Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Review and Update of Treatment Options and Controversies in the Management of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Objective:To review the current management, outline recent advances and address controversies in the management of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Summary of Background data:The treatment of HCC is multidisciplinary involving hepatologists, surgeons, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, radiologists, interventional radiologists, and other disciplines. Each of these disciplines brings its unique perspective and differing opinions that add to controversies in the management of HCC. Methods:A focused literature review was performed to identify recent studies on the management of HCC and thereby summarize relevant information on the various therapeutic modalities and controversies involved in the treatment of HCC. Results:The main treatment algorithms continue to rely on hepatic resection or transplantation with controversies involving patients harboring early stage disease and borderline hepatic function. The other treatment strategies include locoregional therapies, radiation, and systemic therapy used alone or in combination with other treatment modalities. Recent advances in locoregional therapies, radiation, and systemic therapies have provided better therapeutic options with curative intent potential for some locoregional therapies. Further refinements in combination therapies such as algorithms consisting of locoregional therapies and systemic or radiation therapies are likely to add additional options and improve survival. Conclusions:The management of HCC has witnessed significant strides with advances in existing options and introduction of several new treatment modalities of various combinations. Further refinements in these treatment options combined with enrollment in clinical trials are essential to improve the management and outcomes of patients with HCC.
Taxi Dispatch System Based on Current Demands and Real-Time Traffic Conditions

The existing taxi dispatch system that taxi operators in Singapore use to handle current bookings was studied. This dispatch system adopts the Global Positioning System and is based on the nearest-coordinate method: the taxi assigned for each booking is the one with the shortest, direct, straight-line distance to the customer location. However, the taxi assigned under this system often is not capable of reaching the customer in the shortest time possible. An alternative dispatch system is proposed, whereby the dispatch of taxis is determined by real-time traffic conditions. In the proposed system, the taxi assigned the booking job is the one with the shortest time path, reaching the customer in the shortest time. This dispatch ensures that customers are served within the shortest period of time and increases customer satisfaction. The effectiveness of both the existing and the proposed dispatch systems is investigated through computer simulations. The results from a simulation model of the Singapore central business district network are presented and analyzed. Data from the simulations show that the proposed dispatch system is capable of being more efficient in dispatching taxis more quickly and leads to more than 50% reductions in passenger pickup times and average travel distances. A more efficient dispatch system would result in higher standards of customer service and a more organized taxi fleet to meet customer demands better.
The mass of x-ray Nova Scorpii 1994 GRO J1655-40

We have obtained high- and intermediate-resolution optical spectra of the black hole candidate Nova Scorpii 1994 in 1998 May/June, when the source was in complete (X-ray) quiescence. We measure the radial velocity curve of the secondary star and obtain a semi-amplitude of K2=215.5 ± 2.4 km s-1, which is 6 per cent lower than the only previously determined value. This new value for K2 thus reduces the binary mass function to f(M) = 2.73 ± 0.09 M⊙. Using only the high-resolution spectra, we constrain the rotational broadening of the secondary star, v sin i, to lie in the range 82.9–94.9 km s-1 (95 per cent confidence) and thus constrain the binary mass ratio to lie in the range 0.337–0.436 (95 per cent confidence). We can also combine our results with published limits for the binary inclination to constrain the mass of the compact object and secondary star to the ranges 5.5–7.9 and 1.7–3.3 M⊙ respectively (95 per cent confidence). Finally, we report on the detection of the lithium resonance line at 6707.8 A, with an equivalent width of 55 ± 8 m A.
ON THE INTERACTION BETWEEN THERMALIZED NEUTRINOS AND COSMOLOGICAL GRAVITATIONAL WAVES ABOVE THE ELECTROWEAK UNIFICATION SCALE

We investigate the interaction between the cosmological relic neutrinos, and primordial gravitational waves entering the horizon before the electroweak phase transition, corresponding to observable frequencies today ν0≳10-5Hz. We give an analytic formula for the traceless transverse part of the anisotropic stress tensor, due to weakly interacting neutrinos, and derive an integro-differential equation describing the propagation of cosmological gravitational waves at these conditions. We find that this leads to a decrease of the wave intensity in the frequency region accessible to the LISA space interferometer, that is at the present the most promising way to obtain a direct detection of a cosmological gravitational wave. The absorbed intensity does not depend neither on the perturbation wavelength, nor on the details of neutrino interactions, and is affected only by the neutrino fraction fν. The transmitted intensity amounts to 88% for the standard value fν=0.40523. An approximate formula for non-standard values of fν is given.
Improving the user experience of the rCUDA remote GPU virtualization framework

