Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Th e First Slovak Experience with Second-line Vinfl unine in Advanced Urothelial Carcinomas

Background: Based on the results of phase III trial, vinfl unine was approved by European Medicines Agency in 2010 as second line treatment of advanced urothelial cancer in patients with good performance status (ECOG 0– 1). The objective of this prospective observational study was to assess vinfl unine treatment of advanced urothelial cancer patients in terms of progression free survival and overall survival, and to evaluate vinfl unine toxicity. Patients and Methods: From April 2011 to June 2014 a total of 16 patients (100%) with advanced urothelial cancer were treated with vinfl unine. The median age was 62 years (range 43– 80) and the median Karnofsky index was 90% (range 80– 100%). Thirteen patients (81.25%) had urothelial bladder cancers, two patients (12.50%) suff ered from urothelial cancers of ureter, and one patient (6.25%) had urothelial cancer of unknown origin (histology was obtained from liver metastasis). Histologically, all the lesions were grade 3 tumors (100%). The number of metastatic sites ranged from 1– 4 (median 3). Results: The eff ect of treatment was evaluated in accord with RECIST: two patients (12.50%) obtained partial remission, three (18.75%) stabilization, eight patients (50.00%) progressed, and treatment was suspended in one case at patient’s request. Vinfl unine toxicity grade 3– 4 included neutropenia in six patients (37.50%), leukopenia in four patients (25.00%), anemia in one patient (6.25%), constipation in three patients (18.75%), and febrile neutropenia in one patient (6.25%). Median overall survival was 5.2 months (95% CI 3.4– 8.8) and median progression-free survival was 2.3 months (95% CI 2.1– 3.2). Conclusion: This study summarizes the fi rst Slovak experience with vinfl unine therapy. Our data confi rmed the effi cacy of vinfl unine and its acceptable toxicity in the treatment of patients with advanced urothelial cancer previously treated with a platinum-based regimen.
Spektrale Erfassung von Merkmalen der Stickstoffeffizienz bei Winterweizen

Mit der zunehmenden Regulierung der Stickstoffdüngung im Pflanzenbau sowie stärkerem Einfluss des Klimawandels wird die Steigerung der Stickstoffeffizienz (NE) in der Qualitätsweizenerzeugung und damit die Selektion Stickstoff-effizienter Genotypen noch bedeutsamer (Garnett et al., 2015). Während bei Kulturen wie Mais die reine Selektion nach hoher Biomasse ausreichend sein kann, ist bei Weizen die gleichzeitige Berücksichtigung der Backfähigkeit entscheidend. Nach wie vor wird hierfür in der Praxis der Rohproteingehalt im Korn verwendet. Dieser lässt sich leicht mit dem Kornertrag zur Stickstoffaufnahme (NA) des Ernteprodukts erweitern, welche in engem Zusammenhang zur Stickstoffaufnahmeeffizienz (NauEff) der gesamten Pflanze steht. Dadurch ergibt sich die Definition der Stickstoffeffizienz als Produkt von Stickstoffaufnahmeund Stickstoffnutzungseffizienz (NutEff): NE = NauEff * NutEff (Moll et al., 1982).
Full Waveform Inversion Using Free-Surface Related Multiples as Natural Blended Sources

To improve the computational speed of conventional full waveform inversion (FWI), we propose a new FWI method which uses free-surface related multiples as natural blended sources and name it as NBFWI. The proposed method contains four key steps: 1. at selected source locations, forward propagate synthetic wavelet to generate calculated shot records containing both primaries and free-surface related multiples; 2. Compared with recorded field data to obtain waveform residuals; 3. backward propagate waveform residuals and forward propagate recorded field data to produce gradient; 4. use steep descent method or other optimization methods for velocity updating. Compared with other blended sources methods, the NBFWI method has no need of implementing phase encoding algorithms and the free-surface related multiples act as natural blended sources. A Marmousi velocity model is used for numerical tests. The numerical results show how accurate, efficient and stable the proposed approach is when using different number of shot gathers for inversion. Because of the utilization of wide coverage characteristics of free-surface related multiples, the inversion procedure has good convergence even using very few shots. The proposed approach is easy to implement and maybe significant for both fast velocity model building and inversion of sparse acquisition data.
Tuberculous Spondylitis. Burden of Diagnosis. Case Presentation

