Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Deconstructing Amazon EC2 Spot Instance Pricing

Cloud providers possessing large quantities of spare capacity must either incentivize clients to purchase it or suffer losses. Amazon is the first cloud provider to address this challenge, by allowing clients to bid on spare capacity and by granting resources to bidders while their bids exceed a periodically changing spot price. Amazon publicizes the spot price but does not disclose how it is determined. By analyzing the spot price histories of Amazon's EC2 cloud, we reverse engineer how prices are set and construct a model that generates prices consistent with existing price traces. We find that prices are usually not market-driven as sometimes previously assumed. Rather, they are typically generated at random from within a tight price interval via a dynamic hidden reserve price. Our model could help clients make informed bids, cloud providers design profitable systems, and researchers design pricing algorithms.
Deferoxamine Decreases Necrosis in Dorsally Based Pig Skin Flaps

Deferoxamine, a free radical scavenger and iron chelator, has been shown to improve skin flap survival in ischemic flap surgery in rats. The present study investigates the value of deferoxamine in ischemic flap surgery in the porcine model. Four 4 × 12 cm flaps, 3 cm apart and 3 cm from the dorsal midline, were elevated on each of six female pigs, weighing 50 to 60 pounds each. The animals were divided into two test groups. Group 1 received six 1 gm doses of deferoxamine in 4 ml of sterile water intramuscularly every 6 hours preoperatively for five doses, followed by the administration of 1 g every 6 hours for the first 6 days postoperatively. Group 2 received 4 ml of normal saline administered intramuscularly as above. The percentage of flap necrosis was assessed on postoperative day 7 by the weighing paper technique. Group 1 had 17.1% necrosis and group 2 had 33% necrosis (p < 0.005). Deferoxamine has decreased flap necrosis in the porcine model and may be of use in augmenting the surviving length of flaps in human beings,
Epithelial-mesenchymal transition phenotype is associated with patient survival in small intestinal adenocarcinoma

Aims: We investigated the clinical significance of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) phenotype in 184 small intestinal adenocarcinomas (SIACs) based on the expression pattern of EMT-related proteins in cancer cells. Methods: Immunohistochemistry for epithelial (E-cadherin) and mesenchymal (vimentin and fibronectin) markers were performed and cases of SIAC were classified into four subtypes of EMT: complete type (E-cadherin–, vimentin+ and/or fibronectin+), wild type (E-cadherin+, vimentin–, fibronectin–), incomplete 1 type (hybrid type; E-cadherin+, vimentin+ and/or fibronectin+), and incomplete 2 type (null type; E-cadherin–, vimentin–, fibronectin–). Results: We identified 19 (10.3%) cases of complete EMT type, 86 (46.7%) cases of wild type and 79 (43%) cases of incomplete EMT type [hybrid type, 22 (12%) cases; null type, 57 (31%) cases]. Complete EMT phenotype showed a significant association with undifferentiated histology (p < 0.001). Overall survival of SIAC patients with complete EMT phenotype was significantly shorter than those of patients with incomplete (p = 0.001) and wild (p < 0.001) types. In multivariate analysis, complete EMT phenotype was an independent prognostic factor in SIAC patients (hazard ratio 2.3; 95% confidence interval 1.15–4.6; p = 0.019). Conclusion: Complete EMT phenotype stratifies a specific group representing a poor clinical outcome in patients with SIAC.
The effect of clonidine and bright light on plasma melatonin

We studied the effect of the α2‐adrenoceptor agonist, clonidine, and bright artificial light (>2500 lux) on the nocturnal increase in plasma melatonin in normal subjects. Clonidine (1.5 μg/kg, intravenously) was without effect on plasma melatonin concentration. In contrast, bright light treatment abolished the increase in night‐time melatonin. Bright light is a simple and effective means of altering melatonin secretion in humans.
ADMINISTRATION OF EXOGENOUS ERYTHROPOIETIN β AFFECTS LIPID PEROXIDATION AND SERUM PARAOXONASE‐1 ACTIVITY AND CONCENTRATION IN PREDIALYSIS PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC RENAL DISEASE AND ANAEMIA

