Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Advances and Challenges in Islet Transplantation: Islet Procurement Rates and Lessons Learned from Suboptimal Islet Transplantation

The initial step in successful islet transplantation is procurement of healthy donor islets. Given the limited number of donor pancreata selected for islet isolation and that islets from multiple donors are typically required to obtain insulin independence, it is critical to improve pancreas procurement rates and yield of islets for transplantation. Islets are delicate microorgans that are susceptible to apoptosis, hypoxia, and ischemia during isolation, culture, and the peritransplant period. Once the islets are engrafted, both prompt revascularization and protection from beta-cell death and graft rejection are key to secure long-term survival and function. To facilitate the engraftment of more robust islets suitable for combating the challenging isolation period and proinflammatory transplantation milieu, numerous approaches have been employed to prevent beta-cell dysfunction and death including immune modulation, prevention of apoptosis and hypoxia, as well as stimulation of growth factors, angiogenesis, and reinnervation. In addition to briefly discussing islet isolation procedures, procurement rates, and islet transplantation, the relevant literature pertaining to successful suboptimal islet transplantation is reviewed to provide insight into potential approaches to balance the limited supply of available donor islets.
Bone-Healing Capacity of PCL/PLGA/Duck Beak Scaffold in Critical Bone Defects in a Rabbit Model

Bone defects are repaired using either natural or synthetic bone grafts. Poly(ϵ-caprolactone) (PCL), β-tricalcium phosphate (TCP), and poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) are widely used as synthetic materials for tissue engineering. This study aimed to investigate the bone-healing capacity of PCL/PLGA/duck beak scaffold in critical bone defects and the oxidative stress status of the graft site in a rabbit model. The in vivo performance of 48 healthy New Zealand White rabbits, weighing between 2.5 and 3.5 kg, was evaluated. The rabbits were assigned to the following groups: group 1 (control), group 2 (PCL/PLGA hybrid scaffolds), group 3 (PCL/PLGA/TCP hybrid scaffolds), and group 4 (PCL/PLGA/DB hybrid scaffolds). A 5 mm critical defect was induced in the diaphysis of the left radius. X-ray, micro-CT, and histological analyses were conducted at (time 0) 4, 8, and 12 weeks after implantation. Furthermore, bone formation markers (bone-specific alkaline phosphatase, carboxyterminal propeptide of type I procollagen, and osteocalcin) were measured and oxidative stress status was determined. X-ray, micro-CT, biochemistry, and histological analyses revealed that the PCL/PLGA/duck beak scaffold promotes new bone formation in rabbit radius by inducing repair, suggesting that it could be a good option for the treatment of fracture.
hpsgprof: A New Profiling Tool for Large-Scale Parallel Scientific Codes

Contemporary High Performance Computing (HPC) applications can exhibit unacceptably high overheads when existing instrumentation–based performance analysis tools are applied. Our experience shows that for some sections of these codes, existing instrumentation–based tools can cause, on average, a fivefold increase in runtime. Our experience has been that, in a performance modelling context, these less representative runs can misdirect the modelling process. We present an approach to recording call paths for optimised HPC application binaries, without the need for instrumentation. A a result, a new tool has been developed which complements our work on analytical– and simulation–based performance modelling. The utility of this approach, in terms of low and consistent runtime overhead, is demonstrated by a comparative evaluation against existing tools for a range of recognised HPC benchmark codes.
Development of multiple architectural designs using ADUAK

Architectural knowledge Management is vital in improving an organization's architectural capabilities. Different approaches have been developed to support such architectural knowledge management activities. These approaches facilitates in reasoning about various design decisions, capturing the details on which design decisions are based, along with explanations of certain types of design constructs viz., patterns, styles, tactics and others. This architecturally significant knowledge is valuable in the Software Architecture design process. The design process involves the knowledge intensive task which needs to satisfy the requirements of a potentially large set of stakeholders, who may have competing vested interests in architectural decisions. A Web based Architectural Knowledge tool has been developed to facilitate the architectural design. This paper aims to highlight the contribution of the new ADUAK (Architectural Development using Architectural Knowledge) tool through a suitable case study.
Shapes of Discoid Intracellular Compartments with Small Relative Volumes

