Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A North Atlantic Treaty Organisation framework for life cycle costing

There is a long and documented history of both cost growth and estimating optimism within military system acquisition programmes. This is particularly the case for multinational programmes. As the nature of future acquisition programmes will be more multinational oriented, a common approach is required to generate realistic and consistent LCC estimates for a future system. This article presents the findings to date of the NATO Research and Technology Organisation (RTO) to develop a framework for life cycle costing. This framework consists of a generic cost breakdown structure (CBS), methods and models to be used and a guideline for conducting a Life Cycle Cost (LCC) analysis in all stages of the system's life cycle. All this is summarised in a Code of Practice. The article concludes presenting the next step in the NATO cost improvement process, i.e. to exercise the guideline, for example, programmes. An independent cost estimate (ICE) is conducted on three systems to demonstrate proof of concept. The results of these ICEs will be further used to improve the guideline and the Code of Practice.
Concurrent Radiotherapy and Triweekly Carboplatin for the Definitive Treatment of Locally Advanced Laryngeal Carcinoma

Purpose of the Study: In 2003, our institution adopted triweekly carboplatin (tCb) area under the curve (AUC) 5 as an alternative to high-dose cisplatin (100 mg/m2) for select patients receiving definitive concurrent chemoradiation for locally advanced laryngeal carcinoma (LALC). Here, we present our experience and outcomes with this definitive concurrent chemoradiation regimen. Methods: From January 2003 through December 2013, 53 patients with stage III (60%) or IVA (40%) LALC were treated with tCb AUC 5 and concurrent radiotherapy to 70 Gy without neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Reasons for using carboplatin instead of cisplatin in these patients were: age 70 and older (21%), poor renal function (6%), presence of 1 or more major comorbid condition(s) (36%), and per discretion of the treating medical oncologist (38%). Primary disease site was glottis in 22 (42%) patients and supraglottis in 31 (58%) patients. Results: Median follow-up time was 63 months for surviving patients. Out of the 53 patients, 43 (81%) received all 3 cycles of carboplatin and all patients received their intended dose of radiotherapy. Although 17 (32%) patients required a feeding tube during treatment, only 2 (4%) required it long term. There were no acute treatment-related grade 4 or 5 hematologic toxicities. On last follow-up, 14 (26%) patients had died of intercurrent disease. For the subgroup of “RTOG 9111 eligible” patients in our cohort (n=46), 5-year estimates of overall survival, disease-free survival, laryngectomy-free survival, larynx preservation, and locoregional control were: 49%, 42%, 39%, 80%, and 63%, respectively. Conclusions: In patients with LALC who are suboptimal candidates for high-dose cisplatin, our experience suggests that tCb AUC 5 with concurrent radiotherapy provides acceptable outcomes with tolerable toxicity.
Distribution of Arterial Lesions Demonstrated by Selective Cinecoronary Arteriography

The distribution of obstructions exceeding 30% of the normal diameter of the lumen of one or more major coronary arteries was studied in 627 of 1,000 patients who had selective cinecoronary arteriograms. An additional 99 patients had lesser degrees of narrowing, and in the arteriograms of 274 patients, normal arteries were demonstrated. An average of 2.0 lesions resulting in at least 50% luminal narrowing of major arteries was found per patient. The anterior descending coronary artery was involved slightly more frequently than were other vessels. More than 75% of the symptomatic patients had 90% or more obstruction of at least one vessel, and more than 50% had total occlusions of one or more vessels. A single major artery was the site of obstruction exceeding 30% of the luminal diameter in 131 patients (20.9% of the 627 patients), and in 43 of these (6.9%) the other arteries appeared to be entirely normal. Severe involvement of single arteries was most frequent in patients who had myocardial infarction without angina pectoris or in those who had rest pain only. No pattern of arterial involvement was pathognomonic of a clinical syndrome.
Testicular volume is inversely correlated with nurturing-related brain activity in human fathers