Graphics processing units (GPUs) are being increasingly embraced by the high‐performance computing community as an effective way to reduce execution time by accelerating parts of their applications. remote CUDA (rCUDA) was recently introduced as a software solution to address the high acquisition costs and energy consumption of GPUs that constrain further adoption of this technology. Specifically, rCUDA is a middleware that allows a reduced number of GPUs to be transparently shared among the nodes in a cluster. Although the initial prototype versions of rCUDA demonstrated its functionality, they also revealed concerns with respect to usability, performance, and support for new CUDA features. In response, in this paper, we present a new rCUDA version that (1) improves usability by including a new component that allows an automatic transformation of any CUDA source code so that it conforms to the needs of the rCUDA framework, (2) consistently features low overhead when using remote GPUs thanks to an improved new communication architecture, and (3) supports multithreaded applications and CUDA libraries. As a result, for any CUDA‐compatible program, rCUDA now allows the use of remote GPUs within a cluster with low overhead, so that a single application running in one node can use all GPUs available across the cluster, thereby extending the single‐node capability of CUDA. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Hybrid Petri net modeling for refinery process

Operations in process industry are characterized by hybrid system, so it is difficult to model and analyze. Recently there is a great interest in modeling and analysis of process industry. Various models are proposed for batch process. In refinery, there are no known batches and the devices must be kept in continuous operation. Thus, it is more difficult to model and analyze than batch process. There is no developed model for the refinery process. In this paper we extend the Petri net to model the crude oil operations in the refinery process, this Petri net is called controlled colored-timed Petri net (CCTPN). A token in the CCTPN carries both the discrete and continuous properties. In a discrete place, a token shows its discrete properties, the continuous properties are captured when it is in a continuous place. A discrete transition treats a token just as a discrete one, but a continuous transition deal with it as a continuous one. In this way we integrate the discrete and continuous process together in the CCTPN.
Fixed Access Network Sharing

Deep fiber deployments for ultrafast broadband are both technically and economically challenging. Fixed access network sharing (FANS) offers a highly enhanced form of virtual unbundling of broadband access networks, enabling cost sharing and the dynamics of a competitive landscape. Data, control, and management interfaces are automated and harmonized among wholesale infrastructure providers and retail virtual network operators. Standardized FANS interfaces can greatly decrease OPEX while increasing customer satisfaction. When FANS is implemented, network slicing logically partitions and isolates network resources among the VNOs, and such sharing can split the cost of network upgrades among several entities. FANS works with virtualization, where control plane functions are migrated from dedicated network equipment into software running on commodity hardware, with FANS providing network as a service. This article describes the drivers behind FANS, several architectures supporting FANS, and emerging standards supporting FANS.
Training healthcare professionals for the future: Internationalism and effective inclusion of global health training

There has been a continuing rise in recent years of the number of medical schools in the developed world offering ‘global health’ teaching to its students. Yet, the term itself is used in a number of contexts and as yet no clear consensus on what constitutes an appropriate or successful global health education programme has been reached. Approaches to sustainable internationalisation of medical curricula include the expansion of not only opportunities for training in specific global health topics, but also the development of broader generic graduate attributes including global citizenship and ethical, cultural and social responsibility. Key components for successful implementation of such an educational framework includes a breadth of educational approach to effect truly integrated and effective curricular internationalisation. That such programmes can offer benefits is appreciated by both faculty and students alike, but there is also a burgeoning concern about potential negative effects of socially and culturally insensitive programmes. We explore three potential pedagogic approaches to the subject; Model A: an ‘additive’ or contributory model of global health content (the commonest current approach), Model B: an ‘integrated’ approach and Model C: the more challenging ‘transformative’ approach requiring institutional as well as programme flexibility.
InGaAs Quantum-Well MOSFETs for logic applications

InGaAs is a promising candidate as an n-type channel material for future CMOS due to its superior electron transport properties. Great progress has taken place recently in demonstrating InGaAs MOSFETs for this goal. Among possible InGaAs MOSFET architectures, the recessedgate design is an attractive option due to its scalability and simplicity. In this thesis, a novel selfaligned recessed-gate fabrication process for scaled InGaAs Quantum-Well MOSFETs (QWMOSFETs) is developed. The device architectural design emphasizes scalability, performance and manufacturability by making extensive use of dry etching and Si-compatible materials. The fabrication sequence yields precise control of all critical transistor dimensions. This work achieved InGaAs MOSFETs with the shortest gate length (Lg=20 nm), and MOSFET arrays with the smallest contact size (Lc=40 nm) and smallest pitch size (Lp=150 nm), at the time when they were made. Using a wafer bonding technique, InGaAs MOSFETs were also integrated onto a silicon substrate. The fabricated transistors show the potential of InGaAs to yield devices with well-balanced electron transport, electrostatic integrity and parasitic resistance. A device design optimized for transport exhibits a transconductance of 3.1 mS/μm, a value that matches the best III-V highelectron-mobility transistors (HEMTs). The precise fabrication technology developed in this work enables a detailed study of the impact of channel thickness scaling on device performance. The scaled III-V device architecture achieved in this work has also enabled new device physics studies relevant for the application of InGaAs transistors for future logic. A particularly important one is OFF-state leakage. For the first time, this work has unambiguously identified band-to-band tunneling (BTBT) amplified by a parasitic bipolar effect as the cause of excess OFF-state leakage current in these transistors. This finding has important implications for future device design. Thesis supervisor: Jesús A. del Alamo Title: Professor of Electrical Engineering Thesis supervisor: Dimitri A. Antoniadis Title: Professor of Electrical Engineering
A Comparative Analysis of Mitochondrial Genomes in Eustigmatophyte Algae