A prominent feature of many intracellular compartments is a large membrane surface area relative to their luminal volume, i.e., the small relative volume. In this study we present a theoretical analysis of discoid membrane compartments with a small relative volume and then compare the theoretical results to quantitative morphological assessment of fusiform vesicles in urinary bladder umbrella cells. Specifically, we employ three established extensions of the standard approach to lipid membrane shape calculation and determine the shapes that could be expected according to three scenarios of membrane shaping: membrane adhesion in the central discoid part, curvature driven lateral segregation of membrane constituents, and existence of stiffer membrane regions, e.g., support by protein scaffolds. The main characteristics of each scenario are analyzed. The results indicate that even though all three scenarios can lead to similar shapes, there are values of model parameters that yield qualitatively distinctive shapes. Consequently, a distinctive shape of an intracellular compartment may reveal its membrane shaping mechanism and the membrane structure. The observed shapes of fusiform vesicles fall into two qualitatively different classes, yet they are all consistent with the theoretical results and the current understanding of their structure and function.
AC breakdown strength of epoxy-boron nitride nanocomposites: Trend & reproducibility

In this paper, the results of AC breakdown tests on epoxy - boron nitride nanocomposites are presented. Composites were produced with two different synthesis techniques and the same filler concentration. The main goal is to evaluate the reproducibility of the experimental results as it is one of the most important issues regarding nanotechnology in the field of polymers. Interestingly, the results show a high consistency and the same trend regardless the synthesis technique and thus, the particle distribution. Composites with relatively low filler concentrations exhibit a higher breakdown strength than neat epoxy. As the filler concentration increases, however, composite performance regarding breakdown strength deteriorates.
The functional epistasis of 5-HTTLPR and BDNF Val66Met on emotion processing: a preliminary study

An epistatic interaction of 5‐HTTLPR and BDNF Val66Met polymorphisms has been implicated in the structure of rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC) and amygdala (AMY): key regions associated with emotion processing. However, a functional epistasis of 5‐HTTLPR and BDNF Val66Met on overt emotion processing has yet to be determined. Twenty‐eight healthy, Caucasian female participants provided saliva samples for genotyping and underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during which an emotion processing protocol were presented. Confirming the validity of this protocol, we observed blood oxygen level–dependent (BOLD) activity consistent with fMRI meta‐analyses on emotion processing. Region‐of‐interest analysis of the rACC and AMY revealed main effects of 5‐HTTLPR and BDNF Val66Met, and an interaction of 5‐HTTLPR and BDNF Val66Met. The effect of the BDNF Met66 allele was dependent on 5‐HTTLPR alleles, such that participants with S and Met alleles had the greatest rACC and AMY activation during the presentation of emotional images relative to other genetic groupings. Increased activity in these regions was interpreted as increased reactivity to emotional stimuli, suggesting that those with S and Met alleles are more reactive to emotional stimuli relative to other groups. Although limited by a small sample, this study contributes novel and preliminary findings relating to a functional epistasis of the 5‐HTTLPR and BDNF Val66Met genes in emotion processing and provides guidance on appropriate methods to determine genetic epistasis in fMRI.
Competing risks analyses: objectives and approaches

Studies in cardiology often record the time to multiple disease events such as death, myocardial infarction, or hospitalization. Competing risks methods allow for the analysis of the time to the first observed event and the type of the first event. They are also relevant if the time to a specific event is of primary interest but competing events may preclude its occurrence or greatly alter the chances to observe it. We give a non-technical overview of competing risks concepts for descriptive and regression analyses. For descriptive statistics, the cumulative incidence function is the most important tool. For regression modelling, we introduce regression models for the cumulative incidence function and the cause-specific hazard function, respectively. We stress the importance of choosing statistical methods that are appropriate if competing risks are present. We also clarify the role of competing risks for the analysis of composite endpoints.
Comparison of radical prostatectomy techniques: open, laparoscopic and robotic assisted.

INTRODUCTION To review the current status of laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (LRP) and robotic assisted radical prostatectomy (RALP) in relation to radical retropubic prostatectomy (RRP) in the management of localized prostate cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS Between 1982 and 2007 published literature was reviewed using the National Library of Medicine database and the following key words: retropubic, laparoscopic, robotic, robot-assisted, and radical prostatectomy. Special emphasis was given to the technical and cost considerations as well as operative, functional and oncologic outcomes. In particular, reports with pioneering work that have contributed to the evolution of the technique, presenting comparative outcomes and with large series encompassing intermediate/long term follow-up, were taken into account. RESULTS After intermediate term follow-up, LRP and RALP achieved similar oncologic and functional results compared to RRP. However, LRP and RALP were associated with decreased blood loss, faster convalescence and better cosmetics when compared to RRP. The RALP technique is undoubtedly more expensive. CONCLUSIONS The oncologic and functional outcomes for LRP and RALP are similar to RRP after intermediate term follow-up. Long term follow-up and adequately designed studies will determine the inherent advantages and disadvantages of the individual techniques in the management of localized prostate cancer.
SuperPred: drug classification and target prediction

