A Simple n-Dimensional Intrinsically Universal Quantum Cellular Automaton

We describe a simple n-dimensional quantum cellular automaton (QCA) capable of simulating all others, in that the initial configuration and the forward evolution of any n-dimensional QCA can be encoded within the initial configuration of the intrinsically universal QCA. Several steps of the intrinsically universal QCA then correspond to one step of the simulated QCA. The simulation preserves the topology in the sense that each cell of the simulated QCA is encoded as a group of adjacent cells in the universal QCA.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figures. In Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Language and Automata Theory and Applications (LATA 2010), Lecture Notes in Computer Science (LNCS). Journal version: arXiv:0907.382

Voxel-based 18F-FET PET segmentation and automatic clustering of tumor voxels: A significant association with IDH1 mutation status and survival in patients with gliomas.

Aim was to develop a full automatic clustering approach of the time-activity curves (TAC) from dynamic 18F-FET PET and evaluate its association with IDH1 mutation status and survival in patients with gliomas. Thirty-seven patients (mean age: 45±13 y) with newly diagnosed gliomas and dynamic 18F-FET PET before any histopathologic investigation or treatment were retrospectively included. Each dynamic 18F-FET PET was realigned to the first image and spatially normalized in the Montreal Neurological Institute template. A tumor mask was semi-automatically generated from Z-score maps. Each brain tumor voxel was clustered in one of the 3 following centroids using dynamic time warping and k-means clustering (centroid #1: slowly increasing slope; centroid #2: rapidly increasing followed by slowly decreasing slope; and centroid #3: rapidly increasing followed by rapidly decreasing slope). The percentage of each dynamic 18F-FET TAC within tumors and other conventional 18F-FET PET parameters (maximum and mean tumor-to-brain ratios [TBRmax and TBRmean], time-to-peak [TTP] and slope) was compared between wild-type and IDH1 mutant tumors. Their prognostic value was assessed in terms of progression free-survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) by Kaplan-Meier estimates. Twenty patients were IDH1 wild-type and 17 IDH1 mutant. Higher percentage of centroid #1 and centroid #3 within tumors were positively (P = 0.016) and negatively (P = 0.01) correlated with IDH1 mutated status. Also, TBRmax, TBRmean, TTP, and slope discriminated significantly between tumors with and without IDH1 mutation (P range 0.01 to 0.04). Progression occurred in 22 patients (59%) at a median of 13.1 months (7.6-37.6 months) and 13 patients (35%) died from tumor progression. Patients with a percentage of centroid #1 > 90% had a longer survival compared with those with a percentage of centroid #1 < 90% (P = 0.003 for PFS and P = 0.028 for OS). This remained significant after stratification on IDH1 mutation status (P = 0.029 for PFS and P = 0.034 for OS). Compared to other conventional 18F-FET PET parameters, TTP and slope were associated with PFS and OS (P range 0.009 to 0.04). Based on dynamic 18F-FET PET acquisition, we developed a full automatic clustering approach of TAC which appears to be a valuable noninvasive diagnostic and prognostic marker in patients with gliomas

Signature of survival: a ¹⁸F-FDG PET based whole-liver radiomic analysis predicts survival after ⁹⁰Y-TARE for hepatocellular carcinoma.

To generate a predictive whole-liver radiomics scoring system for progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in patients undergoing transarterial radioembolization using Yttrium-90 ( <sup>90</sup> Y-TARE) for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (uHCC). The generated pPET-RadScores were significantly correlated with survival for PFS (median of 11.4 mo [95% confidence interval CI: 6.3-16.5 mo] in low-risk group [PFS-pPET-RadScore < 0.09] vs. 4.0 mo [95% CI: 2.3-5.7 mo] in high-risk group [PFS-pPET-RadScore > 0.09]; <i>P</i> = 0.0004) and OS (median of 20.3 mo [95% CI: 5.7-35 mo] in low-risk group [OS-pPET-RadScore < 0.11] vs. 7.7 mo [95% CI: 6.0-9.5 mo] in high-risk group [OS-pPET-RadScore > 0.11]; <i>P</i> = 0.007). The multivariate analysis confirmed PFS-pPET-RadScore ( <i>P</i> = 0.006) and OS-pPET-RadScore ( <i>P</i> = 0.001) as independent negative predictors. Pretreatment <sup>18</sup> F-FDG PET whole-liver radiomics signature appears as an independent negative predictor for PFS and OS in patients undergoing <sup>90</sup> Y-TARE for uHCC. Pretreatment <sup>18</sup> F-FDG PET of 47 consecutive patients undergoing <sup>90</sup> Y-TARE for uHCC (31 resin spheres, 16 glass spheres) were retrospectively analyzed. For each patient, based on PET radiomics signature from whole-liver semi-automatic segmentation, PFS and OS predictive PET-radiomics scores (pPET-RadScores) were obtained using LASSO Cox regression. Using X-tile software, the optimal score to predict PFS (PFS-pPET-RadScore) and OS (OS-pPET-RadScore) served as cutoff to separate high and low-risk patients. Survival curves were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. The prognostic value of PFS and OS-pPET-RadScore, Barcelona-Clinic Liver Cancer staging system and serum alpha-fetoprotein level was analyzed to predict PFS and OS in multivariate analysis

[[alternative]]我國食品香料之安全性與管理問題芻議

[[abstract]]Food flavorings are preparations widely used for food processing and home cooking to enhance the smell and taste of food. Because of increasing demand for consumer protection, the general population has recently paid much greater attention to the safety of food flavors. Legislation controlling the use of food flavors vary among countries. The US Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association (FEMA) has evaluated and approved near 3, 000 substances as FEMA GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) flavors. In Taiwan, there are only 90 items of food flavorings complying with the safety rules of the US FEMA, and Taiwan FDA has officially approved these substances for use as food flavors. Currently, many of flavors used in food businesses and industries, and home cooks remain unevaluated and not fully regulated in Taiwan. Information on daily intakes or exposures to these flavorings are yet unavailable for a risk assessment. In line with the international standards, the Ministry of Health and Welfare has started to propose an updated additive list with a greater variety of flavors. To better consolidate the safety of food flavoring use in Taiwan, it is imperative in the future to update the items of food flavorings for control and to establish the safety criteria by conducting a risk assessment for all flavoring substances

Hydrothermal synthesis and luminescence properties of nanospherical SiO 2 @LaPO 4 :Eu 3+ (5%) composite

International audienc

Detecting the Chemoselective Ligation of Peptides to Silicon with the Use of Cobalt-Carbonyl Labels

International audienc