Eustigmatophyceae (Ochrophyta, Stramenopiles) is a small algal group with species of the genus Nannochloropsis being its best studied representatives. Nuclear and organellar genomes have been recently sequenced for several Nannochloropsis spp. , but phylogenetically wider genomic studies are missing for eustigmatophytes. We sequenced mitochondrial genomes (mitogenomes) of three species representing most major eustigmatophyte lineages, Monodopsis sp. MarTras21, Vischeria sp. CAUP Q 202 and Trachydiscus minutus, and carried out their comparative analysis in the context of available data from Nannochloropsis and other stramenopiles, revealing a number of noticeable findings. First, mitogenomes of most eustigmatophytes are highly collinear and similar in the gene content, but extensive rearrangements and loss of three otherwise ubiquitous genes happened in the Vischeria lineage; this correlates with an accelerated evolution of mitochondrial gene sequences in this lineage. Second, eustigmatophytes appear to be the only ochrophyte group with the Atp1 protein encoded by the mitogenome. Third, eustigmatophyte mitogenomes uniquely share a truncated nad11 gene encoding only the C-terminal part of the Nad11 protein, while the N-terminal part is encoded by a separate gene in the nuclear genome. Fourth, UGA as a termination codon and the cognate release factor mRF2 were lost from mitochondria independently by the Nannochloropsis and T. minutus lineages. Finally, the rps3 gene in the mitogenome of Vischeria sp. is interrupted by the UAG codon, but the genome includes a gene for an unusual tRNA with an extended anticodon loop that we speculate may serve as a suppressor tRNA to properly decode the rps3 gene.
Evaluation of tree creation methods within random forests for classification of PolSAR images

Random Forests and their many variations developed to one of the most successful instruments to automatically analyse image data. One of the most crucial parts is the definition and selection of node tests within the individual trees, which among other things allow for trade-offs between accuracy and computational load. This paper discusses several different approaches to test creation and compares them based on their classification performance on polarimetric synthetic aperture radar data. The experiments show that selecting the best out of multiple randomly generated node tests leads to the highest accuracy with the smallest computational effort.
Visibility Enhancement for Roads with Foggy or Hazy Scenes

Bad weather, particularly fog and haze, commonly obstruct drivers from observing road conditions. This could frequently lead to a considerable number of road accidents. To avoid the problem, automatic methods have been proposed to enhance visibility in bad weather. Methods that work on visible wavelengths, based on the type of their input, can be categorized into two approaches: those using polarizing filters, and those using images taken from different fog densities. Both of the approaches require that the images are multiple and taken from exactly the same point of view. While they can produce reasonably good results, their requirement makes them impractical, particularly in real time applications, such as vehicle systems. Considering their drawbacks, our goal is to develop a method that requires solely a single image taken from ordinary digital cameras, without any additional hardware. The method principally uses color and intensity information. It enhances the visibility after estimating the color of skylight and the values of airtight. The experimental results on real images show the effectiveness of the approach.
Seasonality in sperm parameters in normal men and dyspermic patients on medical intervention

This study attempted to investigate the presence of seasonal variations in sperm parameters and to evaluate the season’s impact on the response to treatment in men with idiopathic oligozoospermia (IO). To this end, a retrospective analysis of the records of 294 men, who participated in a controlled study, was performed. This sample included IO men (n = 106) treated with tamoxifen citrate (10 mg b.i.d.) and testosterone undecanoate (40 mg t.i.d.) or placebo (n = 106) and normozoospermic men (n = 82) serving as controls. Outcome measures included sperm parameters, functional sperm fraction (FSF) and incidence of pregnancy. Analysis showed a raised frequency of high FSF values and increased area under the response curve (AURC) for FSF mean during autumn‐winter seasons in patients on active treatment compared with those in placebo (P < 0.05–P < 0.04). Moreover, receiver operation characteristics (ROC) curves for a >100% FSF rise significantly discriminated autumn‐winter from other seasons (P < 0.001, all), whereas active treatment showed higher than placebo FSF values particularly during autumn and winter (P < 0.001, all). The pregnancy incidence was higher in the autumn in all groups. It is concluded that FSF values showed a better response to active treatment during autumn and winter, indicating that commencement of empirical treatment at this time in IO men may stand a better chance to succeed.
Impact of Production Systems on Swine Confinement Buildings Bioaerosols

