Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Implementation of a Protocol for ABO-Incompatible Kidney Transplantation – A Three-Center Experience With 60 Consecutive Transplantations

Background. A new protocol for ABO-incompatible kidney transplantation has recently been introduced. We report here on the joint experience of the implementation in Stockholm and Uppsala, Sweden and Freiburg, Germany. Methods. The new protocol utilizes antigen-specific immunoadsorption to remove existing ABO-antibodies, rituximab, and intravenous immunoglobulin to prevent the rebound of antibodies, and conventional tacrolimus, mycophenolate-mofetil, and prednisolone immunosuppression. Sixty consecutive ABO-incompatible kidney transplantations were included in the study. The outcome is compared with the results of 274 ABO-compatible live donor transplantations performed during the same period. Results. Two of the ABO-incompatible grafts have been lost (non-compliance and death with functioning graft). All the remaining 58 grafts had good renal function at a follow-up of up to 61 months. We did not observe any late rebound of antibodies and there were no humoral rejections. Graft survival was 97% for the ABO-incompatible compared with 95% for the ABO-compatible. Patient survival was 98% in both groups. There was a significant variation in preoperative A/B-antibody titer between the centers, with a median 1:8 in Uppsala, median 1:32 in Stockholm and median 1:128 in Freiburg. More preoperative antibody adsorptions were therefore needed in Freiburg than in Stockholm and Uppsala. Conclusions. The new protocol was easily implemented and there were no graft losses that could be related to ABO-incompatibility. A significant inter-institutional variation in the measurement of anti-AB-antibodies was found, having a substantial impact on the number of immunoadsorptions and consequently on the total cost for the procedure. A standardized fluorescence-activated cell sorting technique for antibody quantification is much needed.
A wideband circularly polarized rectangular dielectric resonator antenna

In this article, a new hybrid dielectric resonator antenna (DRA) has been investigated to produce circular polarization over a wide frequency band. The targeted application is to produce a compact antenna for satellite navigation systems. The obtained design was fabricated and measured, showing impedance matching from 1.09 to 1.83 GHz, i.e. over 50% bandwidth. The radiation characteristics of the antennas were also characterized. From 1.13 to 1.63 GHz, the achieved gain is over 1.5 dBic and the axial ratio is under 1 dB at boresight. The half-power beamwidth is greater than 75°, and the axial ratio beamwidth (AR ≤ 3 dB) is over 90°.
Binomial valuation of lookback options Simon Babbs ! , " !

We present a straightforward and computationally e$cient binomial approximation scheme for the valuation of lookback options. This enables us to value American lookback options. Previous research on lookback options has assumed that the contracts are based on the extrema of the continuously observed price of the underlying security; in practice, however, contracts are often based on the extrema of prices sampled at a "nite set of "xed dates. We adapt our binomial scheme to investigate the impact on the value of the options. ( 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Technologies and policies for the development of composite information systems in decentralized organizations

This thesis describes the combination of a policy mechanism with a new technology as an implementation strategy to achieve information systems connectivity in an organization having a decentralized management structure. Information systems connectivity has emerged as being an important vehicle for achieving better coordination in large decentralized organizations. Better coordination has become a key requirement for the survival of the organization in an increasingly competitive and volatile environment. However, because the sub-units of a decentralized organization have traditionally been fairly autonomous, they have deployed information technology without a common corporate policy. This uncoordinated IT deployment has created in many decentralized organizations a heterogeneous information systems base. This thesis explores various connectivity approaches that have been documented in the literature and tested by companies in the past. The thesis focus on one of these approaches known as Focused Standards, and provides recommendations for its implementation. The approach is based on the deployment of Composite Information Systems (CIS) coupled with the standardization of the definition of key corporate data elements. The recommendations address the questions of how to select the data elements whose definitions will be standardized across the sub-units, and how to enforce the standards. The selection process is based on a committee-based approach which gathers representatives from the main user groups. The enforcement process is based on a policy which gives a high degree of flexibility to the subunits. This enforcement mechanism relies on the technology known as semantics mapping, and which allows organizational units to gradually shift their current internal data definitions to the corporate standards. The thesis also presents the design of such a semantics mapping tool. The main conclusion of the thesis is that a decentralized organization should not attempt to adopt a complete company-wide standardization of its hardware, software, and data elements definitions, in order to gain connectivity. An organization should gradually move its IS base from a heterogeneous environment to a more standardized one in a selfinterested manner, and based on the deployment of CIS systems and semantics mapping tools.
Dynamic programming - Structure, difficulties and teaching

