Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Intra-Arterial Chemotherapy (Ophthalmic Artery Chemosurgery) for Group D Retinoblastoma

Purpose To report globe salvage rates, patient survival and adverse events of ophthalmic artery chemosurgery (OAC) for International Classification of Retinoblastoma (ICRB) group D retinoblastoma (naive and after prior failures). Methods Single institution retrospective review of all Group D eyes treated with OAC from 5/2006-12/2012. Patients were treated according to our previously-published techniques. Primary outcome was globe retention without need for external beam radiotherapy (EBRT). Demographics, prior treatments, OAC agents used, and adverse events were also recorded. Results 112 group D eyes (103 patients) that underwent OAC were included (average follow-up was 34 months, range: 2–110 months). 47 eyes were treatment-naïve, 58 eyes received prior treatments elsewhere, and 7 young infants (7 eyes) underwent our published “bridge therapy” (single agent intravenous carboplatin) until old enough to undergo OAC. Median number of OAC sessions/eye was 3 (range 1–9). 110/112 eyes received intra-arterial melphalan, but only 31 eyes received melphalan alone. 43 eyes received carboplatin, and 78 eyes received topotecan (never as a single agent). 80/112 eyes received >1 drug over their treatment course, and 39 eyes received all three agents. 24 eyes (16 pretreated, 7 treatment-naïve, 1 bridge) failed treatment and required enucleation during the study period. Enucleation and EBRT were avoided in 88/112 eyes (78.6%; including 40/47 [85.1%] treatment-naïve eyes, 42/58 [72.4%] previously-treated eyes, and 6/7 eyes [85.7%] among bridge patients). By Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, globe salvage rate was 74% at 110 months among all patients, and 85% at 110 months in the treatment-naïve subgroup. Transient grade 3/4 neutropenia was more common in patients receiving OAC bilaterally. No child died of metastatic disease. Conclusions OAC is effective for curing group D retinoblastoma, achieving rates of globe salvage many times higher than systemic chemotherapy (10–47%), even in eyes that previously failed other treatments. OAC can be performed multiple times, using multiple agents, on one or both eyes of patients.
OntoShare: Using Ontologies for Knowledge Sharing

An ontology-based knowledge sharing system OntoShare is described. RDF(S) and RDF are used to specify and populate an ontology, based on information shared between users in virtual communities. We begin by discussing the advantages that use of Semantic Web technology afford in the area of knowledge management tools. The way in which OntoShare supports WWW-based communities of practice is described. Usage of OntoShare semi-automatically builds an RDF-annotated information resource for the community (an potentially for others also). Observing that in practice the meanings of and relationships between concepts evolve over time, OntoShare supports a degree of ontology evolution based on usage of the system -- that is, based on the kinds of information users are sharing and the concepts (ontological classes) to which they assign this information. We conclude by describing some avenues of ongoing and future research and a planned evaluation exercise.
Identification, Replication, and Fine-Mapping of Loci Associated with Adult Height in Individuals of African Ancestry

Adult height is a classic polygenic trait of high heritability (h 2 ∼0.8). More than 180 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), identified mostly in populations of European descent, are associated with height. These variants convey modest effects and explain ∼10% of the variance in height. Discovery efforts in other populations, while limited, have revealed loci for height not previously implicated in individuals of European ancestry. Here, we performed a meta-analysis of genome-wide association (GWA) results for adult height in 20,427 individuals of African ancestry with replication in up to 16,436 African Americans. We found two novel height loci (Xp22-rs12393627, P = 3.4×10−12 and 2p14-rs4315565, P = 1.2×10−8). As a group, height associations discovered in European-ancestry samples replicate in individuals of African ancestry (P = 1.7×10−4 for overall replication). Fine-mapping of the European height loci in African-ancestry individuals showed an enrichment of SNPs that are associated with expression of nearby genes when compared to the index European height SNPs (P<0.01). Our results highlight the utility of genetic studies in non-European populations to understand the etiology of complex human diseases and traits.
Towards virtualizing the helpdesk: assessing the relevance of knowledge across distance

Managers of information systems face a knowledge crisis as they operate in increasingly heterogeneous, hostile, expertise-poor environments. This problem is compounded for small organizations. This paper presents results from field research on the feasibility of fostering cross-organizational knowledge sharing in order to expand access to expertise for pernicious problems while minimizing the loss of context, such as situational and environmental factors, that impacts the usefulness of solutions. This essentially creates a virtual, cross-organizational helpdesk. In order to understand the utility of such a system we explore how employees' satisfaction with helpdesk articles changes as the source of the articles moves further away from local creation to generic solutions. Our findings suggest that procedurally-based information available within major Internet repositories tends to be the most highly relevant and valued within organizations. However, when no documentation is available from manufacturers, information contributed by partner sites is more effective than those solely developed in-house. This paper suggests strategies for reusing information to impact work within small organizations.
Patterns of drug treatment for manic episode in the clinical practice. Outcomes of the Spanish sample in the EMBLEM Study.

