Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
90Y Radioembolization for Locally Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma with Portal Vein Thrombosis: Long-Term Outcomes in a 185-Patient Cohort

We report survival outcomes for patients with advanced-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with portal vein thrombosis (PVT) treated with 90Y radioembolization. Methods: With institutional review board approval, we searched our prospectively acquired database for 90Y patients treated between 2003 and 2017. Inclusion criteria were patients who had HCC with tumor PVT. Patients with metastases were excluded. Laboratory data were collected at baseline and 1 mo after 90Y radioembolization. Toxicity grades were reported according to the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events, version 4.0, and long-term survival outcomes were reported and stratified by Child–Pugh class (CP). Overall survival was calculated using the Kaplan–Meier method. Multivariate analysis was performed using Cox proportional hazards regression. A subanalysis for patients with a high level of α-fetoprotein (AFP) (>100 ng/dL) was conducted. Results: In total, 185 patients with HCC PVT underwent 90Y radioembolization. Seventy-four (40%) were CP-A, 51 (28%) were CP-B7, and 60 (32%) were ≥CP-B8. New albumin, bilirubin, and alkaline phosphatase grade 3/4 toxicities were, respectively, 3%, 10%, and 0% for CP-A; 14%, 12%, and 6% for CP-B7; and 23%, 32%, and 3% for ≥CP-B8. Median overall survival for CP-A patients was 13.3 mo (95% confidence interval [CI], 8.7–15.7 mo). CP-B7 and ≥CP-B8 patients exhibited median overall survival of 6.9 mo (95% CI, 5.3–10.1 mo) and 3.9 mo (95% CI, 2.9–5.0 mo), respectively. Significant overall survival prognosticators on univariate analysis were albumin, bilirubin, ascites, tumor size 5 cm or smaller, focality, distribution, infiltration, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group status, AFP level, and PVT extent. Multivariate analysis showed the prognosticators of overall survival to be bilirubin, no ascites, tumor size 5 cm or smaller, solitary lesion, baseline AFP level lower than 100 ng/dL, and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group status. Of 123 patients with a high AFP level (>100 ng/dL), 12 patients achieved restored normal AFP levels (<13 ng/dL) and exhibited median overall survival of 23.9 mo (95% CI, 20.1–124.1 mo). AFP responders at 1 mo had better overall survival than nonresponders, at 8.5 mo versus 4.8 mo (P = 0.018); AFP responders at 3 mo had overall survival of 13.3 mo, versus 6.9 mo for nonresponders (P = 0.021). Conclusion: 90Y radioembolization can serve as a safe and effective treatment for advanced-stage HCC patients with tumor PVT. Overall survival outcomes are affected by baseline liver function, tumor size, and AFP level.
Inter-correlative Histogram Feature and Dimension Reduction for Content Based Multimedia Retrieval

Information retrieval based on motion descriptions in multimedia application has gained lot of importance and interest in the recent past. Content Based Multimedia Retrieval (CBMR) system retrieves the multimedia data based on the content of given multimedia query. That is, for a given motion query, relevant multimedia are to be retrieved. Here, an approach of human action detection and localization in a multimedia dataset and an improved histogram based approach for Multi-Instant action detection named as Multi-Instant Histogram (MI-HIST) is proposed. The proposed approach enhances the disadvantages like processing noise and system overhead with respect to the representation and retrieval performance. In the representation of descriptive features, a large feature count is observed, which results in the processing overhead. To reduce these descriptive features, this paper also presents a multi-linear kernel (MLK) technique for dimension reduction approach to feature reduction based on feature relations. The experiments have been conducted on the benchmark datasets. The experimental results show that the processing resource overhead and retrieval efficiency are improved with the present approach.
2 CEE 629 – System Identification – Duke

Since there are more equations than unknowns (m > n), this is an overdetermined set of equations. If the measurements of the independent variables xi are known precisely, then the only difference between the model, ŷ(xi; a), and the measured data yi, must be due to measurement error in yi and natural variability in the data that the model is unable to reflect. In such cases, the ‘best’ approximation minimizes a scalar-valued norm of the difference between the data points yi and the model ŷ(xi; a). In such a case the approximation of equation (1) can be made an equality by incorporating the errors in y,
Accounting for Heterogeneity in Network Formation Behaviour: An Application to Vietnamese Smes