In this paper we describe action research on our third year Algorithms, Data structures and Complexity course, in which students have considered dynamic programming hard in comparison to the other topics. Attempting to amend this, we wanted to know which difficulties the students encountered, where they gained their knowledge, and which tasks they were most certain that they could perform after the course. Such work resides in the didactics of the subject taught, but the general methods of attacking perceived difficulties in a course can be tried on any course. We identified subtasks that could be taught separately, and adapted the lectures to Pattern Oriented Instruction in order to help students cope with the cognitive complexity of solving problems using dynamic programming. For this, we prepared new clicker questions, visualisations and a lab assignment. We also constructed self-efficacy items on the course goals for dynamic programming, and administered them before and after the teaching and learning activities. Among the self-efficacy items, determining the evaluation order and solving a problem with dynamic programming with no hints had the lowest score after the course. As for the activities, arguing correctness of a solution was something many students claimed that they did not learn anywhere. Students considered the lab exercise most useful, but they also learned a lot from the other activities.
DISTRIBUCIÓN Y POBREZA EN CHILE: ¿ESTAMOS MAL? ¿HA HABIDO PROGRESOS? ¿HEMOS RETROCEDIDO? *

En este trabajo se sostiene que es erróneo juzgar los logros y fracasos de una política económico-social sobre la sola base de la distribución del ingreso entre familias. En efecto, se señala, cuando otras dimensiones son incorporadas en el análisis, se obtienen resultados muy diferentes. Así, de un análisis de los datos sobre distribución de ingresos, impacto de la política fiscal en la distribución del ingreso, índices de reducción de la pobreza y de indicadores relativos a la evolución de la calidad de vida de la población, se concluye que si bien persiste todavía en Chile una situación histórica de desigualdad de ingresos, la pobreza se ha reducido a una tasa acelerada, los niveles de consumo son más equiparados y los indicadores de calidad de vida sitúan al país en un lugar destacado.
Organizational Rules and the "Bureaucratic Personality"

Theory: Theories of the bureaucratic personality by Victor Thompson and Robert Merton hold that personal characteristics of certain bureaucrats make them prefer elaborate rules and regulations, so this study tests such a model. Yet some organizations really do need more rules, so the study also tests a bureaucratic organization model that predicts that characteristics of the organization determine members' preferences for rules. Prominent theories of bureaucracy also suggest that bureaucratic personalities should be more prevalent in public bureaucracies. Hypotheses: Personal characteristics of organizational managers determine their preferences for more rules, so managers higher on alienation and pessimism will perceive a need for more rules. Alternatively, organizational characteristics (such as layers of authority and number of records kept) determine managers' preferences for more rules, so that where there are low levels of such structural characteristics (e.g., few records kept), managers will perceive a need for more rules. Public sector managers should show more of the bureaucratic personality responses than private managers, and prefer more rules. Methods: Correlation and logistic regression analysis is used on data from the National Administrative Studies Project, a mail survey of managers in a wide variety of public and private organizations. Results: Both personal characteristics, such as alienation, and organizational characteristics, such as the number of records kept, show relations to preferences for more rules. Contrary to expectations and to much of the literature, managers in private organizations (mostly business firms) were more likely to prefer more rules than managers in public agencies.
When Wal-Mart Enters: How Incumbent Retailers React and how this Affects their Sales Outcomes

The authors examine incumbent retailers' reactions to a Wal-Mart entry and the impact of these reactions on the retailers' sales. They compile a unique data set that consists of incumbent supermarkets, drugstores, and mass merchandisers in the vicinity of seven Wal-Mart entries, as well as control stores not exposed to the entries. The data set includes weekly store movement data for 46 product categories before and after each entry and allows the authors to measure reactions and sales outcomes using a before-and-after-with-control-group analysis. They find that, overall, incumbents suffer significant sales losses as a result of a Wal-Mart entry, but there is substantial variation across retail formats, stores, and categories both in incumbent reactions and in their sales outcomes. Moreover, they find that a retailer's sales outcomes are significantly affected by its reactions, and the relationship between reactions and sales outcomes varies across retail formats. These findings provide valuable insights into how retailers in different formats can adjust their marketing mix to mitigate the impact of a Wal-Mart entry.
Leptin induces cardiac fibrosis through galectin-3, mTOR and oxidative stress: potential role in obesity

