Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Methods of Blinding in Reports of Randomized Controlled Trials Assessing Pharmacologic Treatments: A Systematic Review

Background Blinding is a cornerstone of therapeutic evaluation because lack of blinding can bias treatment effect estimates. An inventory of the blinding methods would help trialists conduct high-quality clinical trials and readers appraise the quality of results of published trials. We aimed to systematically classify and describe methods to establish and maintain blinding of patients and health care providers and methods to obtain blinding of outcome assessors in randomized controlled trials of pharmacologic treatments. Methods and Findings We undertook a systematic review of all reports of randomized controlled trials assessing pharmacologic treatments with blinding published in 2004 in high impact-factor journals from Medline and the Cochrane Methodology Register. We used a standardized data collection form to extract data. The blinding methods were classified according to whether they primarily (1) established blinding of patients or health care providers, (2) maintained the blinding of patients or health care providers, and (3) obtained blinding of assessors of the main outcomes. We identified 819 articles, with 472 (58%) describing the method of blinding. Methods to establish blinding of patients and/or health care providers concerned mainly treatments provided in identical form, specific methods to mask some characteristics of the treatments (e.g., added flavor or opaque coverage), or use of double dummy procedures or simulation of an injection. Methods to avoid unblinding of patients and/or health care providers involved use of active placebo, centralized assessment of side effects, patients informed only in part about the potential side effects of each treatment, centralized adapted dosage, or provision of sham results of complementary investigations. The methods reported for blinding outcome assessors mainly relied on a centralized assessment of complementary investigations, clinical examination (i.e., use of video, audiotape, or photography), or adjudication of clinical events. Conclusions This review classifies blinding methods and provides a detailed description of methods that could help trialists overcome some barriers to blinding in clinical trials and readers interpret the quality of pharmalogic trials.
Stability and vibrations of internal windings of high-current superconducting solenoid magnets. Technical report

Abstract : High field solenoid magnets may experience internal damage or eventually collapse due to the powerful magnetic fields they produce. Elastic deformations of the conductor and insulation in these magnets deserve attention because they can cause local damage that can lead to electrical breakdown. In conventional stress analysis of cylindrically wound magnets, the magnetic field gradient, or magnetic stiffness, is usually neglected. However, in this thesis the magnetic stiffness is shown to have a significant effect on the elastic stability and vibration of these magnets. One-turn and multi-turn superconducting rings were used to study the effects of deformations on stability and vibration. Both static and dynamic methods were used to determine the critical buckling currents. The dispersion of natural frequencies with increase in current and subsequent in-plane and out-of-plane buckling of the rings near the critical buckling current were observed. A model based on ring theory and magnetic stiffness was developed to explain experimental observations and showed a fair to good agreement between experimental and theoretical values of the buckling current. This model was used to evaluate the buckling current of 7- and 10-turn magnets. The analysis showed buckling concentrated in the outer turns. (Author)
Reinforcement Learning: A Survey

This paper surveys the field of reinforcement learning from a computer-science perspective. It is written to be accessible to researchers familiar with machine learning. Both the historical basis of the field and a broad selection of current work are summarized. Reinforcement learning is the problem faced by an agent that learns behavior through trial-and-error interactions with a dynamic environment. The work described here has a resemblance to work in psychology, but differs considerably in the details and in the use of the word "reinforcement. " The paper discusses central issues of reinforcement learning, including trading off exploration and exploitation, establishing the foundations of the field via Markov decision theory, learning from delayed reinforcement, constructing empirical models to accelerate learning, making use of generalization and hierarchy, and coping with hidden state. It concludes with a survey of some implemented systems and an assessment of the practical utility of current methods for reinforcement learning.
Nanosilver Migrated into Food‐Simulating Solutions from Commercially Available Food Fresh Containers

Manufacturers of food fresh containers use nanosilver as an antimicrobial agent, but the safe impacts of nanosilver release from commercial products are unknown. The nanoparticles that migrate from the consumer products should be determined to assess the safety and/or risks of nanotechnology. This paper describes experimental work carried out on one kind of commercial food fresh container (polyethylene plastic bags). In the experiments, the range of temperatures was from room temperature (about 25°C) to 50°C, the range of time intervals was from 3 to 15 days, and the bags were filled with four kinds of food‐simulating solutions representing water, acid, alcohol and fatty foods, respectively. Microwave digestion method was used for sample pre‐treatment. The scanning electron microscopy and energy‐dispersive X‐ray (SEM/EDX) analysis was used to confirm the presence and morphology of nanosilver additives, and the atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) analysis was applied, showing that the commercial bags contained 100 μg (Ag)/g (plastic materials). Strong evidences from SEM/EDX and AAS analyses were found, indicating the migration of nanosilver from the polyethylene bags into food‐simulating solutions. The amount of nanosilver migration was observed as increasing with storage time and temperature. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
When the Seasons Don't Fit: Speedy Molt as a Routine Carry-Over Cost of Reproduction