Significance Life History Theory posits a trade-off between mating and parenting effort, which may explain some of the observed variance in human fathers’ parenting behavior. The current study tested this hypothesis by measuring aspects of reproductive biology related to mating effort, as well as paternal nurturing behavior and the brain activity related to it. Both testosterone levels and testes volume were negatively correlated with paternal caregiving. In response to viewing pictures of one’s own child, brain activity in a key component of the reward and motivation system predicted paternal caregiving and was negatively related to testes volume. These results suggest that the biology of human males reflects a trade-off between mating effort and parenting effort. Despite the well-documented benefits afforded the children of invested fathers in modern Western societies, some fathers choose not to invest in their children. Why do some men make this choice? Life History Theory offers an explanation for variation in parental investment by positing a trade-off between mating and parenting effort, which may explain some of the observed variance in human fathers’ parenting behavior. We tested this hypothesis by measuring aspects of reproductive biology related to mating effort, as well as paternal nurturing behavior and the brain activity related to it. Both plasma testosterone levels and testes volume were independently inversely correlated with paternal caregiving. In response to viewing pictures of one’s own child, activity in the ventral tegmental area—a key component of the mesolimbic dopamine reward and motivation system—predicted paternal caregiving and was negatively related to testes volume. Our results suggest that the biology of human males reflects a trade-off between mating effort and parenting effort, as indexed by testicular size and nurturing-related brain function, respectively.
Super-SILAC: current trends and future perspectives

Stable isotope labeling with amino acids in cell culture (SILAC) has risen as a powerful quantification technique in mass spectrometry (MS)–based proteomics in classical and modified forms. Previously, SILAC was limited to cultured cells because of the requirement of active protein synthesis; however, in recent years, it was expanded to model organisms and tissue samples. Specifically, the super-SILAC technique uses a mixture of SILAC-labeled cells as a spike-in standard for accurate quantification of unlabeled samples, thereby enabling quantification of human tissue samples. Here, we highlight the recent developments in super-SILAC and its application to the study of clinical samples, secretomes, post-translational modifications and organelle proteomes. Finally, we propose super-SILAC as a robust and accurate method that can be commercialized and applied to basic and clinical research.
Boost PFC converter with a new sinusoidal reference current algorithm

Input current distortion is a common phenomenon when the input voltage is at the zero-crossing in power factor correction (PFC) converters. This paper analyzes the cause of zero-crossing distortion and indicates that input current leading the input voltage is the key reason for non-unity fundamental displacement factor and the zero-crossing distortion in boost PFC converter. The zero-crossing distorted phenomenon of the PFC converter is improved by correcting the reference initial phase angle according to the value of input current at the zero-crossing of input voltage. A novel input voltage feed-forward control algorithm is proposed to improve the performance of boost PFC converter. The simulation results indicate that the proposed method is valid, not only reduce the DSP computing time but also improve the transient response and zero-crossing distortion.
SPECT Study of Folate Receptor-Positive Malignant and Normal Tissues in Mice Using a Novel 99mTc-Radiofolate

The folate receptor (FR) is overexpressed on epithelial cancers (FR-α) and on activated, but not resting, macrophages (FR-β) involved in a variety of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Therefore, folate-based radiopharmaceuticals have the potential to be used as imaging agents of FR-positive tumor and inflammatory cells. In this study SPECT/CT of FR-positive malignant and normal tissues and organs in mice was performed using an improved organometallic 99mTc-radiofolate. Methods: The 99mTc radiolabeling of the histidine-folate was performed using the tricarbonyl technique described earlier for preparation of other organometallic radiofolates. Nude male mice with FR-positive KB tumor xenografts were used. Biodistribution studies were performed 1, 4, and 24 h after injection of the 99mTc-His-folate (1.5 MBq/mouse). Images were acquired with a dedicated small-animal SPECT/CT camera 24 h after injection of the radiofolate (500 MBq/mouse). Ex vivo autoradiography was performed on tumors and FR-positive normal tissues. Adjacent sections were used for in vitro autoradiography of FRs after decay of the injected radioactivity. Results: The SPECT/CT studies revealed accumulation of the radiotracer in FR-positive KB tumor xenografts and kidneys as reported previously. At the same time, specific uptake of the radiofolate in normal tissues—that is, salivary glands and choroid plexus—could be visualized with SPECT. FR-specific accumulation in these tissues and organs was confirmed by coinjection of excess folic acid, which resulted in a complete blockade of radiofolate uptake. In addition, ex vivo and in vitro autoradiography of these organs and tissues confirmed FR expression and displayed radioactivity distribution patterns almost identical to those found on SPECT images. In biodistribution studies we found a high tumor uptake (4.29 ± 0.67 %ID/g [percentage of the injected dose per gram of tissue], 4 h after injection) that was almost completely retained over time (3.51 ± 0.37 %ID/g, 24 h after injection). Conclusion: The novel 99mTc-histidine-folate showed improved in vivo characteristics compared with other organometallic radiofolates that allowed imaging of FR-positive malignant (KB tumor xenografts) and kidneys. For the first time, to our knowledge, specific tracer uptake in salivary glands and the choroid plexus could be visualized using a high-resolution animal SPECT/CT camera.
Unconventional Natural Gas Development and Birth Outcomes in Pennsylvania, USA