INTRODUCTION Although treatment for mania has been studied extensively in randomized clinical trials, there are few data that address how these patients are truly managed in clinical, functional, and economic terms in the psychiatric practice in Spain. OBJECTIVE To determine prescribing patterns in Spain on the basis of the Spanish sample of bipolar patients in manic or mixed phase included as part of the pan-European EMBLEM Study. METHOD The EMBLEM Study recruited 3,681 patients, 312 of whom (8.47%) were included in Spain. Patients had to be adults with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder who were initiating treatment for a manic phase. They underwent evaluation using the Spanish versions of scales that measure severity of mania (the Young Mania Rating Scale, CGI-BP and the Hamilton Scale) and functional level (LCM, SLICE of LIFE). Information was collected regarding drug and treatment adherence variables. RESULTS Prior to being admitted into the study, 42% of the patients were receiving polytherapy, 35% were on monotherapy, and 23% were not taking any medication whatsoever. Forty percent of the patients presented partial or total non-compliance with the treatment prescribed. During the first stage of the study, in the case of single-drug treatment, acute management for mania consisted of mean daily doses of 25 mg of olanzapine, 6.6 mg of risperidone, 9.5 mg of haloperidol, 165 mg of lamotrigine, 938.5 mg of valproate, and 909 mg of lithium, whereas when combined therapy was used, the following doses were used: olanzapine, 22.1 mg; risperidone, 7.3 mg; haloperidol, 12.3 mg; lamotrigine, 1,75.1 mg; valproate, 1,038.4 mg, and lithium, 1012.6 mg. Of those patients who were on monotherapy at the beginning of the study 51% were treated with a single drug, whereas 48% were receiving polytherapy. Among the participants who were receiving combined treatment when they began the study, almost all of them, 94%, were prescribed combined treatment. In the case of the hospitalized patients who made up 88% of the sample, the vast majority, 92%, had improved by the time the study was completed. Mean time to release from hospital was 24 days. DISCUSSION In Spain, treatment for mania is essentially based on combined treatments, hospitalization, and antimania drugs that are prescribed at somewhat higher doses than those recommended in the corresponding prescribing information documents, which indicates that the clinical reality of this entity is far more complex than clinical trials conducted in experimental conditions suggest.
Transferable atom equivalent multicentered multipole expansion method

The transferability of atomic and functional group properties is an implicit concept in chemistry. The work presented here describes the use of Transferable Atom Equivalents (TAE) to represent molecular electrostatic potential fields through the use of integrated atomic multipole moments that are associated with each TAE atom type used in the reconstruction. TAE molecular surface distributions of electrostatic potentials are compared with analytical ab initio and empirical (Gasteiger) partial charge reference models for several conformations of test peptides. Surface electrostatic potential distributions computed using TAE multipole representations were found to converge at the octopole level, with incremental improvement observed when hexadecapoles were included. Molecular electrostatic potential fields that were produced using the TAE method were observed to be responsive to conformational changes and to compare well with ab initio reference distributions. Generation of TAE atom types and their associated multipoles does not involve fitting to sample electrostatic potential fields, but rather utilizes integrated AIM atomic electron density distributions within representative chemical environments. The RECON program was used for TAE reconstruction. RECON is capable of processing 5000 drug‐sized molecules or 25 proteins per minute per 1.7 GHz P4 Linux processor. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem 24: 512–529, 2003
Long-term benefit of primary angioplasty compared to thrombolytic therapy for acute myocardial infarction.

