Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Contribution of Lordotic Correction on C5 Palsy Following Cervical Laminectomy and Fusion.

BACKGROUND C5 palsy is a well-reported complication of cervical spine surgery. The implication of sagittal cervical alignment parameters and their changes after surgery on the incidence of C5 palsy remains unclear. OBJECTIVE We review cervical alignment changes in our cases of C5 palsy after cervical laminectomy and fusion. METHODS Cases of C5 palsy were retrospectively compared with a control group. Preoperative and postoperative upright plain film radiographs were analyzed in blinded fashion. RESULTS Spine registry analysis identified 148 patients who underwent cervical laminectomy and fusion by the senior author over 5 years. There were 18 (12%) cases complicated by postoperative C5 palsy. Nine of these 18 patients had prerequisite upright films and were compared with a randomly constructed case control group of 20 patients. There were no statistically significant differences between the 2 groups in age, proportion of males, and preoperative Nurick score. Measures of sagittal alignment did not differ significantly between the 2 groups on preoperative and postoperative imaging. When comparing the amount of alignment change between preoperative and postoperative upright imaging, however, patients with C5 palsy had a statistically higher amount of average C4-C5 Cobb angle change (-2.53 vs 0.78°; P = .01). Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that lordotic change in both C4-C5 and C2-C7 Cobb angles were associated with development of palsy. CONCLUSION Lordotic cervical correction, as measured on upright imaging, was statistically larger in patients who had C5 palsy. The role of deformity correction in C5 palsy deserves further study and may inform intraoperative decision making. ABBREVIATION CLF, cervical laminectomy and fusion.
Using the SAEM algorithm for mechanistic joint models characterizing the relationship between nonlinear PSA kinetics and survival in prostate cancer patients

Joint modeling is increasingly popular for investigating the relationship between longitudinal and time‐to‐event data. However, numerical complexity often restricts this approach to linear models for the longitudinal part. Here, we use a novel development of the Stochastic‐Approximation Expectation Maximization algorithm that allows joint models defined by nonlinear mixed‐effect models. In the context of chemotherapy in metastatic prostate cancer, we show that a variety of patterns for the Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) kinetics can be captured by using a mechanistic model defined by nonlinear ordinary differential equations. The use of a mechanistic model predicts that biological quantities that cannot be observed, such as treatment‐sensitive and treatment‐resistant cells, may have a larger impact than PSA value on survival. This suggests that mechanistic joint models could constitute a relevant approach to evaluate the efficacy of treatment and to improve the prediction of survival in patients.
A Patient with Non-alcoholic Steatohepatitis Complicated by Multiple Myeloma

A 68-year-old woman with liver dysfunction was diagnosed with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) stage 1. Three years later, she showed massive ascites and jaundice. A trans-jugular liver biopsy confirmed advanced cirrhosis, suggesting that her liver fibrosis had progressed rapidly. At the same time, she was diagnosed with multiple myeloma (MM). In this case, the plasma levels of osteopontin (OPN), a proinflammatory cytokine that promotes liver fibrosis progression through the hedgehog pathway and is increased in patients with MM, were increased. This increased OPN expression was accompanied by the upregulation of the hedgehog pathway in this patient, suggesting that the MM-associated increase in OPN had promoted the progression of liver fibrosis through the hedgehog pathway. The progression of liver fibrosis should be monitored in patients with NASH if other diseases, such as MM, are present.
Pentose Phosphate Shunt Modulates Reactive Oxygen Species and Nitric Oxide Production Controlling Trypanosoma cruzi in Macrophages