Objective: Leptin acts as a cardiac profibrotic factor. However, the mechanisms underlying this effect are unclear. Therefore, we sought to elucidate the mediators involved in this process and the potential role of leptin in cardiac fibrosis associated with obesity. Methods: Male Wistar rats were fed either a high-fat diet (HFD; 33.5% fat), or a standard diet (3.5% fat) for 6 weeks. Results: HFD animals show cardiac hypertrophy, fibrosis and an increase in O2- production as evaluated by dihydroethidium. Echocardiographic parameters of cardiac structure and systolic function were similar in both groups. Cardiac levels of leptin, collagen I, galectin-3 and transforming growth factor &bgr; (TGF-&bgr;) were higher in HFD than in controls. In cardiac myofibroblasts, leptin (10–100 ng/ml) increased O2−, collagen I, galectin-3, TGF-&bgr; and connective tissue growth factor production (CTGF). These effects were prevented by the presence of either melatonin (10−3 mmol/l) or the inhibitor of mTOR, rapamycin (10−4 mmol/l). Blockage of galectin-3 activity by N-acetyllactosamine (LacNac 10−3 mmol/l) reduced both collagen I and O2. − production induced by leptin. The p70S6 kinase activation/phosphorylation, the downstream mediator of mTOR, induced by leptin was not modified by melatonin. Leptin reduced the metalloproteinase (MMP) 2 activity and the presence of melatonin, rapamycin or LacNac were unable to prevent it. Conclusion: The data suggest that leptin locally produced in the heart could participate in the fibrosis observed in HFD by affecting collagen turnover. Collagen synthesis induced by leptin seems to be mediated by the production of galectin-3, TGF-&bgr; and CTGF through oxidative stress increased by activation of mTOR pathway.
New idea for treatment strategies for Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer stages based on a network meta-analysis

Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text Abstract Background: Currently, the Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer staging (BCLC) system still remains controversies in the management of hepatocellular carcinoma. We are trying to determine the best therapeutic strategy for each BCLC stage through a network meta-analysis and provide a new treatment idea. Methods: We conducted a systematic literature search of the PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library databases and extracted data from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that compared various strategies. Network meta-analyses were conducted in ADDIS by evaluating different overall survival of each stage. Cumulative probability was used to rank the included strategies. A node-splitting model assessed whether direct and indirect evidence on a specific node was in agreement. Results: Of the 24 included RCTs, 3667 patients were included. Based on the probability P values, the results showed that TACE plus surgical resection (SR) was the first choice for BCLC Stage A (P = .38 and P = .52 for 3- and 5-year OS, respectively). The application of SR was the best strategy for BCLC Stage B (P = .51 and P = .95 for 1- and 3-year OS, respectively). For Stage C, whole net connections could not be established in this research, but combined therapy seemed to produce better results based on 3 separated net connections (P = .92, P = .80, and P = .69 for 1-year OS). Conclusions: The updated therapy strategies discussed in this study are recommended. More importantly, we deemed that the recommended strategy for each patient may be subject to adjustment due to individual clinical factors. The applicable scope of each strategy should also be evaluated before application.
Computing program weakness using module coupling

In this paper, a method has been developed to measure the weakness of the program using module weakness and different types of module coupling. The paper justifies the need of considering coupling effect on program weakness. Various types of coupling are computed using parameters/variables and module weakness is found using average number of live variables and average life of variables in the module. The module coupling and module weakness values are used to compute program weakness, which can be used to indicate the maintainability and testability of the program.
UNCOVERING CARBON EMISSION CHARACTERISTICS OF AGRICULTURAL CROPS AND LIVESTOCK BY ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

This study attempts to verify the results reported by Atkin (2017) that plants are in fact, ultimate source of carbon dioxide. The study utilized the descriptive design of research. Data of carbon dioxide emissions were gathered from Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis and data of livestock and crop production were gathered from Food and Agricultural Organization from 1960 to 2013. The data analysis is based on a simplified assumption that the accumulated CO2 in the atmosphere includes agricultural crop production and livestock production as sources. In order to treat the data, symbolic regression was used. Symbolic regression is a type of regression analysis that does not specify the functional form of relationships between two variables. It utilizes genetic algorithm to execute the analysis. The study provides further evidence of the claim that plants actually produce more carbon dioxide than was previously held. The study also strengthens the hypothesis that with global warming and with countries in tropical climates like the Philippines, CO2 emissions from plants can be more than 11 times higher than traditional knowledge held.
The Relationship of Depression and Stressors to Immunological Assays: A Meta-Analytic Review