Introduction: Tuberculosis continues to pose a problem of public health worldwide. Mycobacterium tuberculosis infects 1/3 of the world's population and seems to be responsible for 1.4 million deaths annually. In our country, the incidence is 6.5 times higher than in the EU countries. In 2016 there were 12836 cases of pulmonary TB (new and recurrent cases) of which 530 cases were TB MDR/XDR. The screening rate increased to 94% for new cases and 85% for MDR tuberculosis cases. Extrapulmonary tuberculosis remains a challenge by delaying of the diagnosis and the duration of treatment.Case presentation: We present the case of a 73-year-old patient with no significant pathological history admitted to the National Institute for Infectious Diseases “Prof. Dr. Matei Bals”, Bucharest, in July 2017 (21 days) for myalgia and fever apparently after an episode of a respiratory tract infection. Due to myalgia, the occurrence of muscular atrophy and accelerate weight loss he referred to our hospital where was established the diagnosis of Tuberculous Spondylitis.Results and methods: The diagnosis was established following numerous clinical and paraclinical investigations approximately 6 weeks after the first presentation to our hospital. As risk factors, the patient was diagnosed by the time of admission with other diseases that he wasn’t aware of as diabetes and renal impairment. Evolution under anti-tuberculosis treatment was arduous due to the development of hepatic toxicity, episodes of acute exacerbation of chronic renal disease and post-antibiotic diarrhoea. The final clinical and paraclinical outcome was favourable.Discussion: Diagnosis of TB spondylitis requires both multidisciplinary collaborations and diagnosis experience. Anamnesis and understanding of symptoms are also important for proper selecting paraclinical tests panel. To understand these results in view of imposing a nephrotoxic and hepatotoxic treatment in the patient with pre-existing liver and kidney pathology, we returned to understanding the pathophysiology of Tuberculous Spondylitis.Conclusions: Diagnosing the vertebral location of extrapulmonary tuberculosis requires understanding pathophysiology of this infection. Requesting of paraclinical investigation and performing differential diagnostics can help shorten the time required for diagnosis.
INFLUENCE OF THE GRAY GASES NUMBER IN THE WEIGHTED SUM OF GRAY GASES MODEL ON THE RADIATIVE HEAT EXCHANGE CALCULATION INSIDE PULVERIZED COAL-FIRED FURNACES

The influence of the number of gray gases in the weighted sum in the gray gases model on the calculation of the radiative heat transfer is discussed in the paper. A computer code which solved the set of equations of the mathematical model describing the reactive two-phase turbulent flow with radiative heat exchange and with thermal equilibrium between phases inside the pulverized coal-fired furnace was used. Gas-phase radiative properties were determined by the simple gray gas model and two combinations of the weighted sum of the gray gases models: one gray gas plus a clear gas and two gray gases plus a clear gas. Investigation was carried out for two values of the total extinction coefficient of the dispersed phase, for the clean furnace walls and furnace walls covered by an ash layer deposit, and for three levels of the approximation accuracy of the weighting coefficients. The influence of the number of gray gases was analyzed through the relative differences of the wall fluxes, wall temperatures, medium temperatures, and heat transfer rate through all furnace walls. The investigation showed that there were conditions of the numerical investigations for which the relative differences of the variables describing the radiative heat exchange decrease with the increase in the number of gray gases. The results of this investigation show that if the weighted sum of the gray gases model is used, the complexity of the computer code and calculation time can be reduced by optimizing the number of gray gases. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. TR-33018: Increase in energy and ecology efficiency of processes in pulverized coal-fired furnace and optimization of utility steam boiler air preheater by using in-house developed software tools]
Use of Predators for the Biological control of Eriosoma lanigerum (wooly apple aphids) on apple

