Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Stimulation Properties of Fractally Coated High Impedance Leads

Summary A clinical study was performed to compare the stimulation properties of fractally coated high impedance electrodes with an optimized tip geometry and a surface area of 1.3 mm 2 (SYNOX, BIOTRONIK), to those of conventional fractally coated pacemaker leads with a surface area of 6 mm 2 (TIR 60-BP, BIOTRONIK). The results prove that the optimized electrodes provide significantly higher pacing impedances (886 ± 227 Ω versus 502 ± 152 Ω) and lower threshold voltages (0.62 ± 0.19 V versus 0.94 ± 0.28 V) during 6-month investigation. The amount of charge required for effective stimulation of the heart is reduced by using these electrodes instead of conventional leads. Consequently, a prolonged lifetime of pacemaker systems can be achieved.
The rs2910164 Genetic Variant of miR-146a-3p Is Associated with Increased Overall Mortality in Patients with Follicular Variant Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma

Aberrant expression of the sodium-iodide symporter (NIS) and the resistance to post-operative radioactive iodide treatment is a crucial cause of higher mortality of some thyroid cancer patients. In this study, we analyzed the impact of miR-146a on the expression and function of NIS and on the overall survival of thyroid cancer patients. The study included 2441 patients (2163 women; 278 men); including 359 cases with follicular variant of papillary thyroid carcinoma (fvPTC). miR:NIS interactions were analyzed in cell lines using in vivo binding and inhibition assays and radioactive iodine uptake assays. Tumor/blood DNA was used for rs2910164 genotyping. Overall survival was assessed retrospectively. In the results, we showed that miR-146a-3p directly binds to and inhibits NIS. Inhibition of miR-146a-3p restores the expression and function of NIS, increasing radioactive iodine uptake. Rs2910164 functional variant within miR-146a-3p is associated with increased overall mortality among fvPTC female patients. The deaths per 1000 person-years were 29.7 in CC carriers vs. 5.08 in GG/GC-carriers (HR = 6.21, p = 0.006). Higher mortality of CC vs. GG/GC carriers was also observed in patients with lower clinical stage (HR = 22.72, p < 0.001), smaller tumor size (pT1/pT2) (HR = 25.05, p < 0.001), lack of extrathyroidal invasion (HR = 9.03, p = 0.02), lack of nodular invasion (HR = 7.84, p = 0.002), lack of metastases (HR = 6.5, p = 0.005) and older (age at diagnosis >50 years) (HR = 7.8, p = 0.002). MiR-146a-3p underwent somatic mutations in 16.1% of analyzed specimens, mainly towards the deleterious C allele. In this report we propose a novel molecular marker of the clinical outcome of fvPTC patients. Rs2910164 increases the overall mortality with inhibition of NIS and disruption of radioiodine uptake as a possible mechanism.
The Gutenberg English Poetry Corpus: Exemplary Quantitative Narrative Analyses

This paper describes a corpus of about 3000 English literary texts with about 250 million words extracted from the Gutenberg project that span a range of genres from both fiction and non-fiction written by more than 130 authors (e.g., Darwin, Dickens, Shakespeare). Quantitative Narrative Analysis (QNA) is used to explore a cleaned subcorpus, the Gutenberg English Poetry Corpus (GEPC) which comprises over 100 poetic texts with around 2 million words from about 50 authors (e.g., Keats, Joyce, Wordsworth). Some exemplary QNA studies show author similarities based on latent semantic analysis, significant topics for each author or various text-analytic metrics for George Eliot’s poem ‘How Lisa Loved the King’ and James Joyce’s ’Chamber Music’, concerning e.g. lexical diversity or sentiment analysis. The GEPC is particularly suited for research in Digital Humanities, Natural Language Processing or Neurocognitive Poetics, e.g. as training and test corpus, or for stimulus development and control.
Draft Genome Sequence of Candida pseudohaemulonii Isolated from the Blood of a Neutropenic Patient