Network formation is often characterized by homophily—the tendency that agents connect with others who have similar attributes. However, while most agents are homophilous, others may be heterophilous, namely, aiming to create ties with dissimilar agents. This study finds evidence supporting this hypothesis for the first time in the literature by applying random coefficient models to information-sharing network data for Vietnamese small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). One possible interpretation for this heterophily is that firms can obtain more useful and performance-improving information from those dissimilar—as opposed to similar—to themselves, as suggested by certain social network studies.
An alcohol research center in concept and practice: interdisciplinary collaboration at the UConn ARC.

Summary The Center for Research on the Etiology and Treatment of Alcohol Dependence is dedicated to the systematic examination of the nature, development, and clinical management of alcohol use disorders. The Center is organized around an integrated network of three basic science laboratories (Neurobiology, Neurodynamics, and Psychophysiology) and one treatment evaluation laboratory that incorporates basic science methods and concepts into its program. This paper describes the organization, programs and mission of the Center. It also discusses the conditions under which interdisciplinary collaborative research is likely to flourish.
The four horsemen of power at the bargaining table

Purpose This paper aims to identify and discuss four major sources of power in negotiations. Findings The four sources of power are alternatives, information, status and social capital. Each of these sources of power can enhance a negotiator’s likelihood of obtaining their ideal outcome because power allows negotiators to be more confident and proactive, and it shields them from the bargaining tactics of their opponents. Practical implications The paper discusses how negotiators can utilize each source of power to improve their negotiation outcomes. Originality/value The paper provides a parsimonious definition of power in negotiations, identifies the four major sources of negotiator powers and highlights two pathways by which power affects negotiation outcomes.
A Flexible Speech to Speech Phrasebook Translator

We describe a simple speech translation architecture intended for medical and other safety-critical applications, which is intended to represent a compromise between fixed-phrase translation on one hand and complex transfer-based translation on the other. Recognition is guided by an annotated CFG-based language model compiled from a unification grammar; transfer and generation use a minimal list-oriented semantic representation language. We present an evaluation of an initial prototype, which translates yes/no questions about hypoglycaemia from spoken French into spoken English using a vocabulary of about 200 words.
The role of evanescent modes in randomly perturbed single-mode waveguides

Pulse propagation in randomly perturbed single-mode waveguides is considered. By an asymptotic analysis the pulse front propagation is reduced to an effective equation with diffusion and dispersion. Apart from a random time shift due to a random total travel time, two main phenomena can be distinguished. First, coupling and energy conversion between forward- and backward-propagating modes is responsible for an effective diffusion of the pulse front. This attenuation and spreading is somewhat similar to the one-dimensional case addressed by the O'Doherty-Anstey theory. Second, coupling between the forward-propagating mode and the evanescent modes results in an effective dispersion. In the case of small-scale random fluctuations we show that the second mechanism is dominant.
Expression of CD8β and alteration of cell surface phenotype in adult T‐cell leukaemia cells

Typical adult T‐cell leukaemia (ATL) cells have a CD4+CD8− cell surface phenotype, but atypical phenotypes such as CD4+CD8+ and CD4−CD8+ have also been reported. The CD8 molecule is composed of α and β chains and commonly used monoclonal antibodies against CD8 molecule detect only CD8α. Since it has been reported that CD8α can be induced in mature CD4+ T cells by cell activation, but not CD8β, we studied whether ATL cells which express CD8α may also express CD8β. We found some cases of CD8α+ ATL were also positive for CD8β. Furthermore, we experienced a case whose ATL cell surface phenotype changed from CD4+CD8α+CD8β+ to CD4−CD8α+CD8β+ and finally to CD4+CD8α−CD8β−. Southern blot analysis revealed that the monoclonal integration of human T lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV‐I) was identical throughout the course of the study, indicating that a single clone had demonstrated the alterations. These data suggest that peripheral CD4+CD8+ ATL cells can express not only CD8α, but also CD8β and that a single ATL cell clone has the potential to change its surface phenotype in vivo as well as in vitro.
Respiratory survey of workers in a pulp and paper mill in Powell River, British Columbia.

