Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The proportion of asymptomatic infections and spectrum of disease among pregnant women infected by Zika virus: systematic monitoring in French Guiana, 2016

Zika virus (ZIKV) infection has been associated with complications during pregnancy. Although the presence of symptoms might be a risk factor for complication, the proportion of ZIKV-infected pregnant women with symptoms remains unknown. Following the emergence of ZIKV in French Guiana, all pregnancies in the territory were monitored by RT-PCR and/or detection of ZIKV antibodies. Follow-up data collected during pregnancy monitoring interviews were analysed from 1 February to 1 June 2016. We enrolled 3,050 pregnant women aged 14–48 years and 573 (19%) had laboratory-confirmed ZIKV infection. Rash, arthralgia, myalgia and conjunctival hyperaemia were more frequently observed in ZIKV-positive women; 23% of them (95% confidence interval (CI): 20–27) had at least one symptom compatible with ZIKV infection. Women 30 years and older were significantly more likely to have symptoms than younger women (28% vs 20%). The proportion of symptomatic infections varied from 17% in the remote interior to 35% in the urbanised population near the coast (adjusted risk ratio: 1.6; 95% CI: 1.4–1.9.). These estimates put findings on cohorts of symptomatic ZIKV-positive pregnant women into the wider context of an epidemic with mainly asymptomatic infections. The proportion of symptomatic ZIKV infections appears to vary substantially between populations.
From Phagocytes to Immune Defense: Roles for Coronin Proteins in Dictyostelium and Mammalian Immunity

Microbes have interacted with eukaryotic cells for as long as they have been co-existing. While many of these interactions are beneficial for both the microbe as well as the eukaryotic cell, several microbes have evolved into pathogenic species. For some of these pathogens, host cell invasion results in irreparable damage and thus host cell destruction, whereas others use the host to avoid immune detection and elimination. One of the latter pathogens is Mycobacterium tuberculosis, arguably one of the most notorious pathogens on earth. In mammalian macrophages, M. tuberculosis manages to survive within infected macrophages by avoiding intracellular degradation in lysosomes using a number of different strategies. One of these is based on the recruitment and phagosomal retention of the host protein coronin 1, that is a member of the coronin protein family and a mammalian homolog of coronin A, a protein identified in Dictyostelium. Besides mediating mycobacterial survival in macrophages, coronin 1 is also an important regulator of naïve T cell homeostasis. How, exactly, coronin 1 mediates its activity in immune cells remains unclear. While in lower eukaryotes coronins are involved in cytoskeletal regulation, the functions of the seven coronin members in mammals are less clear. Dictyostelium coronins may have maintained multiple functions, whereas the mammalian coronins may have evolved from regulators of the cytoskeleton to modulators of signal transduction. In this minireview, we will discuss the different studies that have contributed to understand the molecular and cellular functions of coronin proteins in mammals and Dictyostelium.
Assimilating process context information of cellular automata into change detection for monitoring land use changes

This article presents a new method of assimilating process context information into change detection for monitoring land use changes. The accurate information about land use changes is important for implementing many global and regional environmental models. Two types of models have been independently developed to obtain such information, including change detection models (e.g. pixel-to-pixel comparison, post-classification comparison and object-based change analysis) and simulation models (e.g. cellular automata (CA) and agent-based modelling). These models may have limitations in capturing land use dynamics when used alone. In this study, the ensemble Kalman filter is used to obtain the best estimate of land use changes by combining remote-sensing observations with urban simulation. Urban simulation is able to provide process context information such as diffusion and coalescence of urban development. This type of complementary information is useful for improving the performance of change detection. Compared with traditional change detection models, this integrated model has the potential to improve the performance of change detection in terms of accuracies and landscape metrics. For example, the assimilating (MLC + CA) method can show improvement of the total accuracy and the kappa coefficient by 2.5–5.2% and 3.6–7.4%, respectively, in this study.
Speech, Language, and Reading in 10-Year-Olds with Cleft: Associations with Teasing, Satisfaction with Speech, and Psychological Adjustment