Due to increase demand of organic products, biological control methods have gained interest all over the world. Eriosoma lanigerum, commonly known as Wooly apple aphid, is a serious pest of apple. The negative impacts of pesticides on environment and human life make Biological control an important model in the control of the Wooly apple aphid. Some of the biological control agents that have been used in the control of this pest are predators, parasitoids, nectar of flowers etc. The role of the parasitoid Aphelinus mali in the biological control of wooly aphid has been studied by many researchers and found that use of parasitoids Aphelinus mali is not effective when they attack WAA solely in apple orchards. However, efficiency of use of Aphelinus mali in control of WAA is higher when these parasitoids are used along with natural predators (Gontijo, 2011). In recent days, there has been increasing use of predators for the control of aphids. This review focuses on some of the mostly used predators like syrphids, lacewings, earwigs etc. and their role in WAA management. This review focuses on the feeding habits of predators used as biocontrol agents against WAA as well as the occurrence time of these predators before their integration in management practices. Also; this review provides insight into the integration of predators along with other natural enemies for productive control of WAA. This review can be source of information for producers, as well as researchers who are focusing on organic production of apples and integrated wooly aphid management. Int. J. Appl. Sci. Biotechnol. Vol 5(4): 410-414
High‐resolution genetic analysis reveals extensive gene flow within the jellyfish Pelagia noctiluca (Scyphozoa) in the North Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea

Despite the importance of gelatinous zooplankton as components of marine ecosystems, both ecologically and socio-economically, relatively little information is known about population persistence or connectivity in jellyfish. In the present study, we employed a combination of nuclear microsatellite markers and sequence data from the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene to determine levels and patterns of population genetic structuring in the holoplanktonic jellyfish Pelagia noctiluca across the northeast Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Our results indicate a high degree of connectivity in P. noctiluca, with little evidence of geographical structuring of genetic variation. A small but significant differentiation of Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean stocks was detected based on the microsatellite data, but no evidence of differentiation was observed with the mtDNA, probably due to the higher power of the microsatellites to detect low levels of genetic structuring. Two clearly distinct groups of genotypes were observed within the mtDNA COI, which probably diverged in the early Pleistocene, but with no evidence of geographical structuring. Palaeodistribution modelling of P. noctiluca at the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM; c. 21 Kya) indicated large areas of suitable habitat south of the species’ current-day distribution, with little reduction in area. The congruent evidence for minimal genetic differentiation from the nuclear microsatellites and the mtDNA, coupled with the results of the palaeodistribution modelling, supports the idea of long-term population stability and connectivity, thus providing key insights into the population dynamics and demography of this important species.
Integrated Model Linking Maintenance Excellence, Six Sigma and QFD for Process Progressive Improvement

The maintenance organization is increasing importance for companies, as it directly affects other relevant processes leading to customers’ satisfaction or dissatisfaction. According to this view, several companies continue to improve their maintenance organization through implementing improvement approaches such as Maintenance Excellence (ME) and Six Sigma. Simply put, the end product of such approach in general is to instil better practice within an organization in order to support its values and strategic objectives, maintain and exceed its competitive position. Despite their role in promoting quality, these frameworks have important drawbacks as improvement models, especially, given the lack of their implementation in manufacturing, their integration into the everyday organizational operations. Although Six Sigma and ME both help build quality into the design stage and they are mutually supporting each other’s shortcomings, there are a number of organizations, which are failing to reap the fruits of these two approaches successfully. This could be noticed to the following four common deficiencies:  They are often too complex to be applied as such by small companies;  They rarely integrate the interaction between Six Sigma and ME;  ME is treated as a separate activity of SME business operations;  The implementation process of the excellence models is under-researched area;
Cloning of a novel gene from Penicillium oxalicum I1 which in Escherichia coli enhances the secretion of acetic acid

