Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Hypointense lesions on T1-weighted spin-echo magnetic resonance imaging: relation to clinical characteristics in subgroups of patients with multiple sclerosis.

CONTEXT Hypointense lesions on T1-weighted spin-echo magnetic resonance images (T1 lesions) represent destructive multiple sclerosis (MS) lesions, consisting of axonal loss and matrix destruction. These lesions are being used as a secondary outcome measure in phase III clinical trials. Clinical determinants of T1 lesions may differ between subgroups of patients with MS and subsequently may have implications for the selection of patients for clinical trials. OBJECTIVE To determine if clinical characteristics of patients with MS are related to T1 lesion volume. DESIGN A survey of 138 patients with MS (52 with relapsing-remitting MS, 44 with secondary progressive MS, and 42 with primary progressive MS). SETTING The Magnetic Resonance Center for Multiple Sclerosis Research, University Hospital "Vrije Universiteit," Amsterdam, the Netherlands. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Type of MS, Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score, sex, age at first symptoms, and T1 lesion volume. RESULTS Patients with secondary progressive MS have the highest T1 lesion volume. Patients with relapsing-remitting MS have a lower T1/T2 ratio than patients with secondary progressive MS and patients with primary progressive MS. In patients with relapsing-remitting MS and secondary progressive MS, T1 lesion volume relates to disease duration and EDSS score, while in patients with primary progressive MS sex is important. A trend toward higher T1 lesion volume was shown for male patients with primary progressive MS when compared with female patients with primary progressive MS (1.0 cm(3) vs 0.3 cm(3), P=. 03); a trend toward higher T1 lesion volume was found with age at onset in patients with relapsing-remitting MS and in patients with primary progressive MS. CONCLUSIONS In patients with MS different clinical characteristics associate with T1 lesion volume, suggesting a more destructive type of lesions in certain subgroups. A possible sex difference in (destructive) lesion development on magnetic resonance imaging should be evaluated in more detail, preferably in a cohort.
IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF AMYLOID BY THE FLUORESCENCE TECHNIQUE

The immunohistochemical composition of amyloid deposits in secondary human amyloidosis and experimental amyloidosis in rabbits was studied by means of the "fluorescent antibody" technique of Coons et al. Quantitative studies of the relative amounts of gamma globulin present in the amyloid deposits by the use of radioiodinated fluorescent antibody are reported. It is concluded that amyloid deposits in several organs from cases of secondary human amyloidosis and experimental amyloidosis in rabbits contain considerable concentrations of gamma globulin. The presence of gamma globulin in amyloid might be interpreted as either a metabolic deposition of circulating globulin present in high concentrations in the plasma or as a result of an immunologic reaction involving antigen and antibody.
MALE SURVIVORS' STORIES OF SEXUAL VICTIMIZATION: STIGMA MANAGEMENT AND A SURVIVOR IDENTITY

This dissertation examines how men make sense of their experiences with sexual victimization. Through 19 semi-structured, in-depth interviews with men who experienced sexual victimization since turning 18-years-old, this research provides insight into how the men experience, understand, and process their sexual victimization. The participants underwent a process of self-stigmatization, which caused them to experience psychological, emotional, and behavioral problems. In order for the participants to proceed through the recovery process, they had to actively transform into viewing themselves as a survivor. For the participants, this process meant revising their masculinity so they could embody a new identity that did not stigmatize their experience. The final aspect of the recovery process was transforming from a victim to a survivor, and a new positive identity. Throughout this dissertation, parallels between the experience for the participants is discussed in relation to current literature and the experience for women. The conclusion suggests the development of an alternate narrative of men who experience sexual victimization that does not include gender stereotypes. Limitations of the study and implications for future research are also discussed.
Saliency detection in images using graph-based rarity, spatial compactness and background prior

