Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Surrogate Endpoints for Overall Survival in Immune-Oncology Trials of Advanced Gastro-Esophageal Carcinoma

Background We aimed to assess whether the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST)-based objective response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR) and progression-free survival (PFS) could serve as surrogate endpoints for overall survival (OS) in immune-oncology (IO) trials of advanced gastro-esophageal (GE) carcinoma. Methods Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of IO that reported RECIST-based endpoints and OS in advanced GE carcinoma were screened. Surrogacy of endpoints for OS was assessed based on the correlation between endpoints with OS (arm-level), and between treatment effects on endpoints (trial-level). The correlations were quantified by Pearson correlation coefficient (R). Leave-one-out cross-validation was used to assess the prediction accuracy of surrogate model. Results Seventeen RCTs (9,657 subjects) with 20 comparisons were included. The correlations between DCR and OS were not strong at arm- (R = 0.80) and trial-levels (R = 0.45), but strong correlations between ORR (R = 0.91), PFS (R = 0.89) and OS at arm-level were observed. Treatment effect on ORR and PFS (both R = 0.71) was moderately correlated with treatment effect on OS. Leave-one-out cross-validation approach further validated the surrogacy of PFS. Our analysis showed that 3-month PFS could reliably predict 6-month OS, 6-month PFS could reliably predict 12-month OS, and 12-month PFS could reliably predict 18-month OS. The conservative minimum threshold effect of HRPFS was 0.73. Conclusions PFS may be the appropriate surrogate for OS in IO trials of GE carcinoma. A conservative minimum threshold effect of HRPFS ≤ 0.73 has the potential to predict a significant improvement in OS.
Effect of precursor gas inlet position relative to hot wire cells in HWC-IP-PECVD systems for low-temperature graphene growth

ABSTRACT Graphene growth at low temperatures was investigated by integrating a hot wire cell made from coil-shaped tungsten into a plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD) system. It was found that the suitable position of the hot wire was such that the precursor gas comes out of the end of the gas pipeline and directly flows into the hot wire along its axis. This position puts the gas pipeline outside of plasma area, yielding uninterrupted plasma. The obtained films, which were grown at a low temperature between 290 °C to 300 °C, showed the presence of sharp G band in Raman spectra, indicating the presence of graphitic carbon structure and was confirmed by X-Ray Diffraction data. Also, sharp D band was detected in Raman spectra, which indicated that the film contains many defects. In addition to the nature of ion bombardment in the PECVD process, the defects were due to the addition of O-H functional groups and the formation of sp3 C-H in the samples, as shown in the FTIR spectra. Due to these defects, the Raman spectra obtained of the films showed very weak 2D bands, suggesting that our samples were in the form of graphene oxide.
Prevalence of sickle cell disease among children in India

Sickle Cell Anemia is a common hematological disorder affecting children, mostly from indigenous tribal populations in Africa and India. There is no synthesized evidence to inform policy on its prevalence and distribution across India. Therefore, this systematic review and meta-analysis aims to estimate and summarize the prevalence of Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) and Sickle Cell Trait (SCT) among children aged < 18 years in India. Following standardized methods of systematic reviews, a comprehensive search of all major medical databases was performed. Through independent stepwise screening, ten eligible studies were included in the study. Original peer-reviewed studies reporting the prevalence of either SCD or SCT among Indian children below 18 years of age were included for subsequent methodological quality assessment and data extraction using predefined standardized tools. Random and fixed effects models for meta-analysis were used to arrive at summary estimates for prevalence with 95% confidence intervals. Subgroup analysis was performed among tribal and non-tribal children. The included studies used data from around 2 million participants in total. The pooled prevalence of SCD among children in India is 0.8% (95% CI: 0.6-1.0%) and that of SCT was 9.2% (95% CI: 8.5-10.0%).
Are Measures of Health Status for the Total Population Good Proxies for the Health of the Older Population in International Comparison Studies?