Description of the subject. Organic acids play an important role in the conversion of insoluble ions into soluble ones in soil. Heterologous overexpression of a single gene in a cell is the optimal strategy for increasing the secretion of organic acids solubilizing phosphate. Objectives. In this study, we constructed a primary cDNA library of Penicillium oxalicum I1, and screened clones that can solubilize P in tricalcium phosphate (TCP) medium. We aimed to obtain the gene expressed in Escherichia coli, which can enhance organic acid secretion. Method. A primary cDNA library of Penicillium oxalicum I1 was constructed using the switching mechanism at the 5'-end of RNA transcription. The organic acid secretion ability of E. coli DH5α™ with overexpressed P. oxalicum I1gene was tested in TCP medium where glucose is the sole carbon source. Afterwards, pyruvic acid, citric acid, α-ketoglutaric acid, succinic acid, fumaric acid, and malic acid were used as sole carbon source substitutes for glucose in the TCP medium to test the organic acid secretion ability of the transformed E. coli DH5α™. Results. A total of 106 clones showed halos in TCP medium, among which clone I-2 displayed clear halo. The full-length cDNA of clone I-2 was 1,151 bp, with a complete open reading frame of 702 bp, which encoded a hypothetical protein of 233 amino acids. The cDNA sequence showed 68% identity and 73% query cover with other fungal gene sequences of which the function remains unknown. Escherichia coli containing the cloned gene secreted up to 567 mg·l-1 acetic acid within 48 h. The use of glucose, pyruvic acid, α-ketoglutaric acid, and malic acid improved the acetic acid secretion of the E. coli DH5α™ clone I-2. By contrast, the use of citric acid, succinic acid, and fumaric acid did not improve the acetic acid secretion of clone I-2 compared to a control E. coli DH5α™ strain bearing only the cloning vector without any insert. Conclusions. We obtained a novel gene from Penicillium oxalicum I1 whose overexpression in E. coli DH5α™ increased the secretion of acetic acid. This observation should help to understand what is the function of the gene isolated from P. oxalicum as well as that of its homologs found in several other species of the Penicillium genus.
Private Provision of a Complementary Public Good

For several years, an increasing number of firms have been investing in Open Source Software (OSS). While improvements in such a non-excludable public good cannot be appropriated, companies can benefit indirectly in a complementary proprietary segment. We study this incentive for investment in OSS. In particular we ask how (1) market entry and (2) public investments in the public good affect the firms' production and profits. Surprisingly, we find that there exist cases where incumbents benefit from market entry. Moreover, we show the counter-intuitive result that public spending does not necessarily lead to a decreasing voluntary private contribution.
Leonotis leonurus: A herbal medicine review

Leonotis leonurus (L.) R. Br. is a shrub widely known as wild dagga found in most parts of the world and belongs to the Lamiaceae family. Some of the many traditional applications of L. Leonurus include the leaf decoction being a strong purgative and used for wound healing and asthma. The leaves and stem are topically applied to sores and skin infections, or taken for high blood pressure and diabetes. The isolated 37 phytochemicals are largely constituted by flavanoids, labdane type diterpenoids and other phenolics detected in the acetone and methanol extracts. The plant contains significant amounts of nutrients and minerals. The essential oils have high content of monoterpenoids and sesquiterpenoids showing significant antimicrobial activities. The plant extracts has good antioxidant and antibacterial properties. A few metabolites responsible for the extract activities have been identified, such as luteolin-7-O-glucoside, leoleorin L, Leoleorin C and Marrubin. An array of pharmacological studies based on traditional claims reported anticonvulsant, antinociceptive, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, anthelmintic activities and hypoglycemic properties of L. leonurus. The therapeutic value and clinical trial data for the plant should be established to guide its safe use as a herbal product.
Offspring size as an index of habitat degradation

