McMaster University

About: McMaster University is a education organization based out in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Health care. The organization has 41361 authors who have published 101269 publications receiving 4251422 citations.

Temsirolimus, interferon alfa, or both for advanced renal-cell carcinoma.

Abstract: Background Interferon alfa is widely used for metastatic renal-cell carcinoma but has limited efficacy and tolerability. Temsirolimus, a specific inhibitor of the mammalian target of rapamycin kinase, may benefit patients with this disease. Methods In this multicenter, phase 3 trial, we randomly assigned 626 patients with previously untreated, poor-prognosis metastatic renal-cell carcinoma to receive 25 mg of intravenous temsirolimus weekly, 3 million U of interferon alfa (with an increase to 18 million U) subcutaneously three times weekly, or combination therapy with 15 mg of temsirolimus weekly plus 6 million U of interferon alfa three times weekly. The primary end point was overall survival in comparisons of the temsirolimus group and the combination-therapy group with the interferon group. Results Patients who received temsirolimus alone had longer overall survival (hazard ratio for death, 0.73; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.58 to 0.92; P=0.008) and progression-free survival (P<0.001) than did patie...

Biological, clinical and population relevance of 95 loci for blood lipids

Abstract: Plasma concentrations of total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglycerides are among the most important risk factors for coronary artery disease (CAD) and are targets for therapeutic intervention. We screened the genome for common variants associated with plasma lipids in >100,000 individuals of European ancestry. Here we report 95 significantly associated loci (P < 5 x 10(-8)), with 59 showing genome-wide significant association with lipid traits for the first time. The newly reported associations include single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) near known lipid regulators (for example, CYP7A1, NPC1L1 and SCARB1) as well as in scores of loci not previously implicated in lipoprotein metabolism. The 95 loci contribute not only to normal variation in lipid traits but also to extreme lipid phenotypes and have an impact on lipid traits in three non-European populations (East Asians, South Asians and African Americans). Our results identify several novel loci associated with plasma lipids that are also associated with CAD. Finally, we validated three of the novel genes-GALNT2, PPP1R3B and TTC39B-with experiments in mouse models. Taken together, our findings provide the foundation to develop a broader biological understanding of lipoprotein metabolism and to identify new therapeutic opportunities for the prevention of CAD.

Measuring health-related quality of life.

Abstract: Clinicians and policymakers are recognizing the importance of measuring health-related quality of life (HRQL) to inform patient management and policy decisions. Self- or interviewer-administered qu...

GradientBased Learning Applied to Document Recognition

Abstract: Multilayer Neural Networks trained with the backpropagation algorithm constitute the best example of a successful Gradient-Based Learning technique. Given an appropriate network architecture, Gradient-Based Learning algorithms can be used to synthesize a complex decision surface that can classify high-dimensional patterns such as handwritten characters, with minimal preprocessing. This paper reviews various methods applied to handwritten character recognition and compares them on a standard handwritten digit recognition task. Convolutional Neural Networks, that are specifically designed to deal with the variability of 2D shapes, are shown to outperform all other techniques. Real-life document recognition systems are composed of multiple modules including field extraction, segmentation, recognition, and language modeling. A new learning paradigm, called Graph Transformer Networks (GTN), allows such multi-module systems to be trained globally using Gradient-Based methods so as to minimize an overall performance measure. Two systems for on-line handwriting recognition are described. Experiments demonstrate the advantage of global training, and the flexibility of Graph Transformer Networks. A Graph Transformer Network for reading bank check is also described. It uses Convolutional Neural Network character recognizers combined with global training techniques to provides record accuracy on business and personal checks. It is deployed commercially and reads several million checks per day.

Modern Control Systems

Abstract: From the Publisher: For more than twenty years, Modern Control Systems has set the standard of excellence for undergraduate control systems textbooks. It has remained a bestseller because Richard Dorf and Robert Bishop have been able to take complex control theory and make it exciting and accessible to students. The book presents a control engineering methodology that, while based on mathematical fundamentals, stresses physical system modeling and practical control system designs with realistic system specifications.