ABSTRACT Candida pseudohaemulonii is phylogenetically close to the C. haemulonii complex and exhibits resistance to amphotericin B and azole agents. We report here the draft genome sequence of C. pseudohaemulonii UZ153_17 isolated from the blood culture of a neutropenic patient. The draft genome is 3,532,003,666 bp in length, with 579,838 reads, 130 contigs, and a G+C content of 47.15%.
MAVS Is Essential for Primary CD4+ T Cell Immunity but Not for Recall T Cell Responses following an Attenuated West Nile Virus Infection

ABSTRACT The use of pathogen recognition receptor (PRR) agonists and the molecular mechanisms involved have been the major focus of research in individual vaccine development. West Nile virus (WNV) nonstructural (NS) 4B-P38G mutant has several features for an ideal vaccine candidate, including significantly reduced neuroinvasiveness, induction of strong adaptive immunity, and protection of mice from wild-type (WT) WNV infection. Here, we determined the role of mitochondrial antiviral signaling protein (MAVS), the adaptor protein for RIG-I-like receptor in regulating host immunity against the NS4B-P38G vaccine. We found that Mavs−/− mice were more susceptible to NS4B-P38G priming than WT mice. Mavs −/− mice had a transiently reduced production of antiviral cytokines and an impaired CD4+ T cell response in peripheral organs. However, antibody and CD8+ T cell responses were minimally affected. NS4B-P38G induced lower type I interferon (IFN), IFN-stimulating gene, and proinflammatory cytokine responses in Mavs −/− dendritic cells and subsequently compromised the antigen-presenting capacity for CD4+ T cells. Interestingly, Mavs −/− mice surviving NS4B-P38G priming were all protected from a lethal WT WNV challenge. NS4B-P38G-primed Mavs −/− mice exhibited equivalent levels of protective CD4+ T cell recall response, a modestly reduced WNV-specific IgM production, but more robust CD8+ T cell recall response. Taken together, our results suggest that MAVS is essential for boosting optimal primary CD4+ T cell responses upon NS4B-P38G vaccination and yet is dispensable for host protection and recall T cell responses during secondary WT WNV infection. IMPORTANCE The production of innate cytokines induced by the recognition of pathogen recognition receptors (PRRs) via their cognate ligands are critical for enhancing antigen-presenting cell functions and influencing T cell responses during microbial infection. The use of PRR agonists and the underlying molecular mechanisms have been the major focus in individual vaccine development. Here, we determined the role of mitochondrial antiviral-signaling protein (MAVS), the adaptor protein for RIG-I like receptor in regulating host immunity against the live attenuated West Nile virus (WNV) vaccine strain, the nonstructural (NS) 4B-P38G mutant. We found that MAVS is important for boosting optimal primary CD4+ T cell response during NS4B-P38G vaccination. However, MAVS is dispensable for memory T cell development and host protection during secondary wild-type WNV infection. Overall, these results may be utilized as a paradigm to aid in the rational development of other efficacious live attenuated flavivirus vaccines.
Postharvest Monitoring of Tomato Ripening Using the Dynamic Laser Speckle

The dynamic laser speckle (biospeckle) method was tested as a potential tool for the assessment and monitoring of the maturity stage of tomatoes. Two tomato cultivars—Admiro and Starbuck—were tested. The process of climacteric maturation of tomatoes was monitored during a shelf life storage experiment. The biospeckle phenomena were captured using 640 nm and 830 nm laser light wavelength, and analysed using two activity descriptors based on biospeckle pattern decorrelation—C4 and ε. The well-established optical parameters of tomatoes skin were used as a reference method (luminosity, a*/b*, chroma). Both methods were tested with respect to their prediction capabilities of the maturity and destructive indicators of tomatoes—firmness, chlorophyll and carotenoids content. The statistical significance of the tested relationships were investigated by means of linear regression models. The climacteric maturation of tomato fruit was associated with an increase in biospckle activity. Compared to the 830 nm laser wavelength the biospeckle activity measured at 640 nm enabled more accurate predictions of firmness, chlorophyll and carotenoids content. At 640 nm laser wavelength both activity descriptors (C4 and ε) provided similar results, while at 830 nm the ε showed slightly better performance. The linear regression models showed that biospeckle activity descriptors had a higher correlation with chlorophyll and carotenoids content than the a*/b* ratio and luminosity. The results for chroma were comparable with the results for both biospeckle activity indicators. The biospeckle method showed very good results in terms of maturation monitoring and the prediction of the maturity indices of tomatoes, proving the possibility of practical implementation of this method for the determination of the maturity stage of tomatoes.
Cytologic Diagnosis of Noninvasive Follicular Thyroid Neoplasm with Papillary-like Nuclear Features and Its Impact on the Risk of Malignancy in the Bethesda System for Reporting Thyroid Cytopathology: An Institutional Experience