Background Despite the use of multidisciplinary services, little research has addressed issues involved in the care of those with cleft lip and/or palate across disciplines. The aim was to investigate associations between speech, language, reading, and reports of teasing, subjective satisfaction with speech, and psychological adjustment. Design Cross-sectional data collected during routine, multidisciplinary assessments in a centralized treatment setting, including speech and language therapists and clinical psychologists. Participants Children with cleft with palatal involvement aged 10 years from three birth cohorts (N = 170) and their parents. Outcome Measures Speech: SVANTE-N. Language: Language 6-16 (sentence recall, serial recall, vocabulary, and phonological awareness). Reading: Word Chain Test and Reading Comprehension Test. Psychological measures: Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire and extracts from the Satisfaction With Appearance Scale and Child Experience Questionnaire. Results Reading skills were associated with self- and parent-reported psychological adjustment in the child. Subjective satisfaction with speech was associated with psychological adjustment, while not being consistently associated with speech therapists’ assessments. Parent-reported teasing was found to be associated with lower levels of reading skills. Having a medical and/or psychological condition in addition to the cleft was found to affect speech, language, and reading significantly. Conclusions Cleft teams need to be aware of speech, language, and/or reading problems as potential indicators of psychological risk in children with cleft. This study highlights the importance of multiple reports (self, parent, and specialist) and a multidisciplinary approach to cleft care and research.
Effectiveness of 0.2% Glyceryl Trinitrate and 0.5% Nifedipine in the Treatment of Chronic Anal Fissure.

INTRODUCTION Anal fissure is an ischemic ulcer caused by combination of spasm of internal anal sphincter and poor blood supply to the posterior midline of anal canal. This study aimed to assess the efficacy of Glyceryl Trinitrate and Nifedipine in the treatment of chronic anal fissure. METHODS Ninety patients with symptomatic anal fissure in Kathmandu Medical College Teaching Hospital are allocated for study in two groups of 45 each from March 2013 to April 2014. The patients are assigned alternatively to GTN group and Nifedipine group. All patients were assessed every week till 8 weeks in regards to headache, compliance, healing and recurrence. The patients who had complete healing in 8 weeks were further followed up for 6 weeks to detect recurrence. RESULTS Patients in the two groups were comparable in regard to demographic data (age and sex) as well as clinical factors. Headache was main complaint of patients using GTN in high percentage (16.6%) than complained by patients using topical Nifedipine (6.9%). This factor led to poor compliance with GTN compared with Nifedipine. Nifedipine showed better healing rate 82.5% compared with GTN 60%. Recurrence was comparable among the two groups. CONCLUSIONS Nifedipine ointment showed better results than GTN ointment in chronic anal fissure regarding headache, compliance, healing and recurrence in 6 weeks of follow up period after complete healing of fissure in 8 weeks.
Collusion With Persistent Cost Shocks

We consider a dynamic Bertrand game in which prices are publicly observed and each firm receives a privately observed cost shock in each period. Although cost shocks are independent across firms, within a firm costs follow a first-order Markov process. We analyze the set of collusive equilibria available to firms, emphasizing the best collusive scheme for the firms at the start of the game. In general, there is a trade-off between productive efficiency, whereby the low-cost firm serves the market in a given period, and high prices. We show that when costs are perfectly correlated over time within a firm, if the distribution of costs is log-concave and firms are sufficiently patient, then the optimal collusive scheme entails price rigidity: firms set the same price and share the market equally, regardless of their respective costs. When serial correlation of costs is imperfect, partial productive efficiency is optimal. For the case of two cost types, first-best collusion is possible if the firms are patient relative to the persistence of cost shocks, but not otherwise. We present numerical examples of first-best collusive schemes. Copyright Copyright 2008 by The Econometric Society.
Self-Esteem Scale of the Vietnam Minors: Cross-Cultural Adaptation of ETES