In the face of population aging, the health of older people is becoming especially important, impacting various areas of life, societies and countries’ economies. To provide the basis for effective decisions to achieve better health, comparative analyses can be used to find best practices to follow. The aim of the research was to check whether drawing conclusions about the older population’s health based on the health status of the total population is justified in international comparison analyses. An analysis was conducted for six population health indicators for European countries from 2010–2019. Rankings were created for the total population and the older subpopulation, and then ranks for these two populations were compared using statistical methods. The statistical analyses indicate that there is a strong, statistically significant relationship between the ranks for the total and the older population. However, looking at the descriptive analysis and visual presentation of data, differences in international rankings of indicator values for these two populations can be observed. As older people comprise a specific group of the population that is growing ever bigger and increasingly significant, it would be advisable to present the results of international comparisons not only for the total, but separately for the older population as well.
A Value-Based Well-Being Framework

This article presents and illustrates a novel value-based well-being framework, derived from service-dominant logic notions of the link between value and well-being. Based in a wide range of disciplines, this framework links well-being to four value outcomes: use, option, existence, and bequest value. Such value outcomes stem from the interaction of three dimensions: beneficiary (individual or collective), time (present or future), and space (proximal or broader context). By combining the three dimensions, the proposed framework reveals how people evaluate their own individual well-being according to different beneficiaries, times, and spaces.
Donor CYP3A5 Expression Decreases Renal Transplantation Outcomes in White Renal Transplant Recipients

Background After renal transplantation, immunosuppressants should be administered to prevent organ rejection and prolong graft survival. One of them is tacrolimus, which is metabolized by the CYP3A enzyme family. The variability of the CYP3A5 gene in renal transplant recipients has been previously studied for its correlation with acute rejection and allogeneic kidney function. CYP3A5 enzyme is also present in the renal tissue, and its relevance has not yet been extensively investigated. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of donor and recipient CYP3A5 expression status on early and long-term transplant outcomes. Material/Methods Single-nucleotide polymorphism in CYP3A5 (rs776746) was analyzed in 95 kidney transplant recipients and their grafts. The effect of donor and recipient genotypes on the primary endpoint, which was the loss of the renal graft over 5-year follow-up, was assessed. The secondary endpoints were biopsy-proven acute rejection, proteinuria, delayed graft function, and renal function. Results Patients who received a CYP3A5*1 allele-carrying kidney (n=16) were at greater risk of graft loss (adjusted hazard ratio, 95% CI: 10.61, 2.28–49.42, P=.003) than those with the CYP3A5*3/*3 genotype (n=79). Renal CYP3A5 expression was also a predictor of acute rejection between the 2nd and 12th post-transplant months (adjusted odds ratio, 95% CI: 4.36; 1.08–17.6, P=.038) and proteinuria at different time intervals. No effect of the recipient CYP3A5 genotype was observed. Conclusions The donor CYP3A5 genotype is associated with inferior transplantation outcomes. Local renal tacrolimus metabolism is a potential target for improving long-term transplantation outcomes.
The Effects of High-Pressure Processing on pH, Thiobarbituric Acid Value, Color and Texture Properties of Frozen and Unfrozen Beef Mince

In this study, beef mince (approximately 4% fat longissmus costarum muscle of approximately 2-year-old Holstein cattle) was used as a material. High-pressure processing (HPP) was applied to frozen and unfrozen, vacuum-packed minced meat samples. The pH and thiobarbituric acid (TBA) values of the samples were examined during 45 days of storage. Color values (L*, a* and b*) and texture properties were examined during 30 days of storage. After freezing and HPP (350 MPa, 10 min, 10 °C), the pH value of minced meat increased (p > 0.05) and its TBA value decreased (p < 0.05). The increase in pH may be due to increased ionization during HPP. Some meat peptides, which are considered antioxidant compounds, increased the oxidative stability of meat, so a decrease in TBA may have been observed after freezing and HPP. While the color change in unpressurized samples was a maximum of 3.28 units during storage, in the pressurized sample, it exceeded the limit of 10 units on the first day of storage and exceeded the limit of 10 units on the third day of storage in the frozen and pressurized sample. Freezing and HPP caused the color of beef mince to be retained longer. The hardness, gumminess, chewability, adherence, elasticity, flexibility values of the pressurized and pressurized after freezing samples were higher than those of the unpressurized samples during storage. On the other hand, the opposite was the case for the adhesiveness values. In industrial applications, meat must be pressurized after being vacuum packed. If HPP is applied to frozen beef mince, some of its properties such as TBA, color, and texture can be preserved for a longer period of time without extreme change.
A broadband wire hexagon antenna array for future 5G communications in 28 GHz band