Background This study was performed to analyze cytologic diagnosis of noninvasive follicular thyroid neoplasm with papillary-like nuclear features (NIFTP) and its impact on the risk of malignancy (ROM) in the Bethesda System for Reporting Thyroid Cytopathology (TBSRTC). Methods Five thousand five hundred and forty-nine cases of thyroid fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) diagnosed between 2012 and 2014 were included in this study. Diagnostic categories based on TBSRTC were compared with final surgical diagnoses, and the ROM in each category was calculated both when NIFTP was included in malignant lesions and when excluded from malignant lesions. Results Of the 5,549 thyroid FNAC cases, 1,891 cases underwent surgical resection. In final diagnosis, 1,700 cases were revealed as papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC), and 25 cases were reclassified as NIFTP. The cytologic diagnoses of NIFTP were non-diagnostic in one, benign in five, atypia of undetermined significance (AUS) in 14, follicular neoplasm in two, and suspicious for malignancy in three cases. Collectively, NIFTP/encapsulated follicular variant of PTC (EFVPTC) were more frequently classified as benign, AUS, or follicular neoplasm and less frequently categorized as malignant compared to conventional PTCs. Exclusion of NIFTP from malignant diagnoses resulted in a slight decrease in malignancy rates in non-diagnostic, benign, AUS, follicular neoplasm, and suspicious for malignancy categories without any statistical significance. Conclusions The decrease in the ROM was not significant when NIFTP was excluded from malignant lesions. In thyroid FNACs, NIFTP/EFVPTCs were mostly classified into indeterminate categories. Therefore, it might be feasible to separate NIFTP/EFVPTC from conventional PTC on FNAC to guide clinicians to conservative management for patients with NIFTP/EFVPTC.
Expression of LRRC8/VRAC Currents in Xenopus Oocytes: Advantages and Caveats

Volume-regulated anion channels (VRACs) play a role in controlling cell volume by opening upon cell swelling. Apart from controlling cell volume, their function is important in many other physiological processes, such as transport of metabolites or drugs, and extracellular signal transduction. VRACs are formed by heteromers of the pannexin homologous protein LRRC8A (also named Swell1) with other LRRC8 members (B, C, D, and E). LRRC8 proteins are difficult to study, since they are expressed in all cells of our body, and the channel stoichiometry can be changed by overexpression, resulting in non-functional heteromers. Two different strategies have been developed to overcome this issue: complementation by transient transfection of LRRC8 genome-edited cell lines, and reconstitution in lipid bilayers. Alternatively, we have used Xenopus oocytes as a simple system to study LRRC8 proteins. Here, we have reviewed all previous experiments that have been performed with VRAC and LRRC8 proteins in Xenopus oocytes. We also discuss future strategies that may be used to perform structure-function analysis of the VRAC in oocytes and other systems, in order to understand its role in controlling multiple physiological functions.
Dynamic response and localization in strongly damaged waveguides

In this paper, we investigate the formation of band-gaps and localization phenomena in an elastic strip nearly disintegrated by an array of transverse cracks. We analyse the eigenfrequencies of finite, strongly damaged, elongated solids with reference to the propagation bands of an infinite strip with a periodic damage. Subsequently, we determine analytically the band-gaps of the infinite strip by using a lower-dimensional model, represented by a periodically damaged beam in which the small ligaments between cracks are modelled as ‘elastic junctions’. The effective rotational and translational stiffnesses of the elastic junctions are obtained from an ad hoc asymptotic analysis. We show that, for a finite frequency range, the dispersion curves for the reduced beam model agree with the dispersion data determined numerically for the two-dimensional elastic strip. Exponential localization, boundary layers and standing waves in strongly damaged systems are discussed in detail.
ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS THAT MODIFY PLANT RESPONSE TO NEUTRON IRRADIATION.

