Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
System-Level Performance of Interference Alignment

Capitalizing on the analytical potency of stochastic geometry and on some new ideas to model intercell interference, this paper presents analytical expressions that enable quantifying the spectral efficiency of interference alignment (IA) in cellular networks without the need for simulation. From these expressions, the benefits of IA are characterized. Even under favorable assumptions, IA is found to be beneficial only in very specific and relatively infrequent network situations, and a blanket utilization of IA is found to be altogether detrimental. Applied only in the appropriate situations, IA does bring about benefits that are significant for the users involved but relatively small in terms of average spectral efficiency for the entire system.
Rare BRCA1 haplotypes including 3’UTR SNPs associated with breast cancer risk

Genetic markers identifying women at an increased risk of developing breast cancer exist, yet the majority of inherited risk remains elusive. While numerous BRCA1 coding sequence mutations are associated with breast cancer risk, BRCA1 mutations account for less then 5% of breast cancer risk. Since 3' untranslated region (3'UTR) polymorphisms disrupting microRNA (miRNA) binding can be functional and can act as genetic markers of cancer risk, we tested the hypothesis that such polymorphisms in the 3'UTR of BRCA1 and haplotypes containing these functional polymorphisms may be associated with breast cancer risk. We sequenced the BRCA1 3'UTR from breast cancer patients to identify miRNA disrupting polymorphisms. We further evaluated haplotypes of this region including the identified 3'UTR variants in a large population of controls and breast cancer patients (n=221) with known breast cancer subtypes and ethnicities. We identified three 3'UTR variants in BRCA1 that are polymorphic in breast cancer populations, and haplotype analysis including these variants revealed that breast cancer patients harbor five rare haplotypes not generally found among controls (9.50% for breast cancer chromosomes, 0.11% for control chromosomes, p=0.0001). Three of these rare haplotypes contain the rs8176318 BRCA1 3'UTR functional variant. These haplotypes are not biomarkers for BRCA1 coding mutations, as they are found rarely in BRCA1 mutant breast cancer patients (1/129 patients= 0.78%). These rare BRCA1 haplotypes and 3'UTR SNPs may represent new genetic markers of breast cancer risk.
A weighted HP model for protein folding with diagonal contacts

The HP model is one of the most popular discretized models for attacking the protein folding problem, i.e. , for the computational prediction of the tertiary structure of a protein from its amino acid sequence. It is based on the assumption that interactions between hydrophobic amino acids are the main force in the folding process. Therefore, it distinguishes between polar and hydrophobic amino acids only and tries to embed the amino acid sequence into a two- or three-dimensional grid lattice such as to maximize the number of contacts, i.e. , of pairs of hydrophobic amino acids that are embedded into neighboring positions of the grid. In this paper, we propose a new generalization of the HP model which overcomes one of the major drawbacks of the original HP model, namely the bipartiteness of the underlying grid structure which severely restricts the set of possible contacts. Moreover, we introduce the (biologically well-motivated) concept of weighted contacts, where each contact gets assigned a weight depending on the spatial distance between the embedded amino acids. We analyze the applicability of existing approximation algorithms for the original HP model to our new setting and design a new approximation algorithm for this generalized model.
Design of a Remote Control System for a Wireless Microrobot

The design of the components for the remote cont of a microrobot is presented. The robot consists in a h Q antenna, a high voltage circuit and a distributed syst of electrostatic actuators, realizing a Ciliary Motio System (CMS) [1]. The received voltage on the anten obtained by inductive coupling at 1cm, is 100V on a 1k Ω load. This allows both microsystem actuation (80V with 380 μm piece of silicon as a load) and the powering of t circuit. The high voltage circuit has been designed in t Alcatel-Mietec I2T100 technology. It is able to drive tw CMS in order to obtain a remote motion system with tw degrees of freedom. The circuit has been succesfu simulated with a 250 pF load.
Energy management system of hybrid power generation with battery energy storage and application to MHS smart grid project