The failure of animals to fit all life-cycle stages into an annual cycle could reduce the chances of successful breeding. In some cases, non-optimal strategies will be adopted in order to maintain the life-cycle within the scope of one year. We studied trade-offs made by a High Arctic migrant shorebird, the red knot Calidris canutus islandica, between reproduction and wing feather molt carried out in the non-breeding period in the Dutch Wadden Sea. We compared primary molt duration between birds undertaking the full migratory and breeding schedule with birds that forego breeding because they are young or are maintained in captivity. Molt duration was ca. 71 days in breeding adults, which was achieved by an accelerated feather replacement strategy. Second-year birds and captive adults took ca. 22% and 27% longer, respectively. Second-year birds start molt in late June, more than four weeks before captive adults, and almost seven weeks before adults that return from breeding in late July–August. Adults finish molt in October when steeply increasing thermostatic costs and reductions in food availability occur. Primary molt duration was longer in female than in male knots (all ages), which was accordance with the somewhat larger body size of females. Since fast growth leads to lower quality feathers, the speedy wing molt shown by Arctic-breeding birds may represent a time constraint that is an unavoidable and routine cost of reproduction. So far it was hypothesized that only birds over 1 kg would have difficulty fitting molt within a year. Here we show that in birds an order of magnitude smaller, temporal imperatives may impose the adoption of non-optimal life-cycle routines in the entire actively breeding population.
FF-bond: multi-bit flip-flop bonding at placement

Clock power contributes a significant portion of chip power in modern IC design. Applying multi-bit flip-flops can effectively reduce clock power. State-of-the-art work performs multi-bit flip-flop clustering at the post-placement stage. However, the solution quality may be limited because the combinational gates are immovable during the clustering process. To overcome the deficiency, in this paper, we propose multi-bit flip-flop bonding at placement. Inspired by ionic bonding in Chemistry, we direct flip-flops to merging friendly locations thus facilitating flip-flop merging. Experimental results show that our algorithm, called FF-Bond, can save 27% clock power on average. Compared with state-of-the-art post-placement multi-bit flip-flop clustering, FF-Bond can further reduce 14% clock power.
Automated cell tracking identifies mechanically oriented cell divisions during Drosophila axis elongation

Embryos extend their anterior-posterior (AP) axis in a conserved process known as axis elongation. Drosophila axis elongation occurs in an epithelial monolayer, the germband, and is driven by cell intercalation, cell shape changes, and oriented cell divisions at the posterior germband. Anterior germband cells also divide during axis elongation. We developed image analysis and pattern-recognition methods to track dividing cells from confocal microscopy movies in a generally applicable approach. Mesectoderm cells, forming the ventral midline, divided parallel to the AP axis, while lateral cells displayed a uniform distribution of division orientations. Mesectoderm cells did not intercalate and sustained increased AP strain before cell division. After division, mesectoderm cell density increased along the AP axis, thus relieving strain. We used laser ablation to isolate mesectoderm cells from the influence of other tissues. Uncoupling the mesectoderm from intercalating cells did not affect cell division orientation. Conversely, separating the mesectoderm from the anterior and posterior poles of the embryo resulted in uniformly oriented divisions. Our data suggest that mesectoderm cells align their division angle to reduce strain caused by mechanical forces along the AP axis of the embryo. Summary: Using body axis elongation in Drosophila embryos as a model, novel image analysis and machine learning methods identify cell divisions oriented by mechanical cues to reduce strain.
A Linear Time Algorithm for Computing Exact Euclidean Distance Transforms of Binary Images in Arbitrary Dimensions

A sequential algorithm is presented for computing the exact Euclidean distance transform (DT) of a k-dimensional binary image in time linear in the total number of voxels N. The algorithm, which is based on dimensionality reduction and partial Voronoi diagram construction, can be used for computing the DT for a wide class of distance functions, including the L/sub p/ and chamfer metrics. At each dimension level, the DT is computed by constructing the intersection of the Voronoi diagram whose sites are the feature voxels with each row of the image. This construction is performed efficiently by using the DT in the next lower dimension. The correctness and linear time complexity are demonstrated analytically and verified experimentally. The algorithm may be of practical value since it is relatively simple and easy to implement and it is relatively fast (not only does it run in O(N) time but the time constant is small). A simple modification of the algorithm computes the weighted Euclidean DT, which is useful for images with anisotropic voxel dimensions. A parallel version of the algorithm runs in O(N/p) time with p processors.
Effects of heating history on sintering properties of nickel powder compacts