The purpose of this article is to introduce self-esteem scale associated with the culture of Vietnam. In essence, this is the process of cross-cultural adaptation of self-esteem scales that colleagues from the University of Toulouse II-Le Mirail (French Republic) establish for participant groups who are Vietnam minors. Results factor analysis with SPSS and Lisrel software has allowed us to obtain the scale consisting of 21 items, focusing for 4 contents: family self, social self, physical self, and academic self. Comparing with the study that the Vietnamese colleagues have conducted, we found that the research results have confirmed the importance of self of family to participant groups who are Vietnam minors, whereas emotional self and future self do not get results possible. We believe that Vietnam culture, especially Confucianism and Buddhism may explain the result of this research.
Ultrasonography and clinical outcome comparison of extracorporeal shock wave therapy and corticosteroid injections for chronic plantar fasciitis: A randomized controlled trial

Objectives: Extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT) and corticosteroid injection (CSI) are treatment options for plantar fasciitis. Their clinical outcome comparison remains a debate. Also, the thickness changes of the plantar fascia on objective evaluation under the medium energy ESWT and CSI therapy are elusive. Methods: A total of 97 patients with chronic plantar fasciitis were enrolled in the randomized prospective trial. Forty-seven patients received extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT), and fifty patients received corticosteroid injection (CSI). The thickness of the plantar fascia was evaluated respectively before ESWT and CSI, and at the 4th and 12th week after ESWT and CSI by ultrasonography. Pain level and clinical outcomes were recorded using visual analogue scale (VAS) and 100-points scoring systems. Correlation analysis was performed between the thickness change and clinical outcome. Results: Under ultrasonography, we observed more increase of plantar fascia thickness of ESWT group than CSI group at 4th week (p=0.048). VAS of plantar fasciitis patients receiving ESWT was lower than those who received corticosteroid injection (0.001 and p<0.001, at 4th and 12th week). On the assessment of 100-points scoring systems, the pain level of patients with ESWT was lower than those with CSI at the 12th week (p<0.001). On the other hand, the increase of plantar fascia thickness at 4th week was positively correlated with the decrease of VAS score at 12th week follow-up (R=0.302, P=0.039). Conclusions: At 4th week after treatment, the thickness of plantar fascia increased. Then it decreased gradually, but not to the baseline at 12th week. On the pain level outcome at 12th week, extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT) was more efficient than corticosteroid injection (CSI) on chronic plantar fasciitis. The more change of plantar fascia after ESWT, the more efficient on clinical outcome.
Fluoride exposure and indicators of thyroid functioning in the Canadian population: implications for community water fluoridation

Background There are concerns that altered thyroid functioning could be the result of ingesting too much fluoride. Community water fluoridation (CWF) is an important source of fluoride exposure. Our objectives were to examine the association between fluoride exposure and (1) diagnosis of a thyroid condition and (2) indicators of thyroid functioning among a national population-based sample of Canadians. Methods We analysed data from Cycles 2 and 3 of the Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS). Logistic regression was used to assess associations between fluoride from urine and tap water samples and the diagnosis of a thyroid condition. Multinomial logistic regression was used to examine the relationship between fluoride exposure and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) level (low/normal/high). Other available variables permitted additional exploratory analyses among the subset of participants for whom we could discern some fluoride exposure from drinking water and/or dental products. Results There was no evidence of a relationship between fluoride exposure (from urine and tap water) and the diagnosis of a thyroid condition. There was no statistically significant association between fluoride exposure and abnormal (low or high) TSH levels relative to normal TSH levels. Rerunning the models with the sample constrained to the subset of participants for whom we could discern some source(s) of fluoride exposure from drinking water and/or dental products revealed no significant associations. Conclusion These analyses suggest that, at the population level, fluoride exposure is not associated with impaired thyroid functioning in a time and place where multiple sources of fluoride exposure, including CWF, exist.
White matter microstructure in athletes with a history of concussion: Comparing diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI)