This paper proposes an improved dispatch strategy to Mae Hong Son (MHS) power system. MHS is located in a far north west of Thailand which had encountered the worst electrical power problem for many years. MHS hybrid power generation contains photovoltaic power plant, mini-hydro power plants, diesel power plants and also 115kV and 22kV transmission line which are connected to Chiang Mai power grid. In addition, there is an initiative to increase the capacity of renewable energy sources. In this study, we consider the existing power system of MHS and add more electrical power supplies such as PV generation and battery energy storage. Our dispatch strategy is a multi-objective optimization which aims to minimize the total operating cost and the total CO2 emission corresponding to MHS hybrid power generation. We formulate the dispatch strategy as a linear program subjected to constraints on hybrid power generation models, battery state of charge, and power balance principle. The numerical results show an improvement on economic and environmental operation of power system in normal mode for dry season and rainy season.
Identification of breast cancer patients with high risk of early recurrence after radical mastectomy. II. Clinical and pathological correlations

A prospective study of factors that might be helpful in predicting recurrence of breast cancer during the 2 years after radical mastectomy has been completed in 381 women by the Cooperative Breast Cancer Group (National Cancer Institute). Identification of clinical factors which might be associated with such recurrence has been achieved. A multivariate analysis of the data was oriented toward the identification of clinical factors other than lymph node status that might be simultaneously used to predict recurrence because of the current trend of cancer therapy toward more limited surgery. Degree of differentiation of the tumor, blood vessel invasion, patient age and tumor size were identified as important predictors of recurrence for premenopausal patients and tumor size was identified as important for postmenopausal patients. The addition of axillary lymph node status to these factors, however, made a significant improvement in the prediction equation for both pre‐ and postmenopausal patients. Studies of this type are of particular value to understand further the biology of breast cancer which is necessary to develop rational primary and adjuvant treatment strategies. Cancer 42:2809–2826, 1978.
MRI quantification of splenic iron concentration in mouse

To quantify hepatic and splenic iron load, which is a critical issue for iron overload disease diagnosis. MRI is useful to noninvasively determine liver iron concentration, but not proven to be adequate for robust evaluation of splenic iron load. We evaluated the usefulness of MRI‐derived parameters to determine splenic iron concentration in mice.
Endothelial-cell heme uptake from heme proteins: induction of sensitization and desensitization to oxidant damage.

Iron-derived reactive oxygen species are implicated in the pathogenesis of various vascular disorders including atherosclerosis, vasculitis, and reperfusion injury. The present studies examine whether heme, when liganded to physiologically relevant proteins as in hemoglobin, can provide potentially damaging iron to intact endothelium. We demonstrate that reduced ferrohemoglobin, while relatively innocuous to cultured endothelial cells, when oxidized to ferrihemoglobin (methemoglobin), greatly amplifies oxidant (H2O2)-mediated endothelial-cell injury. Drawing upon our previous observation that free heme similarly primes endothelium for oxidant damage, we posited that methemoglobin, but not ferrohemoglobin, releases its hemes that can then be incorporated into endothelial cells. In support, cultured endothelial cells exposed to methemoglobin--in contrast to exposure to ferrohemoglobin, cytochrome c, or metmyoglobin--rapidly increased their heme oxygenase mRNA and enzyme activity, thereby supporting heme uptake; ferritin production was also markedly increased after such exposure, thus attesting to eventual incorporation of Fe. These cellular methemoglobin effects were inhibited by the heme-scavenging protein hemopexin and by haptoglobin or cyanide, agents that strengthen the liganding between heme and globin. If the endothelium is exposed to methemoglobin for a more prolonged period (16 hr), it accumulates large amounts of ferritin; concomitantly, and presumably associated with iron sequestration by this protein, the endothelium converts from hypersusceptible to hyperresistant to oxidative damage. We conclude that when oxidation of hemoglobin facilitates release of its heme groups, catalytically active iron is provided to neighboring tissue environments. The effect of this relinquished heme on the vasculature is determined both by extracellular factors--i.e., plasma proteins, such as haptoglobin and hemopexin--as well as intracellular factors, including heme oxygenase and ferritin. Acutely, if both extra- and intracellular defenses are overwhelmed, cellular toxicity arises; chronically, when ferritin is induced, resistance to oxidative injury may supervene.
Investigating the Impact of Firm Strategy - Click-and-Brick, Brick-and-Mortar, and Pure- Click - on Financial Performance