Metabolism provides substrates for reactive oxygen species (ROS) and nitric oxide (NO) generation, which are a part of the macrophage (Mφ) anti-microbial response. Mφs infected with Trypanosoma cruzi (Tc) produce insufficient levels of oxidative species and lower levels of glycolysis compared to classical Mφs. How Mφs fail to elicit a potent ROS/NO response during infection and its link to glycolysis is unknown. Herein, we evaluated for ROS, NO, and cytokine production in the presence of metabolic modulators of glycolysis and the Krebs cycle. Metabolic status was analyzed by Seahorse Flux Analyzer and mass spectrometry and validated by RNAi. Tc infection of RAW264.7 or bone marrow-derived Mφs elicited a substantial increase in peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-α expression and pro-inflammatory cytokine release, and moderate levels of ROS/NO by 18 h. Interferon (IFN)-γ addition enhanced the Tc-induced ROS/NO release and shut down mitochondrial respiration to the levels noted in classical Mφs. Inhibition of PPAR-α attenuated the ROS/NO response and was insufficient for complete metabolic shift. Deprivation of glucose and inhibition of pyruvate transport showed that Krebs cycle and glycolysis support ROS/NO generation in Tc + IFN-γ stimulated Mφs. Metabolic profiling and RNAi studies showed that glycolysis-pentose phosphate pathway (PPP) at 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase was essential for ROS/NO response and control of parasite replication in Mφ. We conclude that IFN-γ, but not inhibition of PPAR-α, supports metabolic upregulation of glycolytic-PPP for eliciting potent ROS/NO response in Tc-infected Mφs. Chemical analogs enhancing the glucose-PPP will be beneficial in controlling Tc replication and dissemination by Mφs.
Online Convex Optimization for Cumulative Constraints

We propose the algorithms for online convex optimization which lead to cumulative squared constraint violations of the form $\sum\limits_{t=1}^T\big([g(x_t)]_+\big)^2=O(T^{1-\beta})$, where $\beta\in(0,1)$. Previous literature has focused on long-term constraints of the form $\sum\limits_{t=1}^Tg(x_t)$. There, strictly feasible solutions can cancel out the effects of violated constraints. In contrast, the new form heavily penalizes large constraint violations and cancellation effects cannot occur. Furthermore, useful bounds on the single step constraint violation $[g(x_t)]_+$ are derived. For convex objectives, our regret bounds generalize existing bounds, and for strongly convex objectives we give improved regret bounds. In numerical experiments, we show that our algorithm closely follows the constraint boundary leading to low cumulative violation.
Crowd intelligence in AI 2.0 era

The Internet based cyber-physical world has profoundly changed the information environment for the development of artificial intelligence (AI), bringing a new wave of AI research and promoting it into the new era of AI 2.0. As one of the most prominent characteristics of research in AI 2.0 era, crowd intelligence has attracted much attention from both industry and research communities. Specifically, crowd intelligence provides a novel problem-solving paradigm through gathering the intelligence of crowds to address challenges. In particular, due to the rapid development of the sharing economy, crowd intelligence not only becomes a new approach to solving scientific challenges, but has also been integrated into all kinds of application scenarios in daily life, e.g., online-to-offline (O2O) application, real-time traffic monitoring, and logistics management. In this paper, we survey existing studies of crowd intelligence. First, we describe the concept of crowd intelligence, and explain its relationship to the existing related concepts, e.g., crowdsourcing and human computation. Then, we introduce four categories of representative crowd intelligence platforms. We summarize three core research problems and the state-of-the-art techniques of crowd intelligence. Finally, we discuss promising future research directions of crowd intelligence.
Effect of genetic strain, calcium, and feed withdrawal on growth, tibial dyschondroplasia, plasma 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol, and plasma 25-hydroxycholecalciferol in sixteen-day-old chickens.

Four experiments were conducted to study the effects of genetic strain, dietary Ca level, and feed withdrawal on growth, feed efficiency, tibia bone ash, tibial dyschondroplasia (TD), and plasma 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol [1,25(OH)2D3] and 25-hydroxycholecalciferol [25(OH)D3]. Experiment 1 used five strains and Experiments 2 to 4 used three broiler strains. A TD-inducing basal diet was used in each experiment. In Experiment 3, the birds were fed . 60 or . 95% dietary Ca, and in Experiment 4 the birds were fed the basal diet and were fed or deprived of feed for 8 h daily. In Experiment 1, Athens-Canadian Randombred and Single Comb White Leghorn chicks did not develop TD. In birds fed the basal diet alone, Peterson x Hubbard chicks had a significantly higher incidence of the most severe TD lesion than two other broiler strains in each experiment and were significantly lighter in BW in two of the four experiments. Of the three broiler strains, the incidence and average lesion score of TD was significantly higher in Peterson x Hubbard birds in Experiment 2 and was numerically highest in the other three experiments. In birds fed the basal diet, Peterson x Hubbard birds had significantly higher plasma 1,25(OH)2D3 in two of the four experiments. Both feed deprivation and . 95% Ca increased bone ash and decreased the incidence and severity of TD. There were no significant differences in plasma 1,25(OH)2D3 among strains of birds deprived of feed or fed . 95% Ca. In three of the four experiments, high plasma 1,25(OH)2D3 in Peterson x Hubbard birds was associated with an increase in the incidence and severity of TD.
Insurance status and cancer treatment mediate the association between race/ethnicity and cervical cancer survival