Bottom-up saliency detection techniques extract salient regions in an image while free-viewing the image. We have approached the problem with three different low-level cues- graph based rarity, spatial compactness and background prior. First, the image is broken into similar colored patches, called superpixels. To measure rarity we represent the image as a graph with superpixels as node and exponential color difference as the edge weights between the nodes. Eigenvectors of the Laplacian of the graph are then used, similar to spectral clustering (Ng et al., 2001). Each superpixel is associated with a descriptor formed from these eigenvectors and rarity or uniqueness of the superpixels are found using these descriptors. Spatial compactness is computed by combining disparity in color and spatial distance between superpixels. Concept of background prior is implemented by finding the weighted Mahalanobis distance of the superpixels from the statistically modeled mean background color. These cues in combination gives the proposed saliency map. Experimental results demonstrate that our method outperforms many of the recent state-of-the-art methods both in terms of accuracy and speed.
Investigating the zoonotic origin of the West African Ebola epidemic

The severe Ebola virus disease epidemic occurring in West Africa stems from a single zoonotic transmission event to a 2‐year‐old boy in Meliandou, Guinea. We investigated the zoonotic origins of the epidemic using wildlife surveys, interviews, and molecular analyses of bat and environmental samples. We found no evidence for a concurrent outbreak in larger wildlife. Exposure to fruit bats is common in the region, but the index case may have been infected by playing in a hollow tree housing a colony of insectivorous free‐tailed bats (Mops condylurus). Bats in this family have previously been discussed as potential sources for Ebola virus outbreaks, and experimental data have shown that this species can survive experimental infection. These analyses expand the range of possible Ebola virus sources to include insectivorous bats and reiterate the importance of broader sampling efforts for understanding Ebola virus ecology.
Assessment of pregnancy outcomes in Czech and Slovak women with narcolepsy.

BACKGROUND Narcolepsy is associated with altered metabolic functions. We sought to investigate the effect of narcolepsy on pregnancy and newborns. MATERIAL/METHODS A retrospective cohort study of patients in whom the first symptoms of narcolepsy appeared before or after pregnancy. Our study included 54 women, mothers of a total of 110 children (37 with symptoms of narcolepsy before and during pregnancy, 17 developed the narcolepsy syndrome only after childbirth). With only 1 exception, none of the patients were treated with drugs during pregnancy. RESULTS We did not find any significant differences between the 2 groups in the registered parameters of: age of mothers at delivery, history of spontaneous abortion, alcohol and nicotine consumption, medication, complications during pregnancy, symptoms of narcolepsy, weight gain during pregnancy, length of pregnancy and delivery, complications during delivery, and weight and length of the newborn. The women experiencing symptoms of narcolepsy before or during pregnancy were found to have a significantly higher total number of pregnancy complications (35.8%) than those with later onset of symptoms (9.1%), although the complications were not clinically significant. More patients in the symptomatic group tended to have impaired glucose tolerance or type 2 diabetes, compared to the asymptomatic group. CONCLUSIONS The study revealed no clinically relevant adverse effects of narcolepsy on pregnancy, childbirth or the newborn.
Fully cosmological virtual massive galaxies at z = 0: kinematical, morphological and stellar population characterization

We present the results of a numerical adaptive mesh refinement hydrodynamical and N-body simulation in a $\Lambda CDM$ cosmology. We focus on the analysis of the main properties of massive galaxies ($M_* > 10^{11}\,M_{\odot}$) at $z=0$. For all the massive virtual galaxies we carry out a careful study of their one dimensional density, luminosity, velocity dispersion, and stellar population profiles. In order to best compare with observational data, the method to estimate the velocity dispersion is calibrated by using an approach similar to that performed in the observations, based on the stellar populations of the simulated galaxies. With these ingredients, we discuss the different properties of massive galaxies in our sample according to their morphological types, accretion histories and dynamical properties. We find that the galaxy merging history is the leading actor in shaping the massive galaxies that we see nowadays. Indeed, galaxies having experienced a turbulent life are the most massive in the sample and show the steepest metallicity gradients. Beside the importance of merging, only a small fraction of the final stellar mass has been formed ex-situ (10-50%), while the majority of the stars formed within the galaxy. These accreted stars are significantly older and less metallic than the stars formed in-situ and tend to occupy the most external regions of the galaxies.
Exploiting internal and external semantics for the clustering of short texts using world knowledge