Background: Unconventional natural gas development has expanded rapidly. In Pennsylvania, the number of producing wells increased from 0 in 2005 to 3,689 in 2013. Few publications have focused on unconventional natural gas development and birth outcomes. Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study using electronic health record data on 9,384 mothers linked to 10,946 neonates in the Geisinger Health System from January 2009 to January 2013. We estimated cumulative exposure to unconventional natural gas development activity with an inverse-distance squared model that incorporated distance to the mother’s home; dates and durations of well pad development, drilling, and hydraulic fracturing; and production volume during the pregnancy. We used multilevel linear and logistic regression models to examine associations between activity index quartile and term birth weight, preterm birth, low 5-minute Apgar score and small size for gestational age birth, while controlling for potential confounding variables. Results: In adjusted models, there was an association between unconventional natural gas development activity and preterm birth that increased across quartiles, with a fourth quartile odds ratio of 1.4 (95% confidence interval = 1.0, 1.9). There were no associations of activity with Apgar score, small for gestational age birth, or term birth weight (after adjustment for year). In a posthoc analysis, there was an association with physician-recorded high-risk pregnancy identified from the problem list (fourth vs. first quartile, 1.3 [95% confidence interval = 1.1, 1.7]). Conclusion: Prenatal residential exposure to unconventional natural gas development activity was associated with two pregnancy outcomes, adding to evidence that unconventional natural gas development may impact health. See Video Abstract at http://links.lww. com/EDE/B14.
The Impact of Preexisting or Acquired Kaposi Sarcoma Herpesvirus Infection in Kidney Transplant Recipients on Morbidity and Survival

The impact of preexisting or acquired Kaposi sarcoma herpesvirus (KSHV) infection in kidney transplant recipients was evaluated in a prospective study. Serum collected from kidney donors and recipients before transplantation were tested for antibodies against KSHV latent nuclear antigen. Three groups of recipients were defined: group A (KSHV+), group B (KSHV−, KSHV+ donor) and group C (donor and recipient KSHV−). Blood was collected from recipients, every 3 months for 3 years, for KSHV viremia (groups A and B), quantitative (group A) and qualitative serology (group B). Data of group C recipients were extracted from a French database. The prevalence of KSHV antibodies was 1.1% in donors and 3.2% in recipients. There were respectively 161, 64 and 4744 recipients in groups A, B and C.
Transformational Leadership and Employee Psychological Well-Being: A Review and Directions for Future Research

This review paper focuses on answering 2 research questions: (a) Does transformational leadership predict employee well-being? (b) If so, how and when does this prediction occur? A systematic computerized search and review of empirical papers published between January 1980 and December 2015 was conducted. Forty papers were found that met the criteria of reporting empirical results, being published in English, and focused on answering the above research questions. Based on these papers it appears that, in general, transformational leadership positively predicts positive measures of well-being, and negatively predicts negative measures of well-being (i.e., ill-being). However, recent findings suggest that this is not always such a simple relationship. In addition, several mediating variables have been established, demonstrating that in many cases there is an indirect effect of transformational leadership on employee well-being. Although some boundary conditions have been examined, more research is needed on moderators. The review demonstrated the importance of moving forward in this area with stronger research designs to determine causality, specifying the outcome variable of interest, investigating the dimensions of transformational leadership separately, and testing more complicated relationships.
Active disturbance rejection solution for single water tank systems with high-precision

Due to the nonlinearities, disturbances and uncertainties of the single water tank system, an active disturbance rejection control (ADRC) solution with high-precision was proposed. Firstly, a nonlinear mechanism model was built based on the theories of fluid dynamics for water tank system. Then, the nonlinear model was linearized in static work point to get its simplified model. Secondly, first-order linear ADRC solutions for the system models with unknown order were designed. With a simple “integrator series” as the normalized type of the feedback system, the parts of dynamic system is different from the normalized type are treated as the total disturbance. So it was estimated by the second-order linear extended state observer and canceled out in the control law. The system, with disturbances, uncertainties and nonlinearities, is reduced to the canonical form of the linear chain of integrators. Simulation results show that both the ADRCs have better performances than PID controller on disturbance-rejection and robustness.
Humor grounded taxonomy of music by investigating expressive statistics using audio feature extraction