Cervical cancer outcomes remain poor among disadvantaged populations, including ethnic minorities, low-income, and underinsured women. The aim of this study was to evaluate the mechanisms that underlie the observed association between race/ethnicity and cervical cancer survival. We identified 13,698 women, ages 21 to 64 years, diagnosed with stages I-III primary cervical cancer between 2007–2013 in Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER). Multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression models evaluated associations between race/ethnicity (Non-Hispanic White, Non-Hispanic Black, Hispanic, Other) and cervical cancer-specific mortality. We conducted mediation analysis to calculate the mediation proportion and its 95% confidence interval. Non-Hispanic black women had an increased risk of cervical cancer-specific mortality (HR: 1.23, 95% CI: 1.08–1.39), and Hispanic women a decreased risk of dying from their disease (HR: 0.82, 95% CI: 0.72–0.93), compared with non-Hispanic white. The estimated proportion of excess cervical cancer mortality for non-Hispanic black women relative to non-Hispanic white women that was mediated by insurance was 18.6% and by treatment was 47.2%. Furthermore, non-Hispanic black women were more likely to receive radiation and less likely to receive surgery for early-stage disease. In this population-based study we found that some of the excess cervical cancer-specific mortality for non-Hispanic black women is mediated by factors such as insurance status and treatment. These findings suggest that enhancing existing insurance coverage and ensuring equal and adequate treatment in all women may be a key strategy for improving cervical cancer outcomes.
A randomised controlled trial of tiotropium in adolescents with severe symptomatic asthma

We present results from the first phase III trial of once-daily tiotropium add-on to inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) plus one or more controller therapies in adolescents with severe symptomatic asthma. In this double-blind, parallel-group trial (NCT01277523), 392 patients aged 12–17 years were randomised to receive once-daily tiotropium 5 µg or 2.5 µg, or placebo, as an add-on to ICS plus other controller therapies over 12 weeks. The primary and key secondary end-points were change from baseline (response) in peak forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) within 3 h post-dosing (FEV1(0–3h)) and trough FEV1, respectively, after 12 weeks of treatment. Tiotropium 5 µg provided numerical improvements in peak FEV1(0–3h) response, compared with placebo (90 mL; p=0.104), and significant improvements were observed with tiotropium 2.5 µg (111 mL; p=0.046). Numerical improvements in trough FEV1 response and asthma control were observed with both tiotropium doses, compared with placebo. The safety and tolerability of tiotropium were comparable with those of placebo. Once-daily tiotropium Respimat add-on to ICS plus one or more controller therapies in adolescents with severe symptomatic asthma was well tolerated. The primary end-point of efficacy was not met, although positive trends for improvements in lung function and asthma control were observed. Tiotropium add-on therapy provided numerical improvements in outcomes in adolescents with asthma http://ow.ly/eL8g304a9XV
Metabolic variations in normal and fibrotic human laryngotracheal‐derived fibroblasts: A Warburg‐like effect

Laryngotracheal stenosis (LTS) is a chronic fibrotic disease characterized by fibroblast proliferation, collagen deposition, and matrix remodeling in the lamina propria of the larynx and/or trachea. Current medical therapies are limited by a poor understanding of the effector cell's (fibroblasts) cellular biology and metabolism. The purpose of this study was to compare cellular proliferation, function, and metabolism between normal and LTS‐derived fibroblasts in vitro. We hypothesize that LTS‐derived fibroblasts will demonstrate aberrant behavior with faster proliferation, increased collagen production, and altered metabolic allocation compared with normal fibroblasts.
Variational Formulations and Functional Approximation Algorithms in Stochastic Plasticity of Materials