The treatment of myocardial infarction has evolved considerably over the past decades. Reported mortality rates have fallen, due to a variety of factors, including earlier diagnosis and treatment of the acute event, improved management of complications such as recurrent ischaemia and heart failure, and widespread availability of pharmacological therapies such as aspirin, beta-blockers and ACE inhibitors. Most attention, however, has been focused on therapies that restore antegrade coronary blood flow in the culprit vessel of the patient with evolving acute myocardial infarction. The two methods to achieve this goal are intravenous thrombolytic therapy most often followed by a conservative approach of watchful waiting, or immediate coronary angiography followed by primary angioplasty if appropriate. An overview of short term results of 10 randomized comparisons between these two approaches has shown that compared to thrombolysis, primary angioplasty results in a lower mortality (4·4% vs 6·5%, relative risk 0·66, 95% confidence intervals 0·46–0·94), translating into an absolute benefit of two lives saved per 100 patients treated with angioplasty rather than thrombolysis. The relative reduction in death or non-fatal reinfarction after angioplasty compared to thrombolysis is even more striking (7·2% vs 11·9%, relative risk 0·58, 95% confidence intervals 0·44–0·76). With respect to safety, stroke was reduced from 2·0% with thrombolysis to 0·7% with angioplasty (relative risk 0·35, 95% confidence intervals 0·14–0·77). However, considerable uncertainty existed about the long-term relative merits of these two approaches. We recently published long-term follow-up data of 395 patients randomly assigned to treatment with angioplasty or intravenous streptokinase. Clinical information was collected for a mean ( SD) of 5 2 years, and medical charges were compared. A total of 194 patients were assigned to undergo angioplasty and 201 to receive streptokinase. Mortality was 13% in the angioplasty group, as compared with 24% in the streptokinase group (relative risk 0·54, 95% confidence intervals 0·36–0·87). Non-fatal reinfarction
Invitro studies and evaluation of metformin marketed tablets-Malaysia

In this research project, we are assigned a topic to study on the in vitro equivalency evaluation of Metformin tablets. The main focus of this research is to conduct dissolution test on the tablets to determine the compliance with a given official monograph. Dissolution testing is a method for evaluating physiological availability that depends upon having the drug in a dissolved state. The release profiles obtained from in vitro dissolution tests can be used for predicting in vitro in vivo correlation models. In vitro dissolution test is conducted on five different brands of Metformin tablets to evaluate their equivalency. Tablets or capsules taken orally remain one of the most effective means of treatment available. The effectiveness of such dosage forms relies on the drug dissolving in the fluids of the gastrointestinal tract prior to absorption into the systemic circulation. The rate of dissolution of the tablet or capsule is therefore crucial. In this research, our aim is to develop an in vitro test method that fully models the physiological conditions in the GI tract. The dissolution media used closely resembles the GI fluid in the stomach. Simulation of GI pH gradients, peristaltic movement, transit times, biliary and pancreatic secretions and water absorption are examples of features in such dynamic in vitro test model.
Konrad-zuse-zentrum F ¨ Ur Informationstechnik Berlin Monte Carlo Sampling of Wigner Functions and Surface Hopping Quantum Dynamics Monte Carlo Sampling of Wigner Functions and Surface Hopping Quantum Dynamics

Wigner functions are functions on classical phase space, which are in one-to-one correspondence to square integrable functions on configuration space. For molecular quantum systems, classical transport of Wigner functions provides the basis of asymptotic approximation methods in the high energy regime. The article addresses the sampling of Wigner functions by Monte Carlo techniques. The approximation step is realized by an adaption of the Metropolis algorithm for real-valued functions with disconnected support. The quadrature, which computes values of the Wigner function, uses importance sampling with a Gaussian weight function. The numerical experiments combine the sampling with a surface hopping algorithm for non-adiabatic quantum dynamics. In agreement with theoretical considerations, the obtained results show an accuracy of two to four percent.
An Introduction to Registered Replication Reports at Perspectives on Psychological Science

Much of science, including psychology, consists of eliciting, measuring, and documenting effects. In psychology, these effects are used to test and support theories about how the mind works or why people behave the way they do. Yet, for several reasons, the first report of an effect in the published literature rarely provides enough evidence to draw firm conclusions about the actual size of the effect. First, the sample sizes typically used in psychology studies are not large enough to measure an effect with precision (Marszalek, Barber, Kohlhart, & Holmes, 2012). Second, scientific publishing favors statistically significant, novel results over inconclusive or negative ones (Fanelli, 2012). If discrepant results rarely enter the literature, then published studies will, on average, overestimate the true size of the effects they report. And third, just by chance, some published studies will be false positives (Ioannidis, 2005). Uncertainty about the true size of important effects hampers psychological theorizing. Moreover, single studies provide little evidence for the robustness of an effect across the population to which it is assumed to generalize. This issue of Perspectives on Psychological Science includes the first example of a new type of journal article, one designed to provide a more definitive measure of the size and reliability of important effects: the Registered Replication Report (RRR; see Simons & Holcombe, 2014). RRRs compile a set of studies from a variety of laboratories that all followed an identical, vetted protocol designed to reproduce the original method and finding as closely as possible. By combining the resources of multiple labs, RRRs provide the ingredients for a meta-analysis that can authoritatively establish the size and reliability of an effect.
Haplotype Inference Combining Pedigrees and Unrelated Individuals