Hog production has been substantially intensified in Eastern Canada. Hogs are now fattened in swine confinement buildings with controlled ventilation systems and high animal densities. Newly designed buildings are equipped with conventional manure handling and management systems, shallow or deep litter systems, or source separation systems to manage the large volumes of waste. However, the impacts of those alternative production systems on bioaerosol concentrations within the barns have never been evaluated. Bioaerosols were characterized in 18 modern swine confinement buildings, and the differences in bioaerosol composition in the three different production systems were evaluated. Total dust, endotoxins, culturable actinomycetes, fungi, and bacteria were collected with various apparatuses. The total DNA of the air samples was extracted, and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to assess the total number of bacterial genomes, as a total (culturable and nonculturable) bacterial assessment. The measured total dust and endotoxin concentrations were not statistically different in the three studied production systems. In buildings with sawdust beds, actinomycetes and molds were found in higher concentrations than in the conventional barns. Aspergillus, Cladosporium, Penicillium, and Scopulariopsis species were identified in all the studied swine confinement buildings. A. flavus, A. terreus, and A. versicolor were abundantly present in the facilities with sawdust beds. Thermotolerant A. fumigatus and Mucor were usually found in all the buildings. The culturable bacteria concentrations were higher in the barns with litters than in the conventional buildings, while real-time PCR revealed nonstatistically different concentrations of total bacteria in all the studied swine confinement buildings. In terms of workers' respiratory health, barns equipped with a solid/liquid separation system may offer better air quality than conventional buildings or barns with sawdust beds. The impact of ventilation rates, air distribution, or building design still has to be explored.
Persistence of muscle sympathetic nerve activity during vasovagal syncope.

AIMS To determine whether sympathetic nerve firing to skeletal muscle vasculature is withdrawn during vasovagal syncope (VVS) precipitated by passive graded head-up tilt (HUT) table testing. METHODS AND RESULTS We performed passive graded HUT table testing in 18 patients with a history of recurrent postural VVS whom we evaluated during the syncopal event. All patients developed typical VVS during testing. Blood pressure was measured continuously via intra-brachial arterial line. Muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) was measured using an electrode in the peroneal nerve. Passive graded HUT was then applied. No pharmacological agents were used to provoke syncope. The recording site was maintained through the syncopal event in 10 of 18 patients and we were able to demonstrate persistence of MSNA during syncope in 9. The predominant haemodynamic pattern of syncope in this cohort was mixed--hypotension and bradycardia, with heart rate not falling <40 b.p.m. (n = 10). CONCLUSION Our data challenge the established view that the final trigger for human orthostatic vasovagal reactions is sympathetic nervous system inhibition. Efferent sympathetic nerve traffic to the skeletal muscle vasculature was nearly always maintained through the faint. This finding supports an alternative viewpoint, that vasodilator mechanisms underlie the blood pressure fall in VVS.
What contributes to quality of life in patients with Parkinson's disease?

OBJECTIVE To identify the factors that determine quality of life (QoL) in patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease in a population based sample. Quality of life (QoL) is increasingly recognised as a critical measure in health care as it incorporates the patients' own perspective of their health. METHODS All patients with Parkinson's disease seen in a population based study on the prevalence of parkinsonism were asked to complete a disease-specific QoL questionnaire (PDQ-39) and the Beck depression inventory. A structured questionnaire interview and a complete neurological examination, including the Hoehn and Yahr scale, the Schwab and England disability scale, the motor part of the unified Parkinson's disease rating scale (UPDRS part III), and the mini mental state examination were performed by a neurologist on the same day. RESULTS The response rate was 78%. The factor most closely associated with QoL was the presence of depression, but disability, as measured by the Schwab and England scale, postural instability, and cognitive impairment additionally contributed to poor QoL. Although the UPDRS part III correlated significantly with QoL scores, it did not contribute substantially to predicting their variance once depression, disability, and postural instability had been taken into account. In addition, patients with akinetic rigid Parkinson's disease had worse QoL scores than those with tremor dominant disease, mainly due to impairment of axial features. CONCLUSION Depression, disability, postural instability, and cognitive impairment have the greatest influence on QoL in Parkinson's disease. The improvement of these features should therefore become an important target in the treatment of the disease.