A respiratory survey was carried out in 1,932 workers in the pulp and paper mill in Powell River, British Columbia. The survey included a medical-occupational questionnaire, spirometry, chest radiographs, and environmental monitoring. The results obtained in 1,826 white male workers were analyzed. The workers were divided into 6 groups according to the type of exposure at work: subjects in group 1 were mainly exposed to gases, vapors, and chemicals in the kraft mill; group 2, to wood dust; group 3, to paper dust; group 4, to CO; group 5, to all kinds of air contaminants; group 6 (control subjects), to much lower levels of various air contaminants at work. We were unable to demonstrate an increased prevalence of respiratory symptoms and pulmonary function abnormalities among workers exposed to gases and chemicals in the kraft mill. However, we found that workers exposed to wood dust had slightly but significantly lower pulmonary function compared to other groups. Although cigarette smoking had a significan.
The Impact of Investment Recommendations on Stock Return: Comparative Study between International and Emerging Markets

The present research aims to analysis the impact of investment recommendation on stock return; the populations of the study are Egypt exchange (EGX); the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations exchange (Nasdaq) & New York stock exchange (NYSE); the period from (2012) to (2016), Finally, there is a weak significant impact of investment recommendation on stock return for both markets; but there a different impact between International and Emerging markets, the researchers can justify it to different of market characteristics.
Acromegaly and pregnancy: a retrospective multicenter study of 59 pregnancies in 46 women.

CONTEXT Few data are available on pregnancy outcomes in women with acromegaly. STUDY DESIGN This was a retrospective multicenter study. PATIENTS The study included 46 women with GH-secreting pituitary microadenomas (n = 7) or macroadenomas (n = 39). Their mean age was 31.7 yr (±4.5 yr). Incomplete transsphenoidal surgical resection (n = 39) and pituitary radiation (n = 14) had been performed, respectively, 2.9 ± 2.6 and 7.3 ± 4.2 yr before pregnancy. The patients were receiving dopamine agonists (n = 25) and/or somatostatin analogs (n = 14), and GH/IGF-I hypersecretion was controlled and uncontrolled in, respectively, 23 and 34 cases. Five pregnancies followed the fertility treatment. RESULTS Fifty-nine pregnancies resulted in 64 healthy babies. Gestational diabetes and gravid hypertension occurred in four (6.8%) and eight (13.6%) pregnancies, respectively, and both were more frequent when GH/IGF-I hypersecretion was not controlled before pregnancy. Visual field defects were diagnosed during pregnancy in four women, three of whom were diagnosed with acromegaly during the pregnancy. Seven women had isolated headache. Magnetic resonance imaging performed 3.9 ± 0.3 months after delivery showed that the size of the adenoma had increased in three cases, decreased in two cases, and remained stable in 22 cases. Seventeen women breast-fed with no complications. Four women gave birth to a small-for-gestational-age infant; all had received somatostatin analogs, alone or in combination with dopamine agonists, during pregnancy. The mean IGF-I level fell significantly during the first trimester in 12 cases (before conception 588 ± 207 ng/ml, first trimester 319 ± 126 ng/ml, P = 0.002), whereas the GH concentration did not change significantly. CONCLUSION The following conclusions were reached: 1) pregnancy in women with active or uncontrolled acromegaly may be associated with an increased risk of gestational diabetes and gravid hypertension; 2) pregnancy is occasionally associated with symptomatic enlargement of GH-secreting pituitary macroadenomas; 3) changes in serum GH and IGF-I concentrations are variable during pregnancy, indicating that routine monitoring is not mandatory if the pregnancy is uneventful; and 4) GH-suppressive treatment can be safely withdrawn after conception in most acromegalic women.
Advanced Clinical Cannabinoid ProviderTM ACCPTM National Cannabis Certification Services www.CPRTrainingFast.com