This is a broad meta-analysis of the relations of both depression and stressors to immunological assays. The number of study samples (greater than 180) and measures (greater than 40) is much more extensive than any so far. Analyses are done by both fixed and random effects. By a fixed-effects analysis, both major depression and naturally occurring acute stressors are associated with (1) an overall leukocytosis, (2) mild reductions in absolute NK-cell counts and relative T-cell proportions, (3) marginal increases in CD4/CD8 ratios, and (4) moderate decreases in T- and NK-cell function. However, the degree of heterogeneity of the studies' results raises questions about their robustness. Therefore, we also did the first random effects analysis to estimate what is likely to appear in future studies. For depression, the analysis showed the immunological correlates included (1) an overall leukocytosis, manifesting as a relative neutrophilia and lymphoenia; (2) increased CD4/CD8 ratios; (3) increased circulating haptoglobin, PGE(2), and IL-6 levels; (4) reduced NK-cell cytotoxicity; and (5) reduced lymphocyte proliferative response to mitogen. For stressors, the random effects analysis showed that future studies are likely to find the following effects: (1) an overall leukocytosis, manifesting as an absolute lymphocytosis; (2) alterations in cytotoxic lymphocyte levels, CD4/CD8 ratios, and natural killer cell cytotoxicity with the direction of change depending on the chronicity of the stressor; (3) a relative reduction of T-cell levels; (3) increased EBV antibody titers; (4) reduced lymphocyte proliferative response and proportion of IL-2r bearing cells following mitogenic stimulation; and (5) increased leukocyte adhesiveness. The random-effects analysis revealed that for both major depression and naturally occurring stressors the following effects are shared: leukocytosis, increased CD4/CD8 ratios, reduced proliferative response to mitogen, and reduced NK cell cytotoxicity. The implications for these findings for disease susceptibility and the pathophysiology of these conditions is discussed.
Digital fronthaul link based on optimised digital radio over fibre system

The high optical bandwidth requirement in the mobile fronthaul link of the next generation cloud radio access network represents one of the major design constraints. In this study, a digital fronthaul link based on digital radio over fibre system that integrates the duobinary coding scheme with the optical single sideband (OSSB) transmission is proposed. This system reduces the spectral occupancy of the transmitted signals as well as the chromatic dispersion effects induced by fibre in both the electrical and optical domains. The OSSB signal is created by driving two cascaded optical modulators with a combination of a baseband digital signal and the Hilbert transform of that signal. The transmission performance of a digitised 16-quadrature amplitude modulation 16-QAM radio frequency signal with a bit rate of 1.25 Gb/s over a standard single mode fibre is investigated. The results show that the fronthaul transmission length can be extended by 75 and 16.6% relative to the case of transmitting the digitised signal using double sideband and single sideband (SSB) transmission formats, respectively. The power budget is improved by 10 dB compared to the SSB case with respect to the measured optical signal-to-noise ratio at 70 km fibre distance, while maintaining the EVM below the standardised values of the 3GPP.
Cigarette smoking and the risk for alcohol use disorders among adolescent drinkers.

BACKGROUND Cigarette smoking and alcohol use disorders (AUDs) are closely linked, but it is not clear whether higher rates of AUD among smokers are solely attributable to heavier drinking or, alternatively, whether smokers are more vulnerable to alcohol abuse and dependence than nonsmokers who drink comparable quantities. We sought to address this issue using data from a nationally representative U.S. sample of adolescents and young adults. Specifically, we analyzed the relationship between cigarette smoking, drinking, and AUDs. METHODS Data were from the aggregated 2002 through 2004 U.S. National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Participants were randomly selected, household-dwelling adolescents and young adults (ages 12-20) from the noninstitutionalized, civilian population of the United States (N=74,836). Measurements included current DSM-IV alcohol abuse or dependence, number of drinks in the past 30 days, and past-year cigarette smoking, defined as having smoked more than 100 cigarettes across the lifetime and having smoked during the past year. RESULTS Past-year smokers (prevalence=16.0%) drank in higher quantities than never-smokers, but were also at elevated risk for AUD when compared with never-smokers who drank equivalent quantities. The effect was observed across age groups, but was more prominent among younger adolescents. After adjusting for drinking quantity and sociodemographic variables, smokers had 4.5-fold higher odds of AUD than never-smokers [95% confidence interval (95% CI), 3.1-6.6]. Youths who reported smoking but did not cross the 100-cigarette threshold were at intermediate risk [odds ratio (OR), 2.3; 95% CI, 1.7-3.3]. Differences in AUD between smokers and never-smokers were most pronounced at lower levels of drinking. CONCLUSIONS The results are consistent with a higher vulnerability to AUDs among smokers, compared with nonsmokers who drink equivalent quantities.
‘I am more than my IQ:’ Analysis of the experience of a gifted learner

The current article reports on the analysis of the phenomenon of the experience of a gifted learner revealing her significant school experiences. Interpretative phenomenological analysis, that is, the phenomenological strategy of Colaizzi, has been selected for a consistent analysis, which reveals the factors of a person’s internal dynamics. The educational experience of a gifted girl is revealed through five themes: four of them are related to complex negative feelings. A gifted pupil experiences loneliness and otherness in school. She lacks challenges during the learning process, and meaningful interpersonal relationships do not develop. Only one (the fifth) theme is connected to her positive feelings and self-discovery among other people. Ann acknowledges discovering the feeling of belonging and the feeling of authenticity on the personal (value-based) level when participating in cultural events with her peers. The research results are valuable because they provide insights into the feelings and experiences of an exceptionally gifted school learner. They can be beneficial to both researchers exploring education of gifted learners and to teachers working with them.