Disturbances that shift a community away from its potential natural state may also degrade the quality of that community for some species. Having an index to measure changes in habitat quality resulting from such disturbances would be useful in assessing the impact of human activities on native fauna. We propose that average egg mass per clutch and offspring size for a population in a particular habitat may be a useful index of habitat quality, and perhaps degradation, for that population relative to the status of populations occupying other similar habitats in that region. We studied American Robins (Turdus migratorius) breeding along streams in three canyons on the western side of the Toiyabe Mountains of central Nevada, USA. The level of habi- tat degradation associated with cattle grazing and other human activities was deter- mined a priori based on soil and understory vegetation characteristics. The density of adult birds and their body condition did not differ among canyons with differing habi- tat quality, nor did clutch size or brood size at day 8. However, nests containing larger eggs and chicks were associated with canyons assessed as having a higher quality, or lower level of degradation.
Urban land-cover mapping with hyperspectral data by means of data reduction techniques and machine learning classifiers

While recently many papers have been published on methodological developments in dimensionality reduction, application oriented studies on the performance of these methods in combination with different types of classifiers are less numerous. In this study we evaluate the potential of two unsupervised data reduction techniques the Autoassociative Neural Network (AANN) and the BandClust (BC) for mapping of urban land cover at a high level of thematic detail, using an APEX 288-band hyperspectral dataset. Both methods were tested in combination with four state-of-the-art machine learning classifiers and assessed in terms of Kappa estimates. When the BC method is used in combination with a strong learner, classification accuracies are similar or higher than obtained with the full dataset, demonstrating the method’s capability of preserving critical spectral information. On the other hand, important spectral information seems to be compromised or lost in the AANN data reduction process. This study also demonstrates the potential of the APEX sensor data for detailed mapping of land cover in spatially and spectrally complex urban areas.
Planar Dual-Band Monopole Antenna with an Extended Ground Plane for WLAN Applications

A compact planar microstrip-fed monopole antenna designed for dual-band operation is proposed for WLAN applications. The antenna is composed of a rectangular strip monopole in addition to an inverted-L parasitic element that is connected to the truncated ground plane of the microstrip feed. Besides exciting an additional band of operation, the parasitic element also improves the bandwidth of the band excited by the strip monopole. Several simulated parametric studies are conducted to investigate the effects of each geometrical parameter on the behavior of the antenna. Experimental and simulation results demonstrate that the proposed antenna covers the 2.4 and 5.8 GHz bands utilized in WLAN. In both bands, the proposed antenna exhibits good impedance match, moderate gain (approximately 2 dBi), and sustainable omnidirectional-like radiation patterns in both principal planes. An equivalent circuit model of the antenna is also developed.
Nonlinear Processes in Geophysics Dynamics of a seismogenic fault subject to variable strain rate

The behaviour of seismogenic faults is generally investigated under the assumption that they are subject to a constant strain rate. We consider the effect of a slowly variable strain rate on the recurrence times of earthquakes generated by a single fault. To this aim a spring-block system is employed as a low-order analog of the fault. Two cases are considered: a sinusoidal oscillation in the driver velocity and a monotonic change from one velocity value to another. In the first case, a study of the orbit of the system in the state space suggests that the seismic activity of the equivalent fault is organized into cycles that include several earthquakes and repeat periodically. Within each cycle the recurrence times oscillate about an average value equal to the recurrence period for constant strain rate. In the second case, the recurrence time changes gradually from the value before the transition to the value following it. Asymptotic solutions are also given, approximating the case when the amplitude of the oscillation or of the monotonic change is much smaller than the average driver velocity and the period of oscillation or the duration of the transition is much longer than the recurrence times of block motions. If the system is not isolated but is subject to perturbations in stress, the perturbation anticipates or delays the subsequent earthquake. The effects of stress perturbations in the two cases of strain rate oscillations and monotonic change are considered. Correspondence to: A. Piombo (antonello.piombo@unibo.it)
Revisiting Public Debt and Inflation: Fiscal Implications of an Independent Central Banker

The mainstream literature on monetary policy games under output persistence posits that: a) monetary regimes do not affect real variables in the steady state; b) optimal institutional design should entirely remove the inflation bias. We show that neither result necessarily holds if output persistence originates from debt dynamics and distortionary taxation. First, monetary delegation induces a strategic use of debt policy affecting steady-state distortions. Second, the reduction of such distortions may require monetary institutions that tolerate an inflation rate above the socially optimal level.