Nowadays, Cannabis sativa is considered the most extensively used narcotic. Nevertheless, this fame obscures its traditional employ in native medicine of South Africa, South America, Turkey, Egypt and in many regions of Asia as a therapeutic drug. In fact, the use of compounds containing Cannabisand their introduction in clinical practice is still controversial and strongly limited by unavoidable psychotropic effects. So, overcoming these adverse effects represents the main open question on the utilization of cannabinoids as new drugs for treatment of several pathologies. To date, therapeutic use of cannabinoid extracts is prescribed in patients with glaucoma, in the control of chemotherapy-related vomiting and nausea, for appetite stimulation in patients with anorexia-cachexia syndrome by HIV, and for the treatment of multiple sclerosis symptoms. Recently, researcher efforts are aimed to employ the therapeutic potentials ofCannabis sativa in the modulation of cannabinoid receptor activity within the central nervous system, particularly for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, as well as psychiatric and non-psychiatric disorders. This review evaluates the most recent available data on cannabinoids utilization in experimental and clinical studies, and highlights their beneficial effects in the prevention of the main neurological diseases and for the clinical treatment of symptoms with them correlated.
REAKSI INVESTOR TERHADAP PENGUMUMAN DIVIDEN DI BURSA EFEK INDONESIA

This study analyzed the investor reaction to dividend announcements. The sampling technique used waspurposive sampling with the criteria that these companies entered LQ45 2007-2009 and distributed cashdividends continuously. The purpose of this study was to investigate investor reaction to announcements ofcash dividends at Indonesia Stock Exchange. This research was an event study, the research analyzed themarket reaction to an event. This study aimed to test whether the information dividend announcement wasimportant information for investors and it affected investor reaction. Statistical analysis techniques were usedin different test against the Average Abnormal Return (AAR) before and after the dividend announcement. Theresults showed that investors did not react to that information. This was indicated by the absence of differencesin AAR before and after the dividend announcement.
Criteria for diagnosing benign portal vein thrombosis in the assessment of patients with cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma for liver transplantation

Malignant portal vein thrombosis is a contraindication for liver transplantation. Patients with cirrhosis and early hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) may have either malignant or benign (fibrin clot) portal vein thrombosis. The aim of this study was to assess prospectively whether well‐defined diagnostic criteria would enable the nature of portal vein thrombosis to be established in patients with HCC under consideration for liver transplantation. Benign portal vein thrombosis was diagnosed by the application of the following criteria: lack of vascularization of the thrombus on contrast‐enhanced ultrasound and on computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging, absence of mass‐forming features of the thrombus, absence of disruption of the walls of veins, and, if uncertainty persisted, biopsy of the thrombus for histological examination. Patients who did not fulfill the criteria for benign thrombosis were not placed on the transplantation list. In this study, all patients evaluated at our center during 2001‐2007 with a diagnosis of HCC in whom portal vein thrombosis was concurrently or subsequently diagnosed were discussed by a multidisciplinary group to determine their suitability for liver transplantation. The outcomes for 33 patients who met the entry criteria of the study were as follows: in 14 patients who were placed on the transplantation list and underwent liver transplantation, no malignant thrombosis was detected when liver explants were examined histologically; 5 patients who were placed on the transplantation list either remained on the list or died from causes unrelated to HCC; in 9 patients, liver transplantation was contraindicated on account of a strong suspicion, or confirmation, of the presence of malignant portal vein thrombosis; and 5 patients who were initially placed on the transplantation list were subsequently removed from it on account of progression of HCC in the absence of evidence of neoplastic involvement of thrombosis. In conclusion, for a patient with HCC and portal vein thrombosis, appropriate investigations can establish whether the thrombosis is benign; patients with HCC and benign portal vein thrombosis are candidates for liver transplantation. Liver Transpl 16:658‐667, 2010. © 2010 AASLD.
Fulvestrant: Pharmacologic Profile Versus Existing Endocrine Agents for the Treatment of Breast Cancer

