% CI: 1.193–7.220 (P = 0.019). In patients with CIMP positive tumor, those receiving adjuvant chemotherapy had a poor DFS than those without adjuvant chemotherapy (P = 0.023). Conclusions. CIMP positive was significantly correlated with decreased DFS in stage II/III colorectal cancer. Patients with CIMP positive locally advanced sporadic colorectal cancers may not benefit from 5-fluorouracil based adjuvant chemotherapy.
A prospective study to determine the safety of omitting the antiglobulin crossmatch from pretransfusion testing

Transfusion medicine laboratories routinely perform a series of pretransfusion serological tests including: ABO grouping, Rh typing, and investigation of the recipient's serum to detect antibodies against blood group antigens (antibody screen). As a final check, most laboratories also perform a crossmatch in which the recipient's serum is incubated with the donor's red cells followed by the addition of an antiglobulin reagent (antiglobulin crossmatch). The need for the antiglobulin crossmatch when the antibody screen is negative has been questioned because there are few antibodies that are detected by this test. Such antibodies are usually directed against low incidence antigens that are not expressed on the screening cells and in many cases the clinical importance of these antibodies is uncertain. For these reasons, we performed a prospective study in which patients requiring red cell transfusion had a group and screen performed. If the antibody screen was negative the antiglobulin crossmatch was omitted. Following the transfusion of the blood, the antiglobulin crossmatch was performed to look for any potential incompatibility. All patients were monitored both serologically and clinically.
SUBJECT: Lessons Learnt from the JPEG Case Study: Extended View on Design- Space Exploration Approaches

PROJECT : Architecture Exploration REPORT : 3 SUBJECT : Lessons Learnt from the JPEG Case Study: Extended View on DesignSpace Exploration Approaches DATE : May 13, 2002. ABSTRACT : We report on lessons we have learnt from the JPEG case study. We report on what came out of this case study. Beside this, we report on new solutions that we have found. Finally, we give pinpoints about the implementation of the related architecture and mapping models AUTHOR : Vladimir D. Živković, LIACS Leiden University
A parallel processing approach to filterbank multicarrier MIMO transmission under strong frequency selectivity

The problem of MIMO transmission using filterbank multicarrier (FBMC) modulations in strong frequency selective channels is considered. A novel architecture for the implementation of MIMO precoders and linear receivers is derived, which consists of multiple parallel stages that are combined at the per-subcarrier level. Each of these stages is constructed like a classical FBMC modulator/demodulator, using the successive derivatives of the prototype pulse instead of the original one. The performance of the proposed architecture is theoretically characterized in terms of the residual distortion power at the output of the receiver, assuming an asymptotically large number of subcarriers. Results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed architecture in MIMO channels with severe frequency selectivity.
Dust Grain Size Distributions and Extinction in the Milky Way, LMC, and SMC

We construct size distributions for carbonaceous and silicate grain populations in different regions of the Milky Way, LMC, and SMC. The size distributions include sufficient very small carbonaceous grains (including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon molecules) to account for the observed infrared and microwave emission from the diffuse interstellar medium. Our distributions reproduce the observed extinction of starlight, which varies depending upon the interstellar environment through which the light travels. As shown by Cardelli, Clayton & Mathis in 1989, these variations can be roughly parameterized by the ratio of visual extinction to reddening, R_V. We adopt a fairly simple functional form for the size distribution, characterized by several parameters. We tabulate these parameters for various combinations of values for R_V and b_C, the C abundance in very small grains. We also find size distributions for the line of sight to HD 210121, and for sightlines in the LMC and SMC. For several size distributions, we evaluate the albedo and scattering asymmetry parameter, and present model extinction curves extending beyond the Lyman limit.
Chapter 3 Triaging HPV-positive women with normal cytology by p 16 / Ki-67 dual-stained cytology testing : Baseline and longitudinal data