The effects of heating history on the sinterability of nickel powder compacts as a model material are examined from a view point of driving force and flow resistance, that is, the sintering stress and viscosity. Sinter-compression tests were conducted at different constant temperatures for cylindrical specimens, which underwent one-step or two-step heating. In the two-step heating, the specimens were heated up to a higher temperature and cooled down to the test temperatures. After the tests, the microstructure of each specimen was examined and compared with the change in sintering stress and viscosity. For the whole range of test temperatures, viscosity was increased by the two-step heating, which can be explained by the effects of time-hardening. On the other hand, for the lower range of test temperatures, the sintering stress was decreased by the two-step heating. This may be a result of the formation of large pores due to inhomogeneous shrinkage in the unstable state of the powder with small contact in the initial stage of sintering.
Human Neuroscience

Thus, the face-related activation in the OFA region may arise from the processing of low-level face or shape features that face images contain (Lerner et al. or alternatively, this region may contain neuronal representations that encode face identity (independently of low-level features). Here we sought to investigate these issues by using state-dependent transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS, Silvanto and Muggleton, 2008a) to investigate whether OFA contains representations of facial identity (independently of low-level visual attributes) that play a causal role in identity detection. State-dependent TMS makes use of the phenomenon that TMS can either facilitate or disrupt cog-nitive functions depending on the initial state of the stimulated neuronal population. By bringing functionally distinct neuronal populations within a cortical region to different initial states (using manipulations such as adaptation, repetition, or priming), TMS can differentially affect these distinct populations despite of their spatial overlap (see Silvanto and Muggleton, 2008a,b; Silvanto et al., 2008 for reviews). State-dependent TMS can be used to investigate neu-ral tuning in the targeted region. Specifically, if TMS differentially affects the processing of an attribute depending on whether that attribute has been repeated/adapted, this indicates that the targeted region contains neuronal representations that were affected by (and thus tuned to) the attribute. By contrast, if no differential effects are found, this indicates that the initial state manipulation did not
Towards Simplifying PKI Implementation: Client-Server based Validation of Public Key Certificates

With real-time certificate validation checking, a public-key-using system that needs to validate a certificate executes a transaction with a specialized validation party. At the end of the transaction the validation party returns an indication about the validity status of the certificate. This paper analysis the public key (PbK) certificate validation service from a practical point of view by describing the implementation of a system that makes use of the Data Validation and Certification Server (DVCS) protocols to provide certificate validation service to the Relying Parties (RPs). However the system is not restricted to use only the specified protocol and allows the integration of other validation protocols or mechanisms. Our implementation efforts emphasize the possibility to pursue a specific RP tradeoff between timeliness, security and computational resource usage via dynamic selection of several configurable options.
The diagnosis and management of benzodiazepine dependence

Purpose of review Despite repeated recommendations to limit benzodiazepines to short-term use (2–4 weeks), doctors worldwide are still prescribing them for months or years. This over-prescribing has resulted in large populations of long-term users who have become dependent on benzodiazepines and has also led to leakage of benzodiazepines into the illicit drug market. This review outlines the risks of long-term benzodiazepine use, gives guidelines on the management of benzodiazepine withdrawal and suggests ways in which dependence can be prevented. Recent findings Recent literature shows that benzodiazepines have all the characteristics of drugs of dependence and that they are inappropriately prescribed for many patients, including those with physical and psychiatric problems, elderly residents of care homes and those with comorbid alcohol and substance abuse. Many trials have investigated methods of benzodiazepine withdrawal, of which the keystones are gradual dosage tapering and psychological support when necessary. Several studies have shown that mental and physical health and cognitive performance improve after withdrawal, especially in elderly patients taking benzodiazepine hypnotics, who comprise a large proportion of the dependent population. Summary Benzodiazepine dependence could be prevented by adherence to recommendations for short-term prescribing (2–4 weeks only when possible). Withdrawal of benzodiazepines from dependent patients is feasible and need not be traumatic if judiciously, and often individually, managed.
Heart Failure and Ventricular Dysfunction in Patients With Single or Systemic Right Ventricles