Objective: To compare the pharmacologic profile of fulvestrant with that of tamoxifen and the aromatase inhibitors with respect to the choice of treatment for advanced breast cancer (ABC). Data Sources: Principal literature and review articles were obtained from MEDLINE (1991–March 2006). Key search terms included fulvestrant, tamoxifen, aromatase inhibitors, pharmacology, and breast cancer. Further data sources were identified from the bibliographies of selected articles. Study Selection and Data Extraction: English-language preclinical and clinical research and review articles reporting pharmacologic and safety data for fulvestrant, tamoxifen, and the aromatase inhibitors were evaluated to identify relevant information. Randomized clinical trial data were preferred over preclinical or Phase I and II trial data. Data Synthesis: A total of 52 clinical papers (including 10 reviews) and 17 clinical abstracts were evaluated reporting results from controlled Phase I–III studies and pilot studies. Eleven preclinical papers (including 2 reviews) and 6 preclinical abstracts were also included. Fulvestrant has little effect on sex hormone endocrinology, bone metabolism, and lipid biochemistry and appears unlikely to be the subject or cause of CYP3A4-mediated drug interactions. Tamoxifen has a protective effect on bone (due to its partial estrogen agonist activity) and reduces plasma low-density lipoprotein cholesterol but increases triglyceride levels. The aromatase inhibitors have variable effects on lipid profiles and sex hormone endocrinology but have detrimental effects on bone due to inhibition of estrogen synthesis. Drug interactions have been noted between tamoxifen and anticoagulants and tamoxifen and aromatase inhibitors, which may be due to CYP-mediated mechanisms. Conclusions: Fulvestrant appears to have little effect on sex hormone endocrinology, bone metabolism, and lipid biochemistry and is unlikely to be subject to or the cause of CYP3A4-mediated drug–drug interactions. As such, fulvestrant represents a valuable new endocrine therapy for the treatment of ABC and broadens the options available to clinicians in the treatment of this disease.
Supply Chain Management Performance Impacts of Supply Chain Strategy, information system strategy and environmental uncertainty: A Contingency Perspective

A right supply chain (SC) strategy is widely believed to be able to improve supply chain management (SCM) performance. Through implementing a right information system (IS), companies in a supply chain could expand both the needs and opportunities for improved SCM. Furthermore, environmental uncertainty usually affects the SC performance and determines which competitive factors should be emphasized and evaluated to help formulate a winning competitive strategy. Ignoring the important concept of alignment, mostly SCM research singly investigated the influence of SC strategy or of IS strategy on SCM performance. Consequently, failures in SCM resulting from a mismatch between two or more crucial factors (e.g., SC strategy, IS strategy and environmental uncertainty) remain common. However, empirical research on the topic of co-alignment among a manufacturing firm’s SC strategy, IS strategy, and its environmental uncertainty and the impact of such a co-alignment for SCM performance was extremely sparse in SCM area. To fill this gap, this study proposed a theoretical co-alignment model among SC strategy, IS strategy and environmental uncertainty, and then empirically examined how the co-alignment impacts SCM performance. A survey was used to collect 243 usable responses from manufacturers. A covariation approach was employed to assess the research model. The research results verified that the co-alignment among SC strategy, IS strategy and environmental uncertainty positively enhances SCM performance. Keyword: Co-alignment, Supply Chain Management, Environmental Uncertainty, Supply Chain Strategy, Information System Strategy
Scanning the Issue and Beyond: Computational Transportation and Transportation 5.0

Welcome to our fifth issue of the year with my comments on computational transportation and transportation 5.0, and some random thoughts triggered by Germany’s recent INDUSTRIE 4.0 initiative. Please check IEEE-TITS (http://www.weibo. com/u/3967923931) on Weibo (an extended Chinese version of Twitter), https://www.facebook. com/IEEEITS on Facebook, and IEEEITS (https://twitter.com/IEEEITS) on Twitter for any news regarding IEEE ITSS, IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS, and IEEE Intelligent Transportation Systems Magazine. The three sites are still under development and your participations and suggestions are extremely welcome.
Does Everolimus Increase Donor‐Specific HLA Antibodies in Kidney Transplant Recipients?

We read with interest the publication by Liefeldt et al. in the Journal describing donor-specific antibodies (DSA) in patients converting from cyclosporine to everolimus (1). The authors performed a retrospective analysis of their center-subset of patients participating in the prospective, multicenter, randomized ZEUS (2) and the (not yet published) CRAD001ADE13 trials. These trials differ in inclusion criteria, time for cyclosporine-to-everolimus transition and in the overall study strategies. In our view, the authors’ conclusions are exaggerated and not supported by their findings.