Various environmental factors that influence response to irradiation in both "wet" and "dry" plant systems are reviewed. The oxygen -jffect, expressed quantitatively as the oxygen enhancement ratio (OER) is lower for neutrons (1.3-1.9) than for sparsely ionizing radiations. X and v rays give OER's of 2.4 to 3.4 in wet systems and 10-15 in very dry seeds (2-3% water content)« Water appears to regulate the degree to which radiation induced oxygen-sensitive sites or radicals interact with oxygen to produce radiobiological damage. The effact is less with neutrons than with x irradiation. mutagenie or other specific radiobiological responses may lie, not so much in specific reactions with DNA, but more with cellular processes that precede or follow treatment, so that preferential recovery may take place. Examples are given of some environmental perturbations that show promise for altering response to neutron irradiation.
Decision-Making in Suicidal Behavior: The Protective Role of Loss Aversion

Background Loss aversion is a central and well operationalized trait behavior that describes the tendency for humans to strongly prefer avoiding losses to making equivalent gains. Human decision-making is thus biased toward safer choices. Aim The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between loss aversion and suicidal behavior in a large cohort of adolescents recruited in 30 schools of seven European countries for a longitudinal study (Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN65120704). We hypothesized that individuals with higher loss aversion would be less likely to attempt suicide. Methods A mixed monetary gamble task was used to generate loss aversion scores for each participant. Logistic regression was used to estimate the cross-sectional association between loss aversion and life-time suicide attempts in the baseline sample (N = 2,158; 156 attempters), and incident attempts were predicted in a 4-month prospective model (N = 1,763; 75 attempters). Multiple regression was used to estimate the association between loss aversion and suicidal ideation. Results Loss aversion was a significant predictor of attempted suicide in both the cross-sectional (OR = 0.79; P = 0.005) and prospective analysis (OR = 0.81; P = 0.040), adjusting for depression, anxiety, stress, and sex. The correlation between pre and post measures of loss aversion was r = 0.52 (P < 0.001). Interestingly, although depression, anxiety, and stress were associated with suicidal ideation, loss aversion was not (cross-sectional model: P = 0.092; Prospective model: P = 0.390). This suggests that the concept of loss aversion may be useful in understanding the transition from suicidal thoughts to attempts. Conclusion This and previous studies suggest that altered decision-making is involved in suicide attempts. In our study, we show the involvement of loss aversion in particular, and propose that individuals high in loss aversion are discouraged from carrying out the suicide attempt because of a greater focus on the negative consequences of the decision.
Changes in the retreatment radiation tolerance of the spinal cord with time after the initial treatment

Abstract Purpose: To estimate, from experimental data, the retreatment radiation ‘tolerances’ of the spinal cord at different times after initial treatment. Materials and methods: A model was developed to show the relationship between the biological effective doses (BEDs) for two separate courses of treatment with the BED of each course being expressed as a percentage of the designated ‘retreatment tolerance’ BED value, denoted and . The primate data of Ang et al. (2001) were used to determine the fitted parameters. However, based on rodent data, recovery was assumed to commence 70 days after the first course was complete, and with a non-linear relationship to the magnitude of the initial BED (BEDinit). Results: The model, taking into account the above processes, provides estimates of the retreatment tolerance dose after different times. Extrapolations from the experimental data can provide conservative estimates for the clinic, with a lower acceptable myelopathy incidence. Care must be taken to convert the predicted value into a formal BED value and then a practical dose fractionation schedule. Conclusions: Used with caution, the proposed model allows estimations of retreatment doses with elapsed times ranging from 70 days up to three years after the initial course of treatment.
Substance Abuse and Rehabilitation Dovepress Family and Parenting Characteristics Associated with Marijuana Use by Chilean Adolescents