Im Rahmen der Elastoplastizitatstheorie infinitesimaler und starker Verschiebungen wird eine Klasse von abstrakten, stochastischen Variationsungleichungen betrachtet, welche durch unsichere Parameter beschrieben werden. Im Speziellen wird das raten-unabhangige Evolutionsproblem mit allgemeiner Verfestigung betrachtet, dessen Materialeigenschaften-Verteilung als durch die Maximum-Entropie Methode gegeben angenommen wird. Durch die Darstellung der Struktur der Evolutionsgleichungen in einem konvexen Rahmen wird die Existenz und Eindeutigkeit der Losung betrachtet und die mathematische Formulierung in eine berechnungstechnisch besser passende gemischt-variationale Beschreibung uberfuhrt. Innerhalb eines Euler-ruckwarts Zeitschrittes reduziert sich die Ungleichung auf ein Minimierungsproblem fur ein konvexes Energiefunktional auf diskreten Tensorproduktunterraumen, dessen eindeutige Losung mithilfe eines stochastischen nachstgelegenen-Punkt-Projektionsalgorithmus basierend auf der "white noise Analyse" bestimmt wird. Hierzu wird eine Beschreibung basierend auf nicht-dissipativen und dissipativen Operatoren benutzt und die sogenannte intrusive stochastische Galerkinmethode in den Berechnungsprozess eingefuhrt. Diese Methode stellt einen direkten algebraischen Weg zur Berechnung der Losung in jeder Iteration von Newton-ahnlichen Verfahren dar. Da die Losung in der Form einer polynomiellen Chaos-Entwicklung gegeben ist, also einer expliziten Beschreibung des funktionalen Zusammenhangs der unabhangigen Zufallsvariablen, sind die nachfolgenden Auswertungen von Funktionalen dieser Losung (Mittelwert, Varianz, Uberschreitungswahrscheinlichkeit) berechnungstechnisch sehr gunstig. Zusatzlich wird die Methode mit der nicht-intrusiven Variante verglichen, einem pseudo-Galerkin Verfahren, welches das Residuum in jeder Iteration mit Methoden zur hochdimensionalen Integration basierend auf zufalligen oder deterministischen Abtastverfahren auswertet. Abschliesend wird die Methode mit einer Reihe von Testbeispielen mit einfachen Spannungsbedingungen validiert, deren Referenzlosungen uber direkte Integrationsverfahren berechnet werden.
Hypoxia in Korean Coastal Waters: A Case Study of the Natural Jinhae Bay and Artificial Shihwa Bay

Several coastal regions in Korea have suffered from hypoxia since the 1970s. We present the first review of Korean coastal hypoxia, focusing on its spatiotemporal variation, controlling factors, and effects on marine ecosystems. The review considers the two hotspots of the natural Jinhae Bay (JB) and artificial Shihwa Bay (SB), which are referred to as “Korean dead zones. ” The hypoxia in the JB is attributed to eutrophication due to domestic and land-used waste input and thermal stratification based on the naturally sluggish water circulation, whereas the hypoxia in the SB is due to eutrophication resulting from domestic, land-used, and industrial waste input and haline stratification as a consequence of the artificially created water stagnation. The bottom-water hypoxia and stratification has resulted in excessive accumulation of phosphate in both bays, leading to an imbalance in nitrogen:phosphorus ratio between surface and bottom waters. Hypoxia has also created undesirable benthic community changes in the both bays: (1) mass mortality of large species and recolonization with elevated abundances of opportunists in JB, and (2) decrease of the number of species, abundance, and diversity of benthic communities in SB. Therefore, it behooves us to pay attention to these environmental changes. This review will be helpful in determining the direction of future studies of Korean coastal hypoxia.
Posttraumatic growth and its correlates in primary caregivers of schizophrenic patients