Haplotype inference is a crucial topic in genetic studies and also represents a challenging computational problem. A significant number of combinatorial approaches tackle the haplotype inference problem either for pedigrees or for unrelated individuals. This work integrates two relevant and well-known constraint based haplotyping approaches. The Minimum Recombinant Haplotyping Configuration (MRHC) problem targets the haplotyping solution which minimizes the number of recombinant events within a pedigree. MRHC only takes into consideration the family information. In contrast, the Haplotype Inference by Pure Parsimony (HIPP) problem aims at finding a solution which minimizes the number of distinct haplotypes. The HIPP approach is adequate for phasing unrelated individuals from the same population. This paper proposes a method for inferring haplotypes for individuals of the same population, although organized in different families, thus combining both MRHC and HIPP approaches. This new method can take into account family information and population information, both important in haplotype inference. Experimental results show that the proposed approach is more accurate, both in terms of switch error rate and missing error rate, than the MRHC approach (performed by the PedPhase tool), on sets of families from the same population.
K-tier heterogeneous cellular networks with wireless power transfer

In this paper, we model and analyze the downlink (DL) wireless power transfer and uplink (UL) information transmission of K-tier heterogeneous cellular networks (HCNs). Due to the densely located BSs and universal frequency reuse between all tiers in HCNs, the typical mobile terminal (MT) is allowed to harvest energy from the serving BS by direct beamforming, as well as from the other interfering BSs. Equipped with large storage battery, the typical MT utilizes the harvested energy to provide constant transmit power for the UL information transmission. Stochastic geometry is used to model and evaluate the intrinsic relationship between the energy harvested from the BSs in the DL and the information transmission performance in the UL. To well evaluate the system performance, we derive exact expressions for the maximum transmit power at MT and the UL average ergodic rate. Our results show that the UL average ergodic rate per random MT is not significantly improved by increasing the energy conversion efficiency.
Ad-Hoc Multi-Displays for Mobile Interactive Applications

We present a framework which enables the combination of different mobile devices into one multi-display such that visual content can be shown on a larger area consisting, e.g., of several mobile phones placed arbitrarily on the table. Our system allows the user to perform multi-touch interaction metaphors, even across different devices, and it guarantees the proper synchronization of the individual displays with low latency. Hence from the user’s perspective the heterogeneous collection of mobile devices acts like one single display and input device. From the system perspective the major technical and algorithmic challenges lie in the co-calibration of the individual displays and in the low latency synchronization and communication of user events. For the calibration we estimate the relative positioning of the displays by visual object recognition and an optional manual calibration step.
The real-object advantage in agnosia: Evidence for a role of surface and depth information in object recognition

We examine the factors that lead to the identification advantage for real objects over line drawings in agnosia. In a single case study we show that identification is improved when shading cues can be used to guide the segmentation of objects into their parts. In addition we demonstrate that depth information, conveyed both by binocular disparity cues and by head movements, also facilitates object segmentation. The data indicate that information about depth and surface shading can contribute to object recognition in cases where edge-based object coding is impaired.
An easy to use bluetooth scatternet protocol for fast data exchange in wireless sensor networks and autonomous robots

We present a Bluetooth scatternet protocol (SNP) that provides the user with a serial link to all connected members in a transparent wireless Bluetooth (BT) network. By using only local decision making we can reduce the overhead of our scatternet protocol dramatically. We show how our SNP software layer simplifies a variety of tasks like the synchronization of central pattern generator controllers for actuators, collecting sensory data and building modular robot structures. The whole BT software stack including our new scatternet layer is implemented on a single Bluetooth and memory chip. To verify and characterize the SNP we provide data from experiments using real hardware instead of software simulation. This gives a realistic overview of the scatternet performance showing higher order effects that are difficult to be simulated correctly and guarantees the correct function of the SNP in real world applications.