Background—Previous studies suggested a high incidence of congestive heart failure in patients with single and/or systemic right ventricles. The corresponding risk in an adult population is unknown. Methods and Results—A cohort of 188 consecutive adult patients with single or systemic right ventricles was prospectively assessed with gated radionuclide angiography (n=135) or 2D echocardiography (n=188) and followed up clinically. Clinical assessment showed 82.4% of the patients were in New York Heart Association class I or II, 13.3% were in class III, and 4.3% were in class IV. Heart failure occurred in 22.2% of patients with transposition of the great arteries and a Mustard procedure, 32.3% of patients with congenitally corrected transposition of the great arteries, and 40% of Fontan-palliated patients. Symptomatic patients had significantly lower anaerobic thresholds (10.3±2.8 versus 13.2±4.8 mL · kg−1 · min−1, P =0.006) and peak ˙Vo2 (15.2±4.8 versus 20.3±6.8 mL · kg−1 · min−1, P <0.00029). Systemic ventricular ejection fraction in symptomatic versus asymptomatic patients at rest was 34.8±15.7% versus 46.7±13.4% (P =0.00001). Mortality was 47.1% among symptomatic patients and 5% among asymptomatic patients at 15.7 years of postoperative follow-up. Seven of 12 patients with potentially correctable surgical lesions died or persisted in heart failure despite surgery. Best predictors for mortality were New York Heart Association class, systemic ejection fraction, and age at operation. Conclusions—Patients with single or systemic right ventricles have significant risk for heart failure accompanied by high mortality. This study suggests the importance of identifying this group of patients who are at risk for heart failure and considering strategies to preserve ventricular function.
Lens crystallins: the evolution and expression of proteins for a highly specialized tissue.

PERSPECTIVES AND SUMMARY . 479 ORIGINS AND STRUCTURES OF CRYSTALLINS AND THEIR GENES . 481 SpeCialized Lens Proteins 481 Taxon-Specific Crystallins 492 Mammalian Lenses are Different 495 Invertebrate Crystallins 495 CRYSTALLIN GENE EXPRESSION AND REGULATION . 496 Tissue, Developmental, and Spatial Specificity . 496 Crystallin Gene Promoters 497 Methylation 498 Transgenic Animals 498
Near-optimal algorithms for maximum constraint satisfaction problems

In this paper we present approximation algorithms for the maximum constraint satisfaction problem with <i>k</i> variables in each constraint (MAX <i>k</i>-CSP). Given a (1 - ε) satisfiable 2CSP our first algorithm finds an assignment of variables satisfying a 1 - <i>O</i>(√ε) fraction of all constraints. The best previously known result, due to Zwick, was 1 - <i>O</i>(ε<sup>1/3</sup>). The second algorithm finds a <i>ck</i>/2<sup><i>k</i></sup> approximation for the MAX <i>k</i>-CSP problem (where <i>c</i> > 0.44 is an absolute constant). This result improves the previously best known algorithm by Hast, which had an approximation guarantee of Ω(<i>k</i>/(2<sup><i>k</i></sup>log <i>k</i>)). Both results are optimal assuming the Unique Games Conjecture and are based on rounding natural semidefinite programming relaxations. We also believe that our algorithms and their analysis are simpler than those previously known.
Genome annotation test with validation on transcription start site and ChIP-Seq for Pol-II binding data

MOTIVATION Many ChIP-Seq experiments are aimed at developing gold standards for determining the locations of various genomic features such as transcription start or transcription factor binding sites on the whole genome. Many such pioneering experiments lack rigorous testing methods and adequate 'gold standard' annotations to compare against as they themselves are the most reliable source of empirical data available. To overcome this problem, we propose a self-consistency test whereby a dataset is tested against itself. It relies on a supervised machine learning style protocol for in silico annotation of a genome and accuracy estimation to guarantee, at least, self-consistency. RESULTS The main results use a novel performance metric (a calibrated precision) in order to assess and compare the robustness of the proposed supervised learning method across different test sets. As a proof of principle, we applied the whole protocol to two recent ChIP-Seq ENCODE datasets of STAT1 and Pol-II binding sites. STAT1 is benchmarked against in silicodetection of binding sites using available position weight matrices. Pol-II, the main focus of this paper, is benchmarked against 17 algorithms for the closely related and well-studied problem of in silico transcription start site (TSS) prediction. Our results also demonstrate the feasibility of in silico genome annotation extension with encouraging results from a small portion of annotated genome to the remainder. AVAILABILITY Available fromhttp://www.genomics. csse.unimelb. edu.au/gat.
ariability of cortical oscillation patterns : A possible endophenotype n autism spectrum disorders ?

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have been associated with altered neural oscillations, especially fast oscillatory activity in the gamma frequency range, suggesting fundamentally disturbed temporal coordination of activity during information processing. A detailed review of available cortical oscillation studies in ASD does not convey a clear-cut picture with respect to dysfunctional oscillation patterns in the gamma or other frequency ranges. Recent evidence suggests that instead of a general failure to activate or synchronize the cortex, there is greater intra-participant variability across behavioral, fMRI and EEG responses in ASD. Intra-individual fluctuations from one trial to another have been largely ignored utism spectrum disorder euronal oscillations nter-trial phase coherence ntra-individual variability