Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cognition and Quality of Life in Children with New-Onset Epilepsy

Commentary Several cross-sectional studies have demonstrated the central role that cognition plays in the behavioral, linguistic/communication, and social comorbidities of children with epilepsy (see review in (1)). Both child and parent reports indicate that these comorbidities, rather than seizure variables, are related to the poor health-related quality of life (HRQOL) found in pediatric epilepsy (2–5). Prospective studies have shown that baseline comorbidities—as well as family and parent variables—predict the short-term outcome of cognition, behavior/emotions, and academic achievement in children with new/recent onset epilepsy (6–9). A well-designed large scale follow-up study by Speechley et al. examines the trajectories and related variables of parents’ reports about child HRQOL at 6, 12, 18, and 24 months after their first seizure. The significant association of cognition and family variables with the 2-year HRQOL trajectory provides additional support for the role of cognition and family factors in the outcome of children with new-onset epilepsy. Interestingly, parents’ reports of behavior problems were also significantly related to the 2-year HRQOL but not when cognition was included in the model. Thus, as demonstrated in the comorbidity studies, cognition also plays a central role in the HRQOL of children with epilepsy. Differences in the recruitment source (tertiary vs. community), seizure control, as well as comorbid neurological handicaps and developmental disabilities in the HRQOL studies conducted to date might account for the inconsistent relationship between HRQOL and seizure variables in these studies. About one-third of the Speechley et al. sample was experiencing seizures at the 2-year follow-up, but information on seizure frequency was not given. They and other investigators (4, 10) who studied children with relatively well-controlled seizures did not confirm a relationship between seizure variables and child HRQOL. However, child HRQOL studies in which cognition—rather than behavior problems or psychiatric comorbidities—was a significant predictor often included children with developmental disabilities, low IQ scores, neurological handicaps, and early onset intractable seizures (11–16). Of note, children with developmental disabilities without epilepsy also have poor HRQOL (17). The study’s significant AED effect also implies a possible role for impaired cognition. The authors suggest that this finding might be an indirect measure of poor seizure control that, in turn, is often related to impaired cognition (see review in (1)). Since children with low IQ are at risk for AED adverse efQuality of Life in Children with New-Onset Epilepsy: A 2-Year Prospective Cohort Study.
High-Altitude Ozone Concentrations in Yosemite National Park, Sierra Nevada

Degrading air quality has become a major concern for many national parks in North America. Currently, Yosemite National Park exceeds the state and federal 8-hour ozone standard (120 ppb) approximately 5 times per summer (http://www.nps.gov/yose/ nature/air_ozone.htm). This paper discusses preliminary results from a pilot study that was conducted in Yosemite National Park during the period of 9-20 August 2003 to better understand the structure of thermallydriven circulations and ozone transport at high elevations in the park and in the Sierra Nevada. Although mountain-valley winds have been studied in many regions throughout the world (Whiteman 1990), there has been little research on local scale circulations in the Sierra Nevada (Clements 1999) and to our knowledge this is the first study that examines the vertical and spatial structure of thermally-driven circulations in Yosemite National Park. Pollutants from California’s Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys are transported to the western slope of the Sierra Nevada by daytime, local-scale flows (Ewell et al. 1989; Van Ooy and Carroll 1995; Zhong et al. 2002). During the night, down-valley winds are typically cleaner and thus, may represent either clean air from aloft that is mixed downward, or air that has been scavenged due to dry deposition (Broder and Gygax 1985; Loffler-Mang et al. 1997). However, Van Ooy and Carroll (1995) found higher ozone concentrations at many locations on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada during nighttime periods. They attributed these higher concentrations to elevated pollutant layers that remain aloft after the decay of the daytime convective boundary layer. 2. FIELD EXPERIMENT
Landsat-Based Trend Analysis of Lake Dynamics across Northern Permafrost Regions

Lakes are a ubiquitous landscape feature in northern permafrost regions. They have a strong impact on carbon, energy and water fluxes and can be quite responsive to climate change. The monitoring of lake change in northern high latitudes, at a sufficiently accurate spatial and temporal resolution, is crucial for understanding the underlying processes driving lake change. To date, lake change studies in permafrost regions were based on a variety of different sources, image acquisition periods and single snapshots, and localized analysis, which hinders the comparison of different regions. Here, we present a methodology based on machine-learning based classification of robust trends of multi-spectral indices of Landsat data (TM, ETM+, OLI) and object-based lake detection, to analyze and compare the individual, local and regional lake dynamics of four different study sites (Alaska North Slope, Western Alaska, Central Yakutia, Kolyma Lowland) in the northern permafrost zone from 1999 to 2014. Regional patterns of lake area change on the Alaska North Slope (−0.69%), Western Alaska (−2.82%), and Kolyma Lowland (−0.51%) largely include increases due to thermokarst lake expansion, but more dominant lake area losses due to catastrophic lake drainage events. In contrast, Central Yakutia showed a remarkable increase in lake area of 48.48%, likely resulting from warmer and wetter climate conditions over the latter half of the study period. Within all study regions, variability in lake dynamics was associated with differences in permafrost characteristics, landscape position (i.e., upland vs. lowland), and surface geology. With the global availability of Landsat data and a consistent methodology for processing the input data derived from robust trends of multi-spectral indices, we demonstrate a transferability, scalability and consistency of lake change analysis within the northern permafrost region.
Motor Learning Characterized by Changing Lévy Distributions