Attracted by the numerous benefits of E-commerce, many traditional brick-and-mortar firms have embraced the Internet to supplement their business operations and have adopted the “click-and-brick” approach. Despite these changes, insufficient empirical research has been conducted on the impact of different firm types on financial performance. Based on the resource-based view, this study presents empirical research examining the possible ramifications and an overall impact. This study does this by comparing financial performance of click-and-brick firms with the performance of traditional, as well as pure-click firms that rely solely on the Internet.
Report of a Cerebellar Neuroblastoma in a p 53 Null Mutation Mouse

We report a case of cerebellar neuroblastoma in a 19-week-old p53 null mutation mouse. A white and soft mass was observed at the cerebellar vermis. Histologically, the tumor consisted of solid growth of round to oval pleomorphic cells with frequent mitotic figures. While there were no typical cellular arrangements of embryonic neurogenic tumors, such as Homer-Wright rosette, perivascular pseudorosette, or streaming of neoplastic neurocytes, small populations of the neoplastic cells were immunohistochemically positive for synaptophysin, microtubule-associated protein 2, S-100 and nestin. Both glial fibrillary acidic protein and vimentin were entirely negative in the neoplastic cells. Based on the biological characteristics of neoplastic cells, this tumor was diagnosed as neuroblastoma of the cerebellar origin.
Developmental mechanism and evolutionary origin of vertebrate left/right asymmetries

The systematically ‘handed’, or directionally asymmetrical way in which the major viscera are packed within the vertebrate body is known as situs. Other less obvious vertebrate lateralisations concern cognitive neural function, and include the human phenomena of hand‐use preference and language‐associated cognitive partitioning. An overview, rather than an exhaustive scholarly review, is given of recent advances in molecular understanding of the mechanism that ensures normal development of‘correct’situs. While the asymmetry itself and its left/right direction are clearly vertebrate‐conserved characters, data available from various embryo types are compared in order to assess the likelihood that the developmental mechanism is evolutionarily conserved in its entirety. A conserved post‐gastrular‘phylotypic’ stage, with left‐ and right‐specific cascades of key, orthologous gene expressions, clearly exists. It now seems probable that earlier steps, in which symmetry‐breaking information is reliably transduced to trigger these cascades on the correct sides, are also conserved at depth although it remains unclear exactly how these steps operate. Earlier data indicated that the initiation of symmetry‐breaking had been transformed, among the different vertebrate classes, as drastically as has the anatomy of pre‐gastrular development itself, but it now seems more likely that this apparent diversity is deceptive.
Oseltamivir in the management of influenza

Seasonal influenza causes significant morbidity and mortality in adults and children. However, a worldwide influenza pandemic could cause considerably more deaths (20 – 40 million) and would majorly disrupt everyday life in most countries. Oseltamivir has proven to be safe and effective for the prevention or treatment of all known influenza subtypes, reducing the severity and duration of symptoms, the complications arising from influenza infection (pneumonia, hospitalisation, antibiotic use) and mortality. Oseltamivir has been shown to be effective against pandemic strains of influenza, including the currently circulating strain (H5N1). As a result, the World Health Organization has recommended the stockpiling of oseltamivir in the event of an influenza pandemic.
Ambient light alters temporal-updating behaviour during mate choice in a Neotropical frog