1 Patients with advanced chronic renal disease and anaemia have decreased serum paraoxonase‐1 (PON1) activity and an increased degree of oxidative stress compared with normal subjects. The present study investigated the effects of treatment of anaemia with exogenous recombinant erythropoietin (EPO) β and iron on levels of antibodies against oxidized low‐density lipoproteins (ox‐LDL), as well as on serum PON1 activity and concentration, in predialysis patients with chronic renal disease. 2 Forty‐nine patients with chronic renal failure and haemoglobin (Hb) < 11 g/dL were treated over a period of 6 months with EPOβ (80–120 U/kg per week, s.c.) and variable doses of iron. Selected biochemical variables were determined before and after treatment. 3 Treatment with EPOβ and iron was associated with a significant increase in mean (±SD) blood Hb concentration compared with pretreatment values (12.8 ± 1.5 vs 9.9 ± 0.6 g/dL, respectively; P < 0.001). The average dose of EPOβ was 6160 ± 3000 U/week. After 6 months of treatment, compared with pretreatment values, the median levels (95% confidence intervals) of antibodies against ox‐LDL were decreased (17.5 (10.6–24.4) vs 24.8 (11.5–38.1) U/mL, respectively; P < 0.001), serum PON1 activity was slightly but significantly increased (123.6 (76.1–343.6) vs 101.0 (50.0–332.5) U/L, respectively; P = 0.016) and the concentration of PON1 was significantly decreased (37.3 (11.8–76.2) vs 46.7 (24.6–98.0) mg/L, respectively; P < 0.001). There were no significant changes in total cholesterol, triglycerides or cholesterol fraction concentrations before and after treatment. 4 We suggest that EPOβ and iron treatment of anaemia promotes significant changes in serum PON1 activity and concentration and has a beneficial effect on oxidative stress in predialysis patients with chronic renal disease.
Improving Top-N Recommendation for Cold-Start Users via Cross-Domain Information

Making accurate recommendations for cold-start users is a challenging yet important problem in recommendation systems. Including more information from other domains is a natural solution to improve the recommendations. However, most previous work in cross-domain recommendations has focused on improving prediction accuracy with several severe limitations. In this article, we extend our previous work on clustering-based matrix factorization in single domains into cross domains. In addition, we utilize recent results on unobserved ratings. Our new method can more effectively utilize data from auxiliary domains to achieve better recommendations, especially for cold-start users. For example, our method improves the recall to 21% on average for cold-start users, whereas previous methods result in only 15% recall in the cross-domain Amazon dataset. We also observe almost the same improvements in the Epinions dataset. Considering that it is often difficult to make even a small improvement in recommendations, for cold- start users in particular, our result is quite significant.
Multisociety (AATS, ACCF, SCAI, and STS) expert consensus statement: Operator and institutional requirements for transcatheter valve repair and replacement, part 1: Transcatheter aortic valve replacement

PREAMBLE The granting of staff privileges to physicians is an important mechanism to ensure quality care. The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations requires that medical staff privileges be based on professional criteria specified in medical staff bylaws. Physicians are charged with defining the criteria that constitute professional competence and with evaluating their peers accordingly. With the evolution of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), an important opportunity arises for both cardiologists and surgeons to come together to identify the criteria for performing these procedures. The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI), American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS), American College of Cardiology Foundation (ACCF), and the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) have, therefore, joined together to provide recommendations for institutions to assess their potential for instituting and/or maintaining a transcatheter valve program. This article concerns TAVR. As TAVR is in its infancy, there are few data on which to base this consensus statement. Therefore, many of these recommendations are based on expert consensus. As the procedures
Primary Therapy in Breast Cancer: What Have We Learned from Landmark Trials?

Primary anticancer therapy is currently accepted as a therapeutic option for patients with early-stage breast cancer. Its objectives are to increase the chance of achieving a conservative surgery and, similar to adjuvant chemotherapy, to reduce the risk of distant recurrence. The prognostic significance of obtaining a pathological complete response has been evaluated in several randomized clinical trials and meta-analyses. Growing evidence suggests that pathological complete response may act as a valid predictor of overall survival. Of note, a significant association between pathological complete response and outcome has especially been observed in patients with HER2-positive and triple-negative (hormonal receptors negative and HER2-negative) breast cancer. This review focuses on recent trials of neoadjuvant treatment with specific attention to HER2-negative disease.
Molecular mechanisms and clinical pathophysiology of maturity-onset diabetes of the young.

Maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY) is a clinically heterogeneous group of disorders characterized by nonketotic diabetes mellitus, an autosomal dominant mode of inheritance, an onset usually before the age of 25 years and frequently in childhood or adolescence, and a primary defect in the function of the beta cells of the pancreas. MODY can result from mutations in any one of at least six different genes (Table 1). One of these genes encodes the glycolytic enzyme glucokinase (associated with MODY 2),3 and the other five encode transcription factors: hepatocyte nuclear factor (HNF) 4α (associated with MODY 1),4 HNF-1α (MODY .
Identification of linearized regions of non-linear transducers responses

Transducers have found wide applications in industries, though, they possess nonlinear responses. The nonlinearity feature does not prevail over the entire range; rather there are sections (or regions) on the response curves that are easily regarded as linear. This work focuses on analyzing transducer characteristics by finding regions exhibiting larger level of linearity. The point of inflection is a joint between two consecutive linear segments, and it is where changes in the output signal in response to external parameter variations remain at minimum compared to its immediate neighboring points. It is shown through simulations on how, assuming that a given system does not operate over the entire range of the response curve, a linear response is assured. This is done by translating the circuit operating over the linear section by employing additional external circuit elements. This paper attempts at analyzing a transducer characteristics by showing regions around the points of inflections where variations remain most linear.
Exploring Opportunities for Social Infrastructure in Congestive Heart Failure Management

Krzysztof Z. Gajos School of Engineering and Applied Sciences Harvard University 33 Oxford St., Cambridge, MA, USA kgajos@eecs.harvard. edu Abstract As population ages and chronic disease increases, new models of health care delivery are inevitable. We propose to interweave the concept of chronic care management into social infrastructure to better support elderly individuals with chronic diseases. As an exemplar, we chose and investigated Congestive Heart Failure (CHF), since it is one of serious health threats among the elderly population in western society. From a preliminary investigation of literature and prior work, we suggest two implications for social care of chronic patients: increased social awareness, and social knowledge base. This is not an exhaustive list of implications, but a starting point to open up discussions towards social care for chronic diseases.
‘Rehearsing the Unrehearsed’: Reflections on the Concept of Presence in Dramatherapy and Performance Training

The phenomenon of therapeutic presence is notoriously difficult to articulate and may benefit from dialogue with the discipline of performance studies. This paper discusses how qualities of therapeutic presence can be contextualised as performative in nature. Qualities of presence in both the therapist and the performer are discussed, with specific reference to Eugenio Barba and the cultivation of presence in training both the actor and the therapist. The author then reflects on the piece ‘The Artist is Present’ by Marina Abramovic for its capacity to explore presence and intimacy within a performance piece.
“You Are a Cannibal”—A Case Report: Psychoanalysis of an Adolescent Boy with Bifrontal Lesions (Part 1: The First Year)

Accompanying a male adolescent out of the darkness of being unable to differentiate between inside and outside, between being a boy or a girl—the psychoanalytic journey is described from both a clinical and a theoretical perspective. Based on Sigmund Freud’s metapsychology, psychoanalytic concepts such as regression, defense mechanisms of the ego such as projection and introjection, and features of the primary process are illuminated. Special emphasis is placed on changes in body schema and the role of language in reality testing. The therapeutic process cannot be understood without reference to the psychoanalytic concept of the ego and its early development. Using neuroimaging evidence, results of neuropsychological assessment, and excerpts of the ongoing therapy sessions, the pieces of the boy’s history are put together alongside the reconstruction-surgery of the frontal cranial bones.
Twitter: a content analysis of personal information

Social media provide many opportunities to connect people, but the kinds of personally identifiable information that people share through social media is understudied. This paper presents findings from a content analysis in which we coded the amount and kinds of personally identifiable information of public Twitter messages. Overwhelmingly, public Twitter messages do not include identifiable information such as phone numbers, email, and home addresses. Using Goffman's [(1963). Behaviors in public places: Notes on the social organization of gatherings. New York, NY: Free Press] concepts of public order and civil inattention, we also coded for whether people articulate the kinds of information that are communicated with others in public space, including locational, temporal, and activity-related information. Our findings suggest that people do share similar kinds of personal information on Twitter that they do in others kinds of physical public spaces, suggesting that people may also be mapping old practices for public social interaction onto networked publics.
On the Performance of Multiuser MIMO Systems in WCDMA/HSDPA: Beamforming, Feedback and User Diversity