A broadband antenna array for 28 GHz 5G communications is presented in this paper. The antenna array has dimensions of 45 × 20 mm2 and has a measured operating band in 25.052‐34.923 GHz frequency range. A 4‐way feed network to excite its array elements was designed and optimized for the operating band. The single element consists of two co‐centric wire hexagons backed by another hexagonal ground loop of larger radius. The resulting monopole is surrounded by vias arranged in an inverted U‐shape manner for better performance. The antenna array has a minimum radiation efficiency of 85% with peak gain of 12.15 dBi. The antenna has narrow beam‐widths of 44.3° and 12.5° in two of its respective planes. The antenna is fabricated on an ultra‐thin Rogers substrate. The proposed antenna is deemed suitable for future 5G communication systems due to its simple design, compact size and low fabrication cost.
Hormonal regulation and cellular localization of fatty acid synthase in human fetal lung

Gonzales. Hormonal regulation and cellular localization of fatty acid synthase in human fetal lung. Am. J. Physiol. 277 ( Lung Cell. Mol. Physiol. 21): L381–L390, 1999. —Fatty acid synthase (FAS; EC 2.3.1.85) supplies de novo fatty acids for pulmonary surfactant synthesis, and FAS gene expression is both devel-opmentally and hormonally regulated in the fetal lung. To further examine hormonal regulation of FAS mRNA and to determine the cellular localization of FAS gene expression, we cultured human fetal lungs (18–22 wk gestation) as explants for 1–4 days in the absence (control) or presence of glucocorticoid [dexamethasone (Dex), 10 nM] and/or cAMP agents (8-bromo-cAMP, 0.1 mM and IBMX, 0.1 mM). FAS protein content and activity increased similarly in the presence of Dex (109 and 83%, respectively) or cAMP (87 and 111%, respectively), and responses were additive in the presence of both hormones (230 and 203%, respectively). With a rabbit anti-rat FAS antibody, FAS immunoreactivity was not detected in preculture lung specimens but appeared in epithelial cells lining the tubules with time in culture. Dex and/or cAMP markedly increased staining of epithelial cells, identiﬁed as type II cells, whereas staining of mesenchymal ﬁbroblasts was very low under all conditions. With in situ hybridization, FAS mRNA was found to be enriched in epithelial cells lining the alveolar spaces, and the reaction product increased in these cells when the explants were cultured with the hormones. The increased FAS mRNA content in the presence of Dex and/or cAMP is primarily due to increased stabilization of mRNA, although Dex alone increased the transcription rate by , 30%. We conclude that hormonal treatment of cultured human fetal lungs increases FAS gene expression primarily by increasing stability of the message. The induction of FAS during explant culture and by hormones occurs selectively in type II epithelial cells, consistent with the regulatory role of this enzyme in de novo synthesis of fatty acid substrate for surfactant synthesis in perinatal lungs.
Apply Ray Tracing to Back Track Partial Discharge in Transformer Based on Combined Array Sensor

To locate partial discharge (PD) in power transformer, a combined array sensor is manufactured which consists of a cross-shaped ultrasonic array with 25 elements and an ultra-high frequency (UHF) array with 2*2 elements. Algorithms for PD location are studied based on the sensor arrangement, and a total of 193 ultrasonic and 13 UHF virtual elements are achieved via virtual expansion. At first, two-sided correlation transformation based on the UHF virtual expanded array is employed to pre-estimate the PD’s direction, and then rotated signal sub-space based on the ultrasonic array is used to direct accurately. To enhance the accuracy and success rate of an array, ray tracing technique which consists of geometrical optics and uniform geometric theory of diffraction is studied to backtrace the wave emitted by PD, considering the UHF signal as an example. The PD location experiments in a transformer model indicate that the location algorithms based on the proposed combined array sensor adapt the PD’s broadband signal well, and ray tracing of the electromagnetic wave emitted by PD makes the location much accurate and successful than that of a single array. The PD location based the proposed combined array takes the advantages of the high sensitivity of UHF array and the high accuracy of the ultrasonic array.
Detection of Anal Intraepithelial Neoplasia and Anal Squamous Cell Carcinoma on Colonoscopy