Objective: Family involvement and several characteristics of parenting have been suggested to be protective factors for adolescent substance use. Some parenting behaviors may have stronger relationships with adolescent behavior while others may have associations with undesirable behavior among youth. Although it is generally acknowledged that families play an important role in the lives of Chilean adolescents, scant research exists on how different family and parenting factors may be associated with marijuana use and related problems in this population which has one of the highest rates of drug use in Latin America. Methods: Using logistic regression and negative binomial regression, we examined whether a large number of family and parenting variables were associated with the possibility of Chilean adolescents ever using marijuana, and with marijuana-related problems. Analyses controlled for a number of demographic and peer-related variables. Results: Controlling for other parenting and family variables, adolescent reports of parental marijuana use showed a significant and positive association with adolescent marijuana use. The multivariate models also revealed that harsh parenting by fathers was the only family variable associated with the number of marijuana-related problems youth experienced. Conclusion: Of all the family and parenting variables studied, perceptions of parental use of marijuana and harsh parenting by fathers were predictors for marijuana use, and the experience of marijuana-related problems. Prevention interventions need to continue emphasizing the critical socializing role that parental behavior plays in their children's development and potential use of marijuana.
A New Tool for Case Studies in Epidemiology-the Synthetic Control Method.

With the publication of "Repeal of Comprehensive Background Check Policies and Firearm Homicide and Suicide," the synthetic control method joins a group of useful statistical methods for the analysis of observational data imported to the field of epidemiology from economics and political science. These approaches include fixed effects (2), difference in differences (2), regression discontinuity (3) and instrumental variables (4). This expansion of methodological tools has been critical for the development for epidemiology as the discipline has expanded to consider the analysis of exposures that are not easily subjected to true random assignment, and for which unmeasured confounders plausibly exist. Furthermore, for social epidemiology, these methods help to facilitate a consequential approach (5,6), as the subfield moves to evaluating the impacts of social and economic policies on health. The importance of considering the synthetic control method for epidemiologic questions is that when randomization is difficult or impossible, and there are no available instrumental variables, the tools available for analysis are currently limited. This is particularly true when only one or a small number of units are treated.
Accuracy of Patient Opioid Use Reporting at the Time of Medical Cannabis License Renewal

The decision to authorize a patient for continued enrollment in a state-sanctioned medical cannabis program is difficult in part due to the uncertainty in the accuracy of patient symptom reporting and health functioning including any possible effects on other medication use. We conducted a pragmatic convenience study comparing patient reporting of previous and current prescription opioid usage to the opioid prescription records in the Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP) among 131 chronic pain patients (mean age = 54; 54% male) seeking the first annual renewal of their New Mexico Medical Cannabis Program (NMMCP) license. Seventy-six percent of the patients reported using prescription opioids prior to enrollment in the NMMCP, however, the PMP records showed that only 49% of the patients were actually prescribed opioids in the six months prior to enrollment. Of the 64 patients with verifiable opioid prescriptions prior to NMMCP enrollment, 35 (55%) patients reported having eliminated the use of prescription opioids by the time of license renewal. PMP records showed that 26 patients (63% of patients claiming to have eliminated the use of opioid prescriptions and 41% of all patients with verifiable preenrollment opioid use) showed no prescription opioid activity at their first annual NMMCP renewal visit.
Staging in the era of international databases: documented improvements with remaining challenges.

Between 1943 and 1952, Pierre Denoix, a surgeon at the Institute Gustave Roussy in Paris, developed, proposed and published a classification system for all solid tumors based on the size and extension of the primary tumor, its lymphatic involvement, and the presence/absence of metastases, and ever since, the resulting tumor-nodemetastasis (TNM) staging system has been the international standard used by both the American Joint Commission on Cancer (AJCC) and the Union Internationale Contre le Cancer (UICC) (1).
A Chemical investigation of aloe barbadensis miller

Free amino acids, free monosaccharides and total saccharides released upon hydrolysis, sterols, and triterpenoids of the leaves of Aloe barbadensis Miller leaves were determined. Some seventeen amino acids, D-glucose, and D-mannose were present in the water-soluble fraction. Cholesterol, campesterol, β-sitosterol, and lupeol were found in substantial amounts in the lipid fraction. An unknown(s) alkaloid was detected using Dragendorff's reagent.