In consolidating lyric and audio sources, half and half capabilities constructed with three diverse highlight determination systems were additionally analyzed. The outcomes show designs at chances with discoveries in past studies: audio features don't generally beat lyrics features, and joining lyrics and audio features can enhance execution in numerous mood classifications. For content mining characterization, the venture makes utilization of Naive bayes classifier. Gender and age are a percentage of the essential qualities being examined in voice-based speaker grouping framework. This research extend additionally make utilization of distinctive speech features to characterize age and gender of element voice tests. The utilization of SVM-Support Vector Machine for new speaker grouping framework is finished.
Activation of Akt, Not Connexin 43 Protein Ubiquitination, Regulates Gap Junction Stability*

Background: The gap junctional protein connexin 43 (Cx43) has a 1–3 h half-life, and both the proteasome and lysosome have been implicated in Cx43 turnover. Results: Use of lysine to arginine mutants and kinase inhibitors showed that Akt activation stabilizes gap junctions. Conclusion: Akt phosphorylation of Cx43 stabilizes gap junctions. Significance: Linkage of Akt to gap junction stability may mechanistically explain their cell survival/growth roles. The pore-forming gap junctional protein connexin 43 (Cx43) has a short (1–3 h) half-life in cells in tissue culture and in whole tissues. Although critical for cellular function in all tissues, the process of gap junction turnover is not well understood because treatment of cells with a proteasomal inhibitor results in larger gap junctions but little change in total Cx43 protein whereas lysosomal inhibitors increase total, mostly nonjunctional Cx43. To better understand turnover and identify potential sites of Cx43 ubiquitination, we prepared constructs of Cx43 with different lysines converted to arginines. However, when transfected into cells, a mutant version of Cx43 with all lysines converted to arginines behaved similarly to wild type in the presence of proteasomal and lysosomal inhibitors, indicating that ubiquitination of Cx43 did not appear to be playing a role in gap junction stability. Through the use of inhibitors and dominant negative constructs, we found that Akt (protein kinase B) activity controlled gap junction stability and was necessary to form larger stable gap junctions. Akt activation was increased upon proteasomal inhibition and resulted in phosphorylation of Cx43 at Akt phosphorylation consensus sites. Thus, we conclude that Cx43 ubiquitination is not necessary for the regulation of Cx43 turnover; rather, Akt activity, probably through direct phosphorylation of Cx43, controls gap junction stability. This linkage of a kinase involved in controlling cell survival and growth to gap junction stability may mechanistically explain how gap junctions and Akt play similar regulatory roles.
Replication capacity, biological phenotype, and drug resistance of HIV strains isolated from patients failing antiretroviral therapy

The fitness of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in vivo depends on the interaction of a multitude of viral and host factors. The aim of this study was to analyze the biological phenotype and the intrinsic capacity of the HIV isolates with drug‐resistance mutations to replicate efficiently in the absence of drugs. An open label multicenter cross‐sectional study was undertaken on 28 HIV‐infected patients failing antiretroviral treatment. The subjects were studied for CD4+ cell count, HIV viral load, syncytium‐inducing phenotype, genotypic drug‐resistance assay, and replication capacity of HIV isolates assessed by co‐culture assay. All HIV isolates showed a decreased replication capacity compared with wild‐type strains. The lowest replication capacity was detected in HIV strains with more than five drug‐resistance mutations. The highest replication capacity was observed in strains carrying the K103N and Y181C primary mutations that emerged after treatment with non‐nucleoside analogue inhibitors. Isolates with R5 biological phenotype had a higher number of resistant mutations than X4 isolates (P = 0.004). Particularly, the R5 phenotype was detected in all 6 isolates with more than 14 drug‐resistance mutations. Patients with R5 strains had plasma viral load similar to patients with X4 strains, but marginally higher CD4+ cell counts, and their HIV isolates had significantly lower replication capacity of HIV isolates (P = 0.008). No patient carrying HIV with a maintained replication capacity had a viral load less than 30,000 copies/ml. In patients failing HAART, the detection of HIV isolates with the R5 biological phenotype correlates with CD4+ cell count, an impaired replication capacity, and a high number of drug‐resistance mutations. J. Med. Virol. 69:1–6, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The Present State of Psychiatric Epidemiology

The seven uses of epidemiology identified by Morris all have direct relevance for mental disorders. But psychiatric epidemiology has a number of distinguishing features: it has to depend on a nosology that may lack validity; it depends largely on subjective symptoms for its data; the morbidity it deals with is really a continuum, and not a dichotomy of cases and unaffected persons; the measurement of morbidity using scales or standardised interviews is open to considerable error; and the unbiased assessment of environmental exposures proves to be technically challenging. Some of these features have been the basis of interesting research developments. The main milestones in the progress of psychiatric epidemiology are reviewed, together with some of the current issues of general interest, including activities in Australasia.