Several multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) techniques have been proposed for 3GPP WCDMA/HSDPA systems and several performance evaluation for the comparison purpose are in progress. Most MIMO candidates in HSDPA have been generally designed for point-to-point communication, which means that a single-user throughput is of their major concern. However, multiple users and user scheduling need to be considered in wireless packet transmission, so as to maximize system throughput. In this paper we propose an effective user scheduling technique in both space and time domains that offers three main benefits, which are the spatial-beamforming, uplink feedback signaling, and advanced receivers. Furthermore, user scheduling is combined with modified successive interference cancellation (SIC) reception, which allocates all transmit antennas to the best user with SIC or each transmit antenna to different users with minimum mean squared-error (MMSE). Simulation results show that the proposed scheme has higher user diversity gain than other MIMO candidates in terms of achievable throughput.
Policy Enforcement with Proactive Libraries

Software libraries implement APIs that deliver reusable functionalities. To correctly use these functionalities, software applications must satisfy certain correctness policies, for instance policies about the order some API methods can be invoked and about the values that can be used for the parameters. If these policies are violated, applications may produce misbehaviors and failures at runtime. Although this problem is general, applications that incorrectly use API methods are more frequent in certain contexts. For instance, Android provides a rich and rapidly evolving set of APIs that might be used incorrectly by app developers who often implement and publish faulty apps in the marketplaces. To mitigate this problem, we introduce the novel notion of proactive library, which augments classic libraries with the capability of proactively detecting and healing misuses at runtime. Proactive libraries blend libraries with multiple proactive modules that collect data, check the correctness policies of the libraries, and heal executions as soon as the violation of a correctness policy is detected. The proactive modules can be activated or deactivated at runtime by the users and can be implemented without requiring any change to the original library and any knowledge about the applications that may use the library. We evaluated proactive libraries in the context of the Android ecosystem. Results show that proactive libraries can automatically overcome several problems related to bad resource usage at the cost of a small overhead.
Esthetic evaluation of implants placed after orthodontic treatment in patients with congenitally missing lateral incisors.

OBJECTIVE The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate the esthetic outcome of single tooth Morse taper connection implants used to replace congenitally missing lateral incisors after orthodontic treatment by means of the pink esthetic score (PES) and white esthetic score (WES) index. MATERIALS AND METHODS Twenty consecutive patients who were treated with a single tooth Morse taper connection implants (Leone Implant System®, Florence, Italy) were enrolled in this study. An independent calibrated examiner applied the PES/WES index to 20 implant-supported restorations 3 months and 3 years after implant placement. RESULTS No implants were lost. All 20 implants fulfilled the established success criteria for dental implants with regard to osseointegration and prosthetic complications, with an overall implant-crown success of 100.0%. At the 3 year examination, the mean distance between the implant shoulder and the first visible bone-implant contact was of 0.49 ± 0.18 mm (95% confidence interval 0.41-0.57); the mean PES was 8.15 ± 1.69, and the mean WES was 8.70 ± 0.92. CONCLUSIONS The placement of single-tooth Morse taper connection implants for rehabilitation of congenitally missing lateral incisors after orthodontic treatment represents a successful procedure in the medium term. Further studies are necessary in order to assess the long-term esthetic score. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE This paper evaluates the esthetic outcome of Morse taper connection implants placed to restore congenitally missing lateral incisors after orthodontic treatment.
Adaptive beamformer for spherical eigenbeamforming microphone arrays

Spherical eigenbeamforming microphone arrays have become a subject of interest in recent years [1-6]. General beampattern design and implementation are simplified due to the decomposition of the soundfield into orthonormal spherical harmonic (SH) “building block” eigenbeams. Eigenbeams are then combined to realize the beamformer. In this paper we present a remarkably straightforward and computationally simple adaptive beamformer. The beamformer algorithm exploits a fundamental non-negativity property of the combination of zero-order SH eigenbeams to realize an implicit constraint for the adaptive spherical eigenbeamformer.
Using Policy to Improve Teacher Induction

To understand the relationship between induction policies, programs, and practices, we conducted case studies of three long-standing induction programs. Drawing on interviews, observations, and policy documents, we asked the following: (a) What policy tools operate in these contexts, and how do they effect local induction practices? (b) What can we learn about the relationship between induction policy and practice, including its influence on mentors and work? Our analysis finds that how the problem of induction is defined shapes the nature and duration of support offered and the programmatic tools and resources provided. Our analysis further shows that mentoring emerged the favored policy instrument, although provisions for mentor training varied considerably. To support the kind of teaching demanded by today's reforms, beginning teachers will need mentors who are skilled in helping them learn in and from practice. Consequently, induction policy will need to focus attention equally on new teachers and their mentors.