Context: The concept of posttraumatic growth (PTG) is important to focus on positive outcomes of a challenging process like caregiving. Aims: The aim of the present study is to investigate the factors inclusively considered to be related to PTG in primary caregivers of schizophrenic patients. Settings and Design: This cross-sectional study was conducted with caregivers of patients with schizophrenia between January 2013 and February 2014 at a mental health hospital. Materials and Methods: The study was carried out on 109 schizophrenic patients followed up at Bakirkoy Prof. Dr. Mazhar Osman Research and Training Hospital for Psychiatry, Neurology, and Neurosurgery, and 109 family members who are the primary caregivers of the patients. All caregivers were evaluated with Posttraumatic Growth Inventory, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, Ways of Coping Inventory, and the Basic Personality Traits Inventory and Religious Orientation Scale. Statistical Analysis: Kruskal–Wallis and Mann–Whitney U-test were used in quantitative analysis of data. Spearman's correlation analysis was used in the determination of correlation between variables. Linear regression analysis was used in the determination of predictors of PTG. Results: Optimistic and problem-focused coping, perceived social support (total and all three - family, friends, significant others - domains), personality traits such as extraversion, conscientiousness, and openness to experience, and religiousness were found to be related with PTG. Religiousness, perceived social support, and openness to experience were independent predictors of PTG. Conclusions: Interventions to caregivers of schizophrenic patients on the domains of social support and coping strategies may contribute to caring process in a positive change.
Ear Acupuncture in Treating Trismus-Syndrome: A Case Report

Trismus is a disease that is associated by muscle spasms in the jaw muscles, pain, and inability to open the mouth. Trismus is a Sympathomimetic effect of chronic use of methamphetamine. This study was carried out aimed to evaluate the efficacy of ear acupuncture on the pain and mouth opening in chronic methamphetamine-dependent patient. We report a case of 31-yearold young man with Trismus syndrome consequence of chronic use of methamphetamine with severe mouth pain. We applied ear acupuncture for three weeks to ameliorate pain and hopefully improve his functional ability to Mouth opening. Results were analyzed by generalized estimating equations (GEE) models. The primary outcome showed that Ear Acupuncture has not a significant effect on reducing the frequency of urine test during treatment. Also secondary outcome showed that there was not a significant reduction in pain index and mouth opening. According to the failure in the production of tyrosine Hydroxylase as a precursor to produce dopamine in chronic methamphetamine users and the role of dopaminergic system in the modulation of orals facial pain, the effectiveness of acupuncture could be in jeopardy.
vNN Web Server for ADMET Predictions

In drug development, early assessments of pharmacokinetic and toxic properties are important stepping stones to avoid costly and unnecessary failures. Considerable progress has recently been made in the development of computer-based (in silico) models to estimate such properties. Nonetheless, such models can be further improved in terms of their ability to make predictions more rapidly, easily, and with greater reliability. To address this issue, we have used our vNN method to develop 15 absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and toxicity (ADMET) prediction models. These models quickly assess some of the most important properties of potential drug candidates, including their cytotoxicity, mutagenicity, cardiotoxicity, drug-drug interactions, microsomal stability, and likelihood of causing drug-induced liver injury. Here we summarize the ability of each of these models to predict such properties and discuss their overall performance. All of these ADMET models are publically available on our website (https://vnnadmet.bhsai.org/), which also offers the capability of using the vNN method to customize and build new models.
Convex Perturbations for Scalable Semidefinite Programming

Many important machine learning problems are modeled and solved via semidefinite programs; examples include metric learning, nonlinear embedding, and certain clustering problems. Often, off-the-shelf software is invoked for the associated optimization, which can be inappropriate due to excessive computational and storage requirements. In this paper, we introduce the use of convex perturbations for solving semidefinite programs (SDPs), and for a specific perturbation we derive an algorithm that has several advantages over existing techniques: a) it is simple, requiring only a few lines of MATLAB, b) it is a first-order method, and thereby scalable, and c) it can easily exploit the structure of a given SDP (e.g., when the constraint matrices are low-rank, a situation common to several machine learning SDPs). A pleasant byproduct of our method is a fast, kernelized version of the large-margin nearest neighbor metric learning algorithm (Weinberger et al., 2005). We demonstrate that our algorithm is effective in finding fast approximations to large-scale SDPs arising in some machine learning applications.