The probability distributions for changes in transverse plane fingertip speed are Lévy distributed in human pole balancing. Six subjects learned to balance a pole on their index finger over three sessions while sitting and standing. The Lévy or decay exponent decreased as a function of learning, showing reduced decay in the probability for large speed steps and was significantly smaller in the sitting condition. However, the probability distribution for changes in fingertip speed was truncated so that the probability for large steps was reduced in this condition. These results show a learning-induced tolerance for large speed step sizes and demonstrate that motor learning in continuous tasks may be characterized by changing distributions that reflect sensorimotor skill acquisition.
Current concepts in the management of gonorrhoea

The incidence of gonorrhoea is again rising in developed countries and a high disease rate has been maintained in less developed regions for a number of years. The need not only for treatment of the individual but also for control of gonorrhoea at a community level has increased significantly following recognition of its role in the amplification of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission. A sustainable decrease in the incidence of gonorrhoea and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) requires an integrated approach combining improved prevention, better diagnosis and optimal treatment. Effective antibiotic treatment is an essential element of this approach. However, antibiotic treatment of gonorrhoea has been severely hampered by the development of antibiotic resistance in Neisseria gonorrhoeae, to the extent that many therapies are no longer effective. Those treatments that retain acceptable efficacy are often unaffordable where they are most needed. Penicillins and tetracyclines should no longer be used in gonococcal disease, there are limitations on the effectiveness of newer macrolides and spectinomycin and in many parts of the world quinolones have been withdrawn from schedules for the treatment of gonorrhoea. Of all the current agents used to treat all forms of gonococcal disease, only the third generation cephalosporins (most notably ceftriaxone) have retained their efficacy; however, decreased susceptibility to these antibiotics has also appeared. Continuing reliance on antibiotic treatment for controlling gonorrhoea in the absence of other necessary approaches will see a further deterioration in the situation. In these circumstances the possibility that gonorrhoea will be untreatable becomes more real.
Rapid and controlled electrochemical synthesis of crystalline niobium oxide microcones

We demonstrate the fabrication by anodization of niobium oxide microcones, several microns long, from aqueous solutions of 1 wt% hydrogen fluoride (HF) with varied sodium fluoride (NaF) concentration (0-1 M). Raman spectroscopy and x-ray diffractometer analysis revealed the as-grown microcones to be crystalline Nb_2O_5__xwith preferred (1 0 0) and (0 1 0) orientations. The overall Nb_2O_5__xformation rate increased with the increasing NaF concentration, and structures as tall as 20 μm were achieved in just 20 min of anodization at 1 M NaF. Rapid formation of niobia microcones was even observed in the absence of HF at this NaF concentration. Photocatalytic activity for water oxidation was highest for microcones grown under the highest NaF concentration.
Cohomological dimensions of universal cosovereign Hopf algebras

We compute the Hochschild and Gerstenhaber-Schack cohomological dimensions of the universal cosovereign Hopf algebras, when the matrix of parameters is a generic asymmetry. Our main tools are considerations on the cohomologies of free product of Hopf algebras, and on the invariance of the cohomological dimensions under graded twisting by a finite abelian group.
This Land Is My Land! Large-Scale Land Acquisitions and Conflict Events in Sub-Saharan Africa

ABSTRACT The paper provides evidence that large-scale land acquisitions in Sub-Saharan Africa raise the likelihood of experiencing outbursts of organized violence. This evidence is achieved through a spatially disaggregated approach, to account for local characteristics, and a quasi-experimental research design, implemented to overcome limitations due to missing geo-referenced information about land deals. Domestic acquisitions are particularly significant in explaining organized violence outbreak, suggesting that the national concentration of power among economic elites hinder social stability. Further, the institutional framework, which forms the background for LSLAs, is a prominent determinant of organized violence occurrence. In particular, more egalitarian and inclusive societies are less prone to conflicts, even in the presence of LSLAs. When land deals are finalized to the cultivation of agricultural commodities for biofuels, the effect is less evident and violence partially depends on climate conditions. On the other hand, land deals still in implementation stage seem to narrow organized violence, possibly due to both local control of areas under investments and socio-economic effects of the deals. Results also show the existence of significant spatio-temporal dependence path, since events of organized violence tend to be recurrent and to persist in space, feeding ‘neighbouring’ effects of proximity and local patterns of violence concentration.
Irreversible Investment, Operating Flexibility, and Time Lags

We consider an optimal investment problem when a firm such as an electric power company has the operational flexibility to expand and contract capacity with fixed cost. This problem is formulated as an impulse control problem combined with optimal stopping. Consequently, we obtain optimal investment timing, optimal capacity expansion and contraction timing, and the investment value. We also show investment, capacity expansion and contraction rule are influenced by the price volatility and the initial capacity is also influenced by the ratio between base-load plant and peak-load plant. In addition, we investigate how time lag between investment and operation influences the investment rule.
Allopurinol hypersensitivity syndrome: a preventable severe cutaneous adverse reaction?