Clustering of short texts, such as snippets, presents great challenges in existing aggregated search techniques due to the problem of data sparseness and the complex semantics of natural language. As short texts do not provide sufficient term occurring information, traditional text representation methods, such as ``bag of words" model, have several limitations when directly applied to short texts tasks. In this paper, we propose a novel framework to improve the performance of short texts clustering by exploiting the internal semantics from original text and external concepts from world knowledge. The proposed method employs a hierarchical three-level structure to tackle the data sparsity problem of original short texts and reconstruct the corresponding feature space with the integration of multiple semantic knowledge bases -- Wikipedia and WordNet. Empirical evaluation with Reuters and real web dataset demonstrates that our approach is able to achieve significant improvement as compared to the state-of-the-art methods.
Student conception and perception of Newton’s law

This research aims to reveal the student’s conception and perception of Newton’s Law. Method of this research is qualitative with the sample is taken using purposive sampling consist of second semester (25 students), fourth semester (26 students), sixth semester VI (25 students), and eight semester (18 students) IKIP PGRI MADIUN, which have taken the first basic physics and mechanics courses The data was collected with essay questions, interview, and FCI test. It can be concluded that Mathematical language (symbol and visual) perception and intuition influence students conception. The results of analysis showed that an incorrect conception arises because students do not understand the language of physics and mathematics correctly.
Cerebral Microbleeds Predict Intracerebral Hemorrhage in Hemodialysis Patients

Background and Purpose— In hemodialysis patients, previous reports have described a high prevalence of cerebral microbleeds (CMBs), but no longitudinal studies have been performed to determine the clinical significance of CMBs in these patients. In this study, we investigated whether the presence of CMBs was a predictor of future strokes in hemodialysis patients. Methods— Cranial MRI, including T2*-weighted magnetic resonance imaging, was performed on 179 hemodialysis patients with no past history of cerebrovascular events. The patients were followed prospectively until death or renal transplantation. We used the Cox proportional hazards model with inverse probability of treatment weighting using the propensity score to compare the event-free survivals of patients with/without CMBs. For sensitivity analyses, stratification by propensity score quintile and regression adjustment were used. Results— CMBs were detected in 45 of the 179 patients. During a median follow-up period of 5.0 years, stroke occurred in 24 patients, including 12 with intracerebral hemorrhage and 12 with cerebral infarctions. Cox proportional hazards analysis with inverse probability of treatment weighting using the propensity score revealed that the presence of CMBs was a strong and significant predictor of intracerebral hemorrhage (hazard ratio, 26.53; 95% confidence interval, 2.88–244.90) but not cerebral infarction (hazard ratio, 0.91; 95% confidence interval, 0.25–3.34). Sensitivity analyses yielded similar results. Conclusions— This study showed that the presence of CMBs was an independent and strong predictor of intracerebral hemorrhage in stroke-free hemodialysis patients, indicating that hemodialysis patients with CMBs should be carefully monitored for future onset of intracerebral hemorrhage.
The unramified Brauer group and the Pythagoras number of hyperelliptic curves with good reduction defined over henselian valued fields

Let F be a henselian valued field with real closed residue field, C a hyperelliptic curve over F with good reduction. A set of independend generators for the two component of the Brauer group of a curve C with good reduction defined by an affine equation y = f(x), deg f(x) is odd, is calculated. As an application it is shown that the Pythagoras number of the function field F (C) of such curves is 2 if F (C) is a real field and 3 if F (C) is a non-real field.
Fear of Positive Evaluation and Social Anxiety