ABSTRACT The purpose of this case series is to review the endoscopic detection of anal intraepithelial neoplasia and anal squamous cell carcinoma including the role of rectal retroflexion and narrow-band imaging. Four cases of anal intraepithelial neoplasia were incidentally discovered in women aged 55–71 years. Anal lesions identified included sessile polyps, nodular mucosa, and circumferential polyps. A fifth patient, who presented with abdominal pain, was found to have a 3 cm anal squamous cell carcinoma on diagnostic colonoscopy, despite a negative colonoscopy 21 months earlier. In the absence of contraindications, retroflexion should be performed on all patients. Suspicious anal mucosa warrants biopsy.
A Complex-Valued Self-Supervised Learning-Based Method for Specific Emitter Identification

Specific emitter identification (SEI) refers to distinguishing emitters using individual features extracted from wireless signals. The current SEI methods have proven to be accurate in tackling large labeled data sets at a high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). However, their performance declines dramatically in the presence of small samples and a significant noise environment. To address this issue, we propose a complex self-supervised learning scheme to fully exploit the unlabeled samples, comprised of a pretext task adopting the contrastive learning concept and a downstream task. In the former task, we design an optimized data augmentation method based on communication signals to serve the contrastive conception. Then, we embed a complex-valued network in the learning to improve the robustness to noise. The proposed scheme demonstrates the generality of handling the small and sufficient samples cases across a wide range from 10 to 400 being labeled in each group. The experiment also shows a promising accuracy and robustness where the recognition results increase at 10–16% from 10–15 SNR.
Natural Additives Improving Polyurethane Antimicrobial Activity

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in using polymers with antibacterial and antifungal properties; therefore, the present review is focused on the effect of natural compounds on the antibacterial and antifungal properties of polyurethane (PUR). This topic is important because materials and objects made with this polymer can be used as antibacterial and antifungal ones in places where hygiene and sterile conditions are particularly required (e.g., in healthcare, construction industries, cosmetology, pharmacology, or food industries) and thus can become another possibility in comparison to commonly used disinfectants, which mostly show high toxicity to the environment and the human health. The review presents the possibilities of using natural extracts as antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral additives, which, in contrast to the currently used antibiotics, have a much wider effect. Antibiotics fight bacterial infections by killing bacteria (bactericidal effect) or slowing and stopping their growth (bacteriostatic effect) and effect on different kinds of fungi, but they do not fight viruses; therefore, compounds of natural origin can find wide use as biocidal substances. Fungi grow in almost any environment, and they reproduce easily in dirt and wet spaces; thus, the development of antifungal PUR foams is focused on avoiding fungal infections and inhibiting growth. Polymers are susceptible to microorganism adhesion and, consequently, are treated and modified to inhibit fungal and bacterial growth. The ability of micro-organisms to grow on polyurethanes can cause human health problems during the use and storage of polymers, making it necessary to use additives that eliminate bacteria, viruses, and fungi.
Identification of Candidate Genes Regulating Drought Tolerance in Pearl Millet