It is well known that animal decision-making can be influenced by environmental variables, such as the risk of predation. During the breeding season, nocturnal amphibians encounter a range of environmental conditions at breeding aggregations, including variable ambient light conditions. For nocturnal frogs, illumination is expected to minimize con- spicuous movement that might increase predator detection. Previous work has shown that female Physalaemus pustulosus (Cope, 1864) (= Engystomops pustulosus (Cope, 1864)) are sensitive to variation in light levels during mate choice. Here we use an acoustic playback design in which stimuli are adjusted for intensity and complexity during female phonotaxis to show that choosiness is influenced by light level. Frogs were more likely to commit to an initial mate choice despite a dynamic reduction in mate attractiveness under dim light conditions compared with darkness. These results suggest that females are trading off the attractiveness of potential mates with the perceived costs of executing mate choice by commit- ting to an initial decision and thereby reducing assessment time and movement. The dynamic playback design used here provides an approach that could be applied in other systems in which context-dependent decision-making is thought to be important. Resume´ : Il est bien connu que la prise de decisions chez les animaux peut subir l'influence des variables du milieu, comme par exemple, le risque de predation. Durant la saison de reproduction, les amphibiens nocturnes rencontrent une gamme de conditions environnementales lors de leurs rassemblements de reproduction, en particulier des conditions varia- bles de luminosite ´. Chez les grenouilles nocturnes, l'illumination devrait reduire les mouvements trop apparents qui pour- raient augmenter la detection par les predateurs. Des travaux anterieurs ont montreque les femelles de Physalaemus pustulosus (Cope, 1864) (= Engystomops pustulosus (Cope, 1864)) sont sensibles ala variation de l'intensitelumineuse du- rant leur choix de partenaire. Nous utilisons ici un plan d'experience comportant une rediffusion acoustique dans laquelle l'intensiteet la complexitedes stimuli sont ajustees durant le phonotactisme de la femelle de maniere a montrer que le choix est influencepar l'intensitelumineuse. En lumiere faible, les grenouilles sont plus susceptibles de s'engager envers un premier partenaire choisi, malgreune reduction dynamique de l'attrait du partenaire, qu'en obscuritetotale. Ces resul- tats laissent croire que les femelles font un compromis entre l'attrait des partenaires potentiels et les couts percus reliesa u choix du partenaire; en s'engageant vis-a `-vis leur premier choix, elles reduisent le temps d'evaluation et les deplacements. Le plan de rediffusion dynamique utiliseici fournit une approche qui pourrait servir dans d'autres systemes dans lesquels la prise de decisions en fonction du contexte est importante. (Traduit par la Redaction)
Controlling Grid Integrity after Power System Emergencies

An emergency strategy for dealing with multiple contingencies that can lead to system voltage instability has been incorporated into a program for studying post-disturbance power system dynamic events. Pattern recognition allows simple logic for a practical and reliable means of safeguarding the grid and offering a means for preventing the multimillion-dollar collapses that befall worldwide interconnected systems. The proposed automatic arrangement only needs low-cost measures and is able adapt to multiple contingencies. The timely responses to emergencies would allow higher power flows on lines constrained for system voltage stability as well as raising security levels by taking advantage of the initial system resilience without need for its costly augmentation.
Enhanced transport of P-glycoprotein substrate saquinavir in presence of thiolated chitosan

It was the aim of this study to investigate the effect of chitosan-4-thiobutylamidine (Ch-TBA) and reduced glutathione (GSH) on the absorption of P-glycoprotein (P-gp) and multidrug resistance protein (MRP) substrate saquinavir in vitro and in vivo. Bidirectional transport studies were performed with Caco-2 cell monolayers and additionally with freshly excised rat small intestinal mucosa mounted in Ussing type chambers. Furthermore, a delivery system based on Ch-TBA and GSH was evaluated in vivo in rats. The functional activity of the efflux pumps in Caco-2 cells and rat intestinal mucosa during the experiment was proven by the efflux ratio of saquinavir, which was 6.4 for Caco-2 cells and 2.1 for rat intestinal mucosa, respectively. Ch-TBA and particularly the combination of Ch-TBA with GSH enhanced apical (AP) absorption and decreased the secretory transport of saquinavir. In presence of 0.5% Ch-TBA and 0.5% GSH, the uptake of saquinavir was 1.6-fold improved in Caco-2 monolayer and 2.1-fold improved in rat intestinal mucosa. In vivo, the area under the plasma concentration time curve (AUC) of saquinavir was 1.4-fold and Cmax 1.6-fold increased, in comparison with control. Results of this study showed that Ch-TBA in combination with GSH can be an interesting tool for increasing the oral bioavailability of actively secreted compounds.
Seeking efficiency and productivity in health care