Primary human papillomavirus (HPV)-based screening results in a 2–5% lower specificity for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia Grade 2 or worse (CIN2+) compared to Pap cytology. To identify HPV-positive women with CIN2+, we retrospectively evaluated the cross-sectional and longitudinal performance of p16/Ki-67 dual-stained cytology in HPV-positive women with normal cytology participating in population-based cervical screening. Conventional Pap cytology specimens of 847 of these women derived from the VUSA-Screen study were dual-stained for p16/Ki-67. Cross-sectional clinical performance in detecting CIN3 or worse (CIN3+), and CIN2+ was compared to that of baseline HPV genotyping. Moreover, 5-year cumulative incidence risks (CIR) for CIN3+ (CIN2+) were determined. The sensitivity of p16/Ki-67 dual-stained cytology for CIN3+ (CIN2+) was 73.3% (68.8%) with a specificity of 70.0% (72.8%). HPV16/18 genotyping showed a sensitivity for CIN3+ (CIN2+) of 46.7% (43.8%), with a specificity of 78.3% (79.4%). The 5-year CIR for CIN3+ in HPV-positive women with normal cytology was 6.9%. Testing these women with p16/Ki-67 dual-stained cytology resulted in a significantly lower CIN3+ 5-year CIR of 3.3% (p= 0.017) in case of a negative test result. A negative HPV16/18 genotyping test result also led to a lower 5-year CIN3+ CIR of 3.6%. p16/ Ki-67 dual-stained cytology detects more than 70% of underlying CIN3+ lesions in HPV-positive women with normal cytology at baseline and is therefore suitable for triaging these women to colposcopy. Furthermore, the CIN3+ 5-year CIR of 3.3% after a negative dual-stain result is significantly lower compared to the 5-year CIR of 6.9% in women without p16/Ki-67 dualstained cytology triage. p16/Ki-67 in HPV-positive women with normal cytology 67
3-D printed lightweight microwave waveguide devices

This paper provides an overview of five 3-D printed microwave passive circuits operating at frequencies ranging from X-band to W-band. These circuits were produced from polymers using stereolithography printing and were coated with copper via electroplating. Such polymer-based circuits exhibit significantly reduced weights compared with those made from metal. In addition, 3-D printing offers great flexibility and allows new designs to be constructed. Examples of these novel designs will be described and measurements of some designs will be presented.
Overexpression of Cyclooxygenase-2 in Malignant Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumor and Selective Cyclooxygenase-2 Inhibitor-Induced Apoptosis by Activating Caspases in Human Malignant Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumor Cells

Background Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) is a key enzyme in the conversion of arachidonic acid to prostanoids, and its activation is associated with carcinogenesis as well as inflammation. The antitumor effect of selective COX-2 inhibitors has been noted in various malignancies. Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor (MPNST) is a rare and aggressive soft tissue sarcoma for which effective treatments have not yet been established. The purpose of this study was to investigate a potential therapeutic role of COX-2 in MPNST. Methods We evaluated the expression of COX-2 in 44 cases of high-grade MPNST using immunohistochemical staining and compared the staining results with the characteristics and outcome of the patients. We also investigated the antitumor effect of etodolac, a selective COX-2 inhibitor, on MPNST cells in vitro using the MPNST cell line, FMS-1. Results Overexpression of COX-2 (≥50% positive cells) was observed in 29 cases (65.9%), was significantly associated with a poor overall survival (P = 0.0495), and was considered an independent risk factor for a poor outcome by the results of both univariate and multivariate analysis. Etodolac induced apoptosis of FMS-1 cells through the activation of caspase-8, -9, and -3. Moreover, several caspase inhibitors significantly inhibited etodolac-induced apoptosis. Conclusions Selective COX-2 inhibitors including etodolac had an antitumor effect on MPNST cells, and their use holds promise as a novel therapeutic strategy for patients with MPNST to improve their prognoses.
Troponin I as a Point-of-Care Test in the PICU?

100 www.pccmjournal. org January 2017 • Volume 18 • Number 1 plasma troponin I (TnI) level as a biomarker to predict mortality and requirement for vasoactive drugs in the PICU. We would like to provide some comments regarding this interesting study. Troponin I has been used in children with septic shock as a biomarker. However, Oliveira et al (2) in a prospective study concluded that serum levels of cardiac Tn (cTn) I within the first 24 hours of diagnosis of sepsis or septic shock in children were not better than creatine kinase MB isoenzyme or clinical evaluation to predict the outcome (death or discharge from hospital) of septic process. We should ask whether the TnI detection would be the same in a population with malnourished children. Would we find the same rise in TnI levels? And the relationship with the outcome would be the same? If this study demonstrates its reproducibility elsewhere, that could lead to the concept of making TnI a point-of-care test in PICUs settings, assisting clinicians to more accurate staging the severity of patients. Furthermore, cardiac biomarkers may also benefit centers without on-site echocardiography with evidence showing good correlation with echo-derived markers of myocardial function (3). In neonatology, troponin I might also play a role as a biomarker, not only in neonates with congenital heart defects. cTns are very sensitive markers for the detection of myocardial injury and have been studied in healthy newborns, after tocolysis, intrauterine growth restriction, respiratory distress syndrome, and asphyxia (3). We congratulate the authors for the article, highlighting that further studies are required to confirm these results. The authors have disclosed that they do not have any potential conflicts of interest.
Intercomparison of Momentary Values: an Application to Check the Reliability of Ebre Observatory Data