The drug classification scheme of the World Health Organization (WHO) [Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC)-code] connects chemical classification and therapeutic approach. It is generally accepted that compounds with similar physicochemical properties exhibit similar biological activity. If this hypothesis holds true for drugs, then the ATC-code, the putative medical indication area and potentially the medical target should be predictable on the basis of structural similarity. We have validated that the prediction of the drug class is reliable for WHO-classified drugs. The reliability of the predicted medical effects of the compounds increases with a rising number of (physico-) chemical properties similar to a drug with known function. The web-server translates a user-defined molecule into a structural fingerprint that is compared to about 6300 drugs, which are enriched by 7300 links to molecular targets of the drugs, derived through text mining followed by manual curation. Links to the affected pathways are provided. The similarity to the medical compounds is expressed by the Tanimoto coefficient that gives the structural similarity of two compounds. A similarity score higher than 0.85 results in correct ATC prediction for 81% of all cases. As the biological effect is well predictable, if the structural similarity is sufficient, the web-server allows prognoses about the medical indication area of novel compounds and to find new leads for known targets. Availability: the system is freely accessible at http://bioinformatics.charite. de/superpred. SuperPred can be obtained via a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License.
A block-based OFDM Decode-and-Forward relaying scheme for cooperative wireless networks

In this paper, we propose a block-based OFDM Decode-and-Forward relaying scheme for cooperative wireless networks. In the scheme, an OFDM symbol is divided into blocks and one relay is selected for each block. Theoretical outage performance is analyzed and evaluated, and a unified outage expression is developed for our scheme and the other two schemes. Monte Carlo simulations are carried out to validate our analysis. The scheme can obtain a good tradeoff between complexity and performance.
Children ’ s Turn-Taking Behavior Adaptation in Multi-Session Interactions with a Humanoid Robot

We present results concerning the timing of children’s verbal turn-taking behavior in quiz-game interactions with a humanoid robot, spread over three sessions on different days, in one of two conditions: the robot either gave explicit signals of being familiar with the user from previous interactions, or it did not. We found that communication problems such as speech overlaps and child speech ignored by the robot are decreasing across the three sessions. Moreover, these problems are fewer and decrease faster when the robot explicitly signals familiarity with the user.
Effects of Standardised Fermented Papaya Gel on Clinical Symptoms, Inflammatory Cytokines, and Nitric Oxide Metabolites in Patients with Chronic Periodontitis: An Open Randomised Clinical Study

The clinical efficacy of topical administration of standardised fermented papaya gel (SFPG), known to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, versus conventional therapy was evaluated in a group of 84 patients with moderate-to-severe periodontitis, randomly assigned to control group (n = 45) undergoing traditional pharmacologic/surgical protocols or to experimental group (n = 39), additionally treated with intragingival pocket SFPG (7 g) applications (15 min daily for 10 days). Patients undergoing SFPG treatment showed significant (P < 0.05), durable improvement of three major clinical indices of disease severity: reduced bleeding (day 7), plaque and gingival conditions (day 14), and consistent gingival pocket depth reduction (day 45). Proinflammatory nitric oxide metabolites reached normal values in plasma (day 14) and gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) at day 45 with SFPG applications compared to controls that did not reach normalisation. Levels of highly increased proinflammatory (IL-1B, IL-6) and suppressed anti-inflammatory (IL-10) cytokines normalised in the SFPG group by days 14 (plasma) and 45 (GCF), but never in the control group. Although not acting directly as antibiotic, SFPG acted in synergy with human granulocytes blocking adaptive catalase induction in S. aureus in response to granulocyte-derived oxidative stress, thus enhancing intracellular bacterial killing.
Blue straggler stars in Galactic open clusters and the effect of field star contamination