Fear of negative evaluation (FNE) is a recognised diagnostic feature of Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD). Recently, the role of fear of positive evaluation (FPE) as a factor contributing to SAD has been a focus of research: there is evidence that FPE is associated with measures of social anxiety independent of measures of FNE and that measures of FPE may be sensitive to interventions for SAD. The present study examined the relationships between FPE, FNE and measures of social anxiety and depression in a sample assessed as suitable for group cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) for social anxiety (n = 35), and the responsiveness of measures of FPE and FNE to standard group CBT for social anxiety in a subset of this group (n = 20). Measures of FNE and FPE were positively associated with each other and with measures of social interaction anxiety, general social anxiety concerns, and depression. However, the relationship between the FPE measure and measures of general social anxiety concerns and depression was not significant when FNE was statistically controlled. This is consistent with the view that FPE is specifically related to social interaction anxiety. In this sample, a measure of FPE was reduced in a sample receiving standard group CBT for social anxiety compared to a waitlisted group. The implications of these findings for the conceptualisation of SAD and for the delivery of interventions for those with SAD are considered.
A Bargaining Model for a First-Time Interaction Under Asymmetric Beliefs of Supply Reliability

We consider the case of a first-time interaction between a buyer and a supplier who is unreliable in delivery. The supplier declares her estimate of the ability to meet the order obligations, but the buyer may have a different estimate, which may be higher or lower than the suppliers estimate. We derive the Nash bargaining solution and discuss the role of using a down-payment or nondelivery penalty in the contract. For the case of buyer overtrust, the down-payment contract maximizes channel profits when the suppliers estimate is public information. If the suppliers estimate is private information, a nonsymmetric contract is shown to be efficient and incentive compatible. For the case of buyer undertrust, the contract structure is quite different as both players choose not to include down-payments in the contract. When delivery estimates are public information, a nondelivery penalty contract is able to maximize channel profits if the buyer uses the suppliers estimate in making the ordering decision. If estimates are private information, channel profits are maximized only if the true estimates of both players are not far part. We also discuss the effect of different risk profiles on the nature of the bargaining solution. In three extensions of the model, we consider the following variants of the basic problem. First, we analyze the effect of early versus late negotiation on the bargaining solution. Then, we study the case of endogenous supply reliability, and finally, for the case of repeated interactions, we discuss the impact of updating delivery estimates on the order quantity and negotiated prices of future orders.
Human taeniasis in western Romania and its relationship to multicultural food habits and influences.

OBJECTIVES Taeniasis, an intestinal infection produced by adult tapeworms of the genus Taenia, is acquired by the consumption of raw or undercooked beef or pork containing the infective cysticerci. The symptoms are generally mild and include abdominal pain, nausea, dizziness, headache, weight loss, anorexia, and allergic syndromes. In Romania, the morbidity of taeniasis ranges between 0.4% and 0.75% with higher rates in Moldavia and Banat regions as a consequence of regional gastronomic customs. This study aimed to overview the epidemiological, clinical, and therapeutic characteristics of taeniasis cases diagnosed in Timis County, part of Banat region, during a 37-year period (1971-2007). PATIENTS AND METHODS The authors have retrospectively analyzed the medical charts of 26 adult patients (mean age 38.3 years) admitted to the reference hospital for infectious diseases in southwestern Romania. RESULTS Females (77.0%, n = 20), inhabitants of urban areas (65.4%, n = 17), and laborers (46.2%, n = 12) were the most affected categories. The clinical symptoms included abdominal pain (57.7%, n = 15), asthenia (26.9%, n = 7), and loss of appetite (15.4%, n = 4). Eosinophilia was evidenced in 38.5% (n = 10) of the cases. For 80.8% (n = 21) of the patients, the hospitalization period ranged from 1 to 7 days. Niclosamide was administered in 61.5% (n = 16) of the cases. CONCLUSIONS The disease might be more frequently diagnosed in patients with mild symptomatology or asymptomatic ones who usually consult general practitioners and hence the low number of cases treated in hospitals. As a consequence, specific prophylactic measures oriented mainly to sanitary education of the masses must be considered for its eradication. Collaboration between family physicians and veterinary doctors must be strengthened especially in the countryside regions where humans live in close proximity to animals on which they rely mostly for their food resources.
Live Poultry Exposures, Hong Kong and Hanoi, 2006