Sport concussion is associated with disturbances in brain function in the absence of gross anatomical lesions, and may have long‐term health consequences. Diffusion‐weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) methods provide a powerful tool for investigating alterations in white matter microstructure reflecting the long‐term effects of concussion. In a previous study, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) showed that athletes with a history of concussion had elevated fractional anisotropy (FA) and reduced mean diffusivity (MD) parameters. To better understand these effects, this study compared DTI results to neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI), which was used to estimate the intracellular volume fraction (VIC) and orientation dispersion index (ODI). Sixty‐eight (68) varsity athletes were recruited, including 37 without a history of concussion and 31 with concussion >6 months prior to imaging. Univariate analyses showed elevated FA and decreased MD for concussed athletes, along with increased VIC and reduced ODI, indicating greater neurite density and coherence of neurite orientation within white matter. Multivariate analyses also showed that for athletes with a history of concussion, white matter regions with increased FA had increased VIC and decreased ODI, with greater effects among athletes who were imaged a longer time since their last concussion. These findings enhance our understanding of the relationship between the biophysics of water diffusion and concussion neurobiology for young, healthy adults. Hum Brain Mapp 38:4201–4211, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Cut-off levels and diagnostic accuracy of infliximab trough levels and anti-infliximab antibodies in Crohn's disease

Abstract Introduction. Reasons for infliximab failure in Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis are debated. Serum levels of infliximab and anti-infliximab antibodies have been associated with loss of response. We aimed at determining cut-off levels for infliximab and anti-infliximab antibody concentrations associated with clinical response to infliximab maintenance therapy. Methods. Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (n = 106) were retrospectively classified as having maintained response or loss of response to infliximab maintenance therapy. Trough concentrations were measured by fluid-phase radioimmunoassays. Results. Infliximab levels were significantly lower, and anti-infliximab antibody levels significantly higher, in Crohn's disease patients with loss of response (median infliximab 0 μg/ml, median anti-infliximab antibodies 35 U/ml) compared to patients with maintained response (median infliximab 2.8 μg/ml, median anti-infliximab antibodies 0 U/ml; p < 0.0001). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis identified optimal cut-off values: infliximab <0.5 μg/ml, which was associated with loss of response with sensitivity 86% [64–97] and specificity 85% [72–94]; and anti-infliximab antibodies ≥10 U/ml yielding a sensitivity of 81% [61–93] and specificity 90% [79–96]. Combined measurements of infliximab and anti-infliximab antibodies using these cut-off values had higher accuracy yielding a sensitivity of 81% [57–94] and specificity 94% [82–98]. Similar pattern was observed in a smaller cohort of patients with ulcerative colitis. Conclusions. Combined measurements of infliximab and anti-infliximab antibodies using cut-off levels provided high accuracy for discriminating between clinical response types to infliximab maintenance therapy. Cut-off levels are considered a prerequisite to further investigations of clinical usefulness of measurements of infliximab and anti-infliximab antibodies in patients failing infliximab therapy.
Fundamental Investigation of Ferromagnetic Shape Memory Alloys: A New Perspective

In the present study, the evolution of micromagnetic structure and microstructure is studied in-situ both as a function of temperature and applied magnetic field, using single crystal Fe-Pd and Ni-Mn-Ga Heusler alloys. Through the development of a novel technique called ‘Magnetic Transition Spectrum’ to study temperature dependent domain dynamics, the relative sequence of micromagnetic reconfiguration with respect to the martensitic transformation has been determined for the first time. Results show that the FSMAs may be viewed as magnetic mosaics , a new perspective, which is also more amenable to modeling the physical properties of these alloys. Finally, the concept of magnetic mosaics has been used to synthesize a novel class of materials with engineered magnetic anisotropies , and is briefly discussed.
Mixed deep learning and natural language processing method for fake-food image recognition and standardization to help automated dietary assessment