Context. We investigate the distribution of blue straggler stars in the field of three open star clusters. Aims. The main purpose is to highlight the crucial role played by general Galactic disk fore-/back-ground field stars, which are often located in the same region of the color magnitude diagram as blue straggler stars. Methods. We analyze photometry taken from the literature of 3 open clusters of intermediate/old age rich in blue straggler stars, which are projected in the direction of the Perseus arm, and study their spatial distribution and the color magnitude diagram. Results. As expected, we find that a large portion of the blue straggler population in these clusters are simply young field stars belonging to the spiral arm. This result has important consequences on the theories of the formation and statistics of blue straggler stars in different population environments: open clusters, globular clusters, or dwarf galaxies. Conclusions. As previously emphasized by many authors, a detailed membership analysis is mandatory before comparing the blue straggler population in star clusters to theoretical models. Moreover, these sequences of young field stars (blue plumes) are potentially powerful tracers of Galactic structure and they require further consideration.
Boundedly Rational Dynamic Programming

This paper proposes a way to model boundedly rational dynamic programming in a parsimonious and tractable way. The framework is quite general, and has at its core a behavioral version of the Bellman equation, in which the agent uses a simplified model of the world and the consequences of his actions. It is then applied to some of the canonical models in macroeconomics and finance. In the consumption-savings model, the consumer can pay limited attention to the variables such as the interest rate and his income —this way using a simplified, “sparse” model of the world. Endogenously, the consumer pays little or no attention to the interest rate but pays more attention to his income. The model yields a behavioral version of the New Keynesian model. In particular, it helps solve the “forward guidance puzzle”, the fact that in that model, shocks to very distant rates have a very powerful impact on today’s consumption and inflation: because the agent is de facto myopic, this effect is muted. Ricardian equivalence partially fails, because the consumer is only partially attentive to future taxes. In a Merton-style portfolio choice problem, the agent endogenously pay limited or no attention to the varying equity premium and hedging demand terms. Finally, the paper gives a behavioral version of the canonical neoclassical growth model. Fluctuations are more persistent when agents are more boundedly rational. ∗xgabaix@stern.nyu. edu. I thank Jerome Williams for very good research assistance. For useful comments I thank Nick Barberis, Robert Barro, John Campbell, Harrison Hong, David Laibson, Jennifer La’O, Ali Lazrak, Bentley MacLeod, Michael Rockinger, Thomas Sargent, Alp Simsek and seminar participants at various seminars and conferences. I am grateful to the Dauphine-CAM foundation, the Institute for New Economic Thinking, and the NSF (SES-1325181) for financial support.
A 3 D Paper-Cutting Oriented Mesh Trimming Algorithm

This paper presents an improved trimming algorithm. When cutting each pattern on the mesh surface, the algorithm first checks if a patch has been modified by other patterns, and then cuts the patch set with the new topology caused by the current pattern and updates the resultant patch set. Finally the algorithm removes the vertices and faces from the mesh surface inside the closed paper-cutting pattern to achieve cut-out effects observed from hand made paper cutting works. 3D Paper-cutting has wide applications ranging from animation, education to entertainments.
Vulnerable Young Men in Fragile Labour Markets: Employment, Unemployment and the Search for Long-Term Security

[This report is] an examination of the effect of early long-term unemployment on the later careers of young men. Focusing on young men who had experienced a period of long-term unemployment more than five years ago, this report studies how far they can recover from early difficulties and go on to establish successful careers. Based on in-depth interviews with 32 young men in the West of Scotland, the report examines how they attempt to move from unemployment to stable jobs. It describes how some become trapped in insecure work and the extent to which existing policies fail to address effectively deficiencies in the supply or demand for quality labour. The research suggests that few young men who experience an early period of long-term unemployment manage to make a complete recovery. Most remain trapped in the casual and insecure sectors of the labour market. With unemployment levels being relatively low, the problem for many young men was not so much finding work, but finding jobs that offered training and a degree of long-term security.
Fast-Dissolving Core-Shell Composite Microparticles of Quercetin Fabricated Using a Coaxial Electrospray Process

This study reports on novel fast-dissolving core-shell composite microparticles of quercetin fabricated using coaxial electrospraying. A PVC-coated concentric spinneret was developed to conduct the electrospray process. A series of analyses were undertaken to characterize the resultant particles in terms of their morphology, the physical form of their components, and their functional performance. Scanning and transmission electron microscopies revealed that the microparticles had spherical morphologies with clear core-shell structure visible. Differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray diffraction verified that the quercetin active ingredient in the core and sucralose and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) excipients in the shell existed in the amorphous state. This is believed to be a result of second-order interactions between the components; these could be observed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. In vitro dissolution and permeation studies showed that the microparticles rapidly released the incorporated quercetin within one minute, and had permeation rates across the sublingual mucosa around 10 times faster than raw quercetin.