Since 1997, the largest epidemic of highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1) ever recorded has caused 172 human and several billion bird deaths. Recently administered questionnaires determined that live poultry exposures have declined by ≈63% in Hong Kong since 2004 and that, in Vietnam, domestic backyard exposures to poultry are likely more important than retail exposures.
An Engineered Glutamate-gated Chloride (GluCl) Channel for Sensitive, Consistent Neuronal Silencing by Ivermectin*

Background: Ivermectin (IVM) silences activity in neurons expressing glutamate-gated chloride channels (GluCl). Results: Rational point mutations in GluCl robustly increase IVM-induced conductance and reduce the variability of spike suppression in cultured neurons. Conclusion: The newly engineered receptor improves heteromeric receptor expression and sensitivity to IVM. Significance: GluClv2.0 is an improved tool for IVM-induced silencing. A modified invertebrate glutamate-gated Cl− channel (GluCl αβ) was previously employed to allow pharmacologically induced silencing of electrical activity in CNS neurons upon exposure to the anthelmintic drug ivermectin (IVM). Usefulness of the previous receptor was limited by 1) the high concentration of IVM necessary to elicit a consistent silencing phenotype, raising concern about potential side effects, and 2) the variable extent of neuronal spike suppression, due to variations in the co-expression levels of the fluorescent protein-tagged α and β subunits. To address these issues, mutant receptors generated via rational protein engineering strategies were examined for improvement. Introduction of a gain-of-function mutation (L9′F) in the second transmembrane domain of the α subunit appears to facilitate β subunit incorporation and substantially increase heteromeric GluCl αβ sensitivity to IVM. Removal of an arginine-based endoplasmic reticulum retention motif (RSR mutated to AAA) from the intracellular loop of the β subunit further promotes heteromeric expression at the plasma membrane possibly by preventing endoplasmic reticulum-associated degradation of the β subunit rather than simply reducing endoplasmic reticulum retention. A monomeric XFP (mXFP) mutation that prevents fluorescent protein dimerization complements the mutant channel effects. Expression of the newly engineered GluCl opt α-mXFP L9′F + opt β-mXFP Y182F RSR_AAA receptor in dissociated neuronal cultures markedly increases conductance and reduces variability in spike suppression at 1 nm IVM. This receptor, named “GluClv2.0,” is an improved tool for IVM-induced silencing.
Clinical need-directed blood tests: a step in saving the NHS?

Background Unnecessary blood tests are estimated to contribute to 25% of wastage in the National Health Service. The aim of this study was to assess the financial implication of clinical need-focused blood tests guided by a senior clinician in a district general hospital. Methods We conducted an observational longitudinal study over six months with pre- and postanalysis of a vetting intervention. A colorectal firm (Team A) implemented a vetting system that required a registrar or consultant to discuss which blood tests needed to be requested for each in-patient with junior doctors. Another colorectal firm (Team B) with a similar caseload was blinded to the study and was used as a control. Results The vetting initiative demonstrated a reduction of 33% of blood test requests, translating to a cost-saving of £2406 over three months. Following the intervention, the median number of tests requested per patient per day by Team A for C-reactive protein reduced from 0.8 to 0.63 (P = 0.0074), full blood counts reduced from 0.8 to 0.67 (P = 0.0138), liver function tests decreased from 0.8 to 0.6 (P = 0.0021) and urea and electrolytes fell from 0.8 to 0.63 (P = 0.0083). The number of tests per patient per day after the intervention was significantly less than the control group (P < 0.001). The length of hospital stay and admission to critical care were not adversely affected in the group that had less blood tests, P = 0.808 and P = 0.58, respectively. Conclusion The direction, by a senior clinician, of the requesting of blood tests by junior doctors to ensure that requests were based on clinical need, reduced the number of inappropriate blood tests and resulted in some reduction in laboratory costs.