In this study, we show that the challenging service processes in the health care sector can be improved similarly to those of any other business sector when seeking efficiency and productivity. Two separate case organizations (acute neurology ward and children’s dental clinic) from the health care sector were analyzed with the 3VPM (Three View Point Model) methodology that has also been used in several other businesses. A multi-method approach was used to acquire data for the analyses, including interviews and observation completed with numerical data. The first case represents a case where an ICT-related issue acted as a bottleneck, while the second case focuses on renewing the provisioning processes. In both cases, the analysis showed that improvement is possible and also pointed out benefits from different changes. However, the main result is dependent on the decision: will the proposed changes be made or not?
Changes in Sexuality and Intimacy After the Diagnosis and Treatment of Cancer: The Experience of Partners in a Sexual Relationship With a Person With Cancer

Changes in sexuality and intimacy after cancer were examined using open-ended questionnaire responses with 156 informal carers who were partners of a person with cancer. Interviews were conducted with 20 participants to examine changes in depth. Seventy-six percent of partners of a person with "nonreproductive" cancer types and 84% of partners caring for a person with cancer involving "reproductive" sites reported an impact on their sexual relationship. Cessation or decreased frequency of sex and intimacy was reported by 59% of the women and 79% of the men. Renegotiation of sexuality and intimacy after cancer was reported by only 19% of the women and 14% of the men. Reasons for changes to sexuality after cancer were the impact of cancer treatments, exhaustion due to caring, and repositioning of the person with cancer as a patient, not a sexual partner. Changes to sexuality were associated with reports of self-blame, rejection, sadness, anger, and lack of sexual fulfillment. Positive consequences of changes included accepting the changed sexual relationship and having increased closeness and intimacy. These findings reinforce the need to acknowledge the sexual needs of partners as well as people with cancer, by healthcare professionals working in cancer and palliative care.
The nature of explanation

One of the most fundamental properties of thought is its power of predicting events. This gives it immense adaptive and constructive significance as noted by Dewey and other pragmatists. It enables us, for. instance, to design bridges with a sufficient factor of safety instead of building them haphazard and waiting to see whether they collapse, and to predict consequences of recondite physical or chemical processes whose value may often be more theoretical than practical. In all these cases the process of thought, reduced to its simplest terms, is as follows: a man observes some external event or process and arrives at some 'conclusion' or 'prediction' expressed in words or numbers that 'mean' or refer to or describe some external event or process which comes to pass if the man's reasoning was correct. During the process of reasoning, he may also have availed himself of words or numbers. Here there are three essential processes:
Large Graphs with Given Degree and Diameter - Part I

The following problem arises in the study of interconnection networks: find graphs of given diameter and degree having the maximum number of vertices. In this correspondence we give some constructions of graphs proving in particular that lim△∞inf N(△, D). △-D ≥ 2-D, where N(△, D) is the maximum number of vertices of a graph with degree A and diameter D.
Regional metastasis in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: revised value of US with US-guided FNAB.

PURPOSE To verify the acclaimed accuracy of ultrasound (US) combined with US-guided fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) in the detection of lymph node metastasis in the neck and to evaluate the interobserver variability. MATERIALS AND METHODS In a prospective, multicenter study of 185 patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, US (n=238 neck sides) with US-guided FNAB (n=178 neck sides) was used for evaluation of the lymph node status of the neck. Findings were correlated with those of histopathologic examination in 238 neck sides. RESULTS US with US-guided FNAB had a sensitivity of 77% and a specificity of 100%. Nineteen of 178 aspirations were nondiagnostic. There were no significant differences between the four participating hospitals or the individual sonologists (P>.05). CONCLUSION Sensitivity of US with US-guided FNAB was slightly lower compared with previous reports. Specificity was similar to previous reports. Interobserver variability appeared to be low. The validity of US with US-guided FNAB is high and warrants widespread use of the procedure for evaluation of the neck.