Pearl millet is an important crop of the arid and semi-arid ecologies to sustain food and fodder production. The greater tolerance to drought stress attracts us to examine its cellular and molecular mechanisms via functional genomics approaches to augment the grain yield. Here, we studied the drought response of 48 inbreds representing four different maturity groups at the flowering stage. A set of 74 drought-responsive genes were separated into five major phylogenic groups belonging to eight functional groups, namely ABA signaling, hormone signaling, ion and osmotic homeostasis, TF-mediated regulation, molecular adaptation, signal transduction, physiological adaptation, detoxification, which were comprehensively studied. Among the conserved motifs of the drought-responsive genes, the protein kinases and MYB domain proteins were the most conserved ones. Comparative in-silico analysis of the drought genes across millet crops showed foxtail millet had most orthologs with pearl millet. Of 698 haplotypes identified across millet crops, MyC2 and Myb4 had maximum haplotypes. The protein–protein interaction network identified ABI2, P5CS, CDPK, DREB, MYB, and CYP707A3 as major hub genes. The expression assay showed the presence of common as well as unique drought-responsive genes across maturity groups. Drought tolerant genotypes in respective maturity groups were identified from the expression pattern of genes. Among several gene families, ABA signaling, TFs, and signaling proteins were the prospective contributors to drought tolerance across maturity groups. The functionally validated genes could be used as promising candidates in backcross breeding, genomic selection, and gene-editing schemes in pearl millet and other millet crops to increase the yield in drought-prone arid and semi-arid ecologies.
TWIST1 silencing attenuates intracranial aneurysms by inhibiting NF-κB signaling

Purpose: To investigate the effect of Twist family basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor 1 (TWIST1) on intracranial aneurysms.Methods: A rat model of intracranial aneurysm was established by ligating the posterior branches of both the renal and left common carotid arteries. Pathological changes in the intracranial arterial wall were investigated using hematoxylin-eosin staining. TWIST1 expression was assessed using quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and western blot, while vascular smooth muscle cell apoptosis was investigated by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) staining. Inflammation was evaluated using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results: Rats with intracranial aneurysms had degenerative changes in vessel wall structure. Inintracranial aneurysm rats, TWIST1 was upregulated in arterial wall sections, and TWIST1 knockdown ameliorated the pathological changes to the arterial wall. TWIST1 silencing reduced serum tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels and suppressed vascular smooth muscle cell apoptosis in rats with intracranial aneurysms. TWIST1 knockdown increased phospho (p)-inhibitor of nuclear factor-κB (IκB) and decreased IκB and p-p65 in intracranial aneurysm rat arterial wall sections.Conclusion: In intracranial aneurysms, silencing TWIST1 promoted vascular remodeling and suppresses vascular smooth muscle cell apoptosis and inflammation through inactivating NF-κBsignaling, revealing TWIST1 silencing as a potential treatment strategy.
An ANN Based Technique for On-Road Vehicle Identification and Trail

This paper introduces an artificial neural network(ANN) based machine learning technique for on-road vehicle recognition and tracking that falls under the machine learning community. The feature extraction technique employed in this recognition and tracking system is multilevel Haar Wavelet transform which mainly focuses in separating low frequency components from high frequency components present in the image. This highlighted feature of Haar transform enables to increase the transmission speed of images and considerably aids in reducing the noise level. The neural network is trained by the images from database which has been subjected to feature extraction. The robust on-road vehicle recognition system is then integrated with a Kalman filter, which is extended to multiple vehicle tracking system to build complete vehicle recognition and tracking system and it has been evaluated on public domain vehicle images. This study reveals that this system yields high recalling rate, appreciable precision, and better localization effects on the recognized and tracked images. General Terms Image recognition, Tracking, filtering
Analysis of Pseudo-NMOS Logic with Reduced Static Power in Deep Sub-Micron Regime

-The growing demand for high density VLSI circuits result in scaling of supply voltage and an exponential increase of leakage or static power in deep sub-micron technology. Therefore reducing static power consumption of portable devices such as cell phones and laptop computers is highly desirable for a longer battery life. In this paper we propose two power reduction techniques such as reverse body bias and transistor stacking for reducing the static power of Pseudo NMOS logic circuits that have very high static power consumption. The simulation results show that the static power decreases with both the methods and the combined effect of reverse body bias and stack method gives the least static current. The simulations are done at 65nm and 45nm process technologies using HSPICE at a temperature of 27C with two different supply voltages of 1v and 0.3v.