Abstract Objective The present study tested the combination of an established and a validated food-choice research method (the ‘fake food buffet’) with a new food-matching technology to automate the data collection and analysis. Design The methodology combines fake-food image recognition using deep learning and food matching and standardization based on natural language processing. The former is specific because it uses a single deep learning network to perform both the segmentation and the classification at the pixel level of the image. To assess its performance, measures based on the standard pixel accuracy and Intersection over Union were applied. Food matching firstly describes each of the recognized food items in the image and then matches the food items with their compositional data, considering both their food names and their descriptors. Results The final accuracy of the deep learning model trained on fake-food images acquired by 124 study participants and providing fifty-five food classes was 92·18 %, while the food matching was performed with a classification accuracy of 93 %. Conclusions The present findings are a step towards automating dietary assessment and food-choice research. The methodology outperforms other approaches in pixel accuracy, and since it is the first automatic solution for recognizing the images of fake foods, the results could be used as a baseline for possible future studies. As the approach enables a semi-automatic description of recognized food items (e.g. with respect to FoodEx2), these can be linked to any food composition database that applies the same classification and description system.
Continuous Activation of the CD122/STAT-5 Signaling Pathway during Selection of Antigen-Specific Regulatory T Cells in the Murine Thymus

Signaling events affecting thymic selection of un-manipulated polyclonal natural CD25+foxp3+ regulatory T cells (nTreg) have not been established ex vivo. Here, we report a higher frequency of phosphorylated STAT-5 (pSTAT-5) in nTreg cells in the adult murine thymus and to a lesser extent in the periphery, compared to other CD4+CD8− subsets. In the neonatal thymus, the numbers of pSTAT-5+ cells in CD25+foxp3− and nTreg cells increased in parallel, suggesting that pSTAT-5+CD25+foxp3− cells might represent the precursors of foxp3+ regulatory T cells. This “specific” pSTAT-5 expression detected in nTreg cells ex vivo was likely due to a very recent signal given by IL-2/IL-15 cytokines in vivo since (i) it disappeared rapidly if cells were left unstimulated in vitro and (ii) was also observed if total thymocytes were stimulated in vitro with saturating amounts of IL-2 and/or IL-15 but not IL-7. Interestingly, STAT-5 activation upon IL-2 stimulation correlated better with foxp3 and CD122 than with CD25 expression. Finally, we show that expression of an endogenous superantigen strongly affected the early Treg cell repertoire but not the proportion of pSTAT-5+ cells within this repertoire. Our results reveal that continuous activation of the CD122/STAT-5 signaling pathway characterize regulatory lineage differentiation in the murine thymus.
An Assessment of Knowledge and Practices of Non Allopathic Practitioners in a District of Central India

Background: Non- allopathic practitioners are the major service providers especially in rural and peri-urban areas. Their awareness about the signs, symptoms and management of TB is also crucial. Objectives: To assess the knowledge of sign and symptoms of TB and its management To assess the practicing pattern regarding tuberculosis Material and method: The present was carried out among the registered non allopathic practitioners providing their services in Gwalior District during the study period. A total of 150 non allopathic practitioners of various pathies from both Government and Private Sectors were interviewed using a pre-designed, pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire. The information was collected on the knowledge about signs and symptoms of TB and its management and practices commonly adopted in the management Result: The average score of government practitioners was 7.3 compared to 4.6 by private practitioners. On detail analysis of question related to the knowledge about signs, symptoms and management of TB patients. It was noted that government practitioners relied mostly on sputum examination for diagnosis and follow up compared to private practitioners who chose other modalities like X-ray, blood examination or this work. Conclusion: The present study concludes that since the non allopathic practitioners’ plays a vital role in providing health care especially in rural and peri urban areas, their involvement in any tuberculosis programme is also important.