Intercomparison of momentary values from observatories across Europe has been used as a test of reliability for the magnetic stations of this area, as well as for the whole net. One of the techniques used, based on the standard deviation of the mutual differences of monthly mean values, has permitted to obtain a measure of quality of the Ebre Observatory (EBR) magnetic elements for the period 1997-2001. The results nearly coincide with those obtained for the most significant observatories of the network, pointing out a good performance of EBR observatory. During the 1950s a few central European observatories agreed to exchange their respective data for intercomparison purposes. Data from the different stations were collected by Wingst Observatory (WNG), and a series of procedures was applied to establish the quality of their records, as well as the quality of the network itself (several applications of the comparisons are shown in Schulz and Beblo 1996). Particularly, these procedures were based on the momentary values (MV) comparison, i.e., the observatories’ magnetic field values (H, D, Z and F) of the ten selected quietest days of each month taken at 02:00 UT, which is supposed to coincide with the period least disturbed by Sq on central European longitudes. Along the time, the number of participating observatories progressively increased, and in the quinquennium 19972001 a total of 26 observatories presented their data, Ebre Observatory (EBR) being one of them. Some preliminary results are presented here for EBR, specifically those resulting from the application of linear regressions to the standard deviation of the mutual differences of the MV monthly means, once detrended by the secular variation (SV).
GENERATOR OF HYPOTHESES - AN APPROACH OF DATA MINING BASED ON MONOTONE SYSTEMS THEORY

Generator of hypotheses is a new method for data mining. It makes possible to classify the source data automatically and produces a particular enumeration of patterns. Pattern is an expression (in a certain language) describing facts in a subset of facts. The goal is to describe the source data via patterns and/or IF.THEN rules. Used evaluation criteria are deterministic (not probabilistic). The search results are trees – form that is easy to comprehend and interpret. Generator of hypotheses uses very effective algorithm based on the theory of monotone systems (MS) named MONSA (MONotone System Algorithm) [6].
Location-based beamforming for Rician wiretap channels

We propose a location-based beamforming scheme for wiretap channels, where a source communicates with a legitimate receiver in the presence of an eavesdropper. We assume that the source and the eavesdropper are equipped with multiple antennas, while the legitimate receiver is equipped with a single antenna. We also assume that all channels are in a Rician fading environment, the channel state information from the legitimate receiver is perfectly known at the source, and that the only information on the eavesdropper available at the source is her location. We first describe how the beamforming vector that minimizes the secrecy outage probability of the system is obtained, illustrating its dependence on the eavesdropper's location. We then derive an easy-to-compute expression for the secrecy outage probability when our proposed location-based beamforming is adopted. Finally, we investigate the impact location uncertainty has on the secrecy outage probability, showing how our proposed solution can still allow for secrecy even when the source has limited information on the eavesdropper's location.
HIV Drug Resistance Pattern Among HAART-Exposed Patients With Suboptimal Virological Response in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

Objective:Determine the pattern of drug resistance among HIV infected drug exposed patients failing therapy in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Methods:The protease (PR) and reverse transcriptase (RT) of 87 samples from 75 treatment exposed HIV infected patients failing therapy were PCR amplified, sequenced, subtyped and analyzed for the presence of drug resistance mutations. Results:The most common drugs used were 3TC, AZT (or d4T) and EFV. The dominant subtypes were CRF06_cpx (48%) and CRF02_AG (40%). The prevalence of resistance mutations among patients failing therapy was: PR inhibitors (PI), 40%; non-nucleoside RT-inhibitors (NNRTI), 76% and nucleoside RT-inhibitors (NRTI), 85%. Dominant mutations included M46I (37%), 154V (26%), V82A/T/F (30%) in PR; K103N (44%), G190A/S (16%) and T215F/Y (48%) (NRTIs) in RT. Some resistance mutations, notably D67N/G, K70R and L210W (thymidine analogue mutations-TAMs); K101E, V179E in RT, 154V, V82A/T/F and L90M in PR were significantly higher among CRF06_cpx than CRF02_AG strains (P < 0.05). Although not significant, other TAMs (M41L, T215F/Y, K219Q/E) also occurred more frequently among CRF06_cpx strains as well. Conclusion:There is a high prevalence of drug resistance mutations among ARV exposed patients in Burkina Faso with an unexpected subtype-specific difference. Validation of this result will require larger sample sizes and in vitro drug susceptibility studies with CRF06_cpx strains.