INTRODUCTION Allopurinol is a widely-prescribed urate-lowering agent. Allopurinol hypersensitivity syndrome, a severe form of cutaneous adverse reaction, is associated with significant mortality and morbidity. The aim of this study was to document the clinical presentation of allopurinol hypersensitivity in a local population, examine the indications for urate-lowering therapy and to identify potential associations with such a syndrome. METHODS Retrospective review was done for all patients who were referred to the dermatology unit of a tertiary hospital for allopurinol hypersensitivity syndrome over a four-year period. RESULTS Over four years, there were 28 patients with allopurinol hypersensitivity syndrome, of which there were 27 (96 percent) Chinese and one (four percent) Malay. The average age was 69 years. At baseline, 24 patients (86 percent) had renal impairment, and 21 patients (75 percent) had higher dosages of allopurinol. The cutaneous manifestation included generalised maculopapular exanthem (22 patients, 79 percent), Stevens Johnson/toxic epidermal necrolysis overlap (two patients, seven percent) and Stevens-Johnson syndrome (two patients, seven percent) and generalised exfoliative dermatitis (one patient, four percent). Mortality rate was 18 percent. Indications for allopurinol therapy were clear in ten patients (36 percent). CONCLUSION Allopurinol hypersensitivit y syndrome is a life-threatening cutaneous adverse reaction. Allopurinol should be initiated under clear indications with appropriate dosages. Potential associations with this syndrome include the Chinese race, the elderly, and patients with underlying renal impairment.
Fashion-MNIST: a Novel Image Dataset for Benchmarking Machine Learning Algorithms

We present Fashion-MNIST, a new dataset comprising of 28x28 grayscale images of 70,000 fashion products from 10 categories, with 7,000 images per category. The training set has 60,000 images and the test set has 10,000 images. Fashion-MNIST is intended to serve as a direct drop-in replacement for the original MNIST dataset for benchmarking machine learning algorithms, as it shares the same image size, data format and the structure of training and testing splits. The dataset is freely available at this https URL
Type I receptor tyrosine kinases are associated with hormone escape in prostate cancer

Relapse during androgen withdrawal therapy is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality from prostate cancer. Androgen receptor mutations (6–10%) and amplifications (20–30%) may explain relapse in some patients, but in approximately 70% of cases, alternative mechanisms must be invoked and preliminary evidence suggests that type I receptor tyrosine kinases play a role in mediating hormone escape. In this study, EGFR and HER2 gene amplification and expression were analysed by fluorescence in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry, respectively, in a cohort of matched tumour pairs (one taken before and one after hormone relapse) from 49 prostate cancer patients. No EGFR amplification and low‐level, heterogeneous HER2 amplification were observed (6.5%). No significant correlation between EGFR/HER2 gene copy and protein expression was found. Almost one quarter of the cases (12/49, 24.5%) showed increased HER2 or EGFR expression at hormone relapse; this was associated with a significant reduction in time from hormone relapse to death (p = 0.0003). EGFR and HER2 amplification do not play a significant role in prostate cancer, but increased expression of HER2 or EGFR may influence progression to androgen independence in about a quarter of cases as a rise in EGFR/HER2 expression at hormone relapse is associated with a significant reduction in time to death. These findings support the development of EGFR/HER2 targeted therapies in androgen‐independent prostate cancer and demonstrate, using a carefully characterized patient cohort, that the EGFR/HER2 pathway may represent one of a number of independent routes to hormone escape in prostate cancer. Copyright © 2005 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Selective Vulnerability of Cortical Border Zone to Microembolic Infarct

Background and Purpose— Endovascular procedures, including atrial fibrillation transcatheter ablation, may cause microembolization of brain arteries. Microemboli often cause small sized and clinically silent cerebral ischemias (SCI). These lesions are clearly visible on early postoperative magnetic resonance diffusion-weighted images. We analyzed SCI distribution in a population of patients submitted to atrial fibrillation transcatheter ablation. Methods— Seventy-eight of 927 consecutive patients submitted to atrial fibrillation transcatheter ablation were found positive for acute SCI on a postoperative magnetic resonance. SCI were identified and marked, and their coordinates were transformed from native space into the International Consortium for Brain Mapping/Montreal Neurological Institute space. We then computed the voxel-wise probability distribution map of the SCI using the activation likelihood estimation approach. Results— SCI were more commonly found in the cortex. In supratentorial regions, SCI selectively involved cortical border zone between anterior, middle, and posterior cerebral arteries; in infratentorial regions, distal territory of posteroinferior cerebellar artery. Possible explanations include selective embolization, linked to the vascular anatomy of pial arteries supplying those territories, reduced clearance of emboli in a relatively hypoperfused zone, or a combination of both. This particular distribution of lesions has been reported in both animal models and in patients with microemboli of different sources. Conclusions— A selective vulnerability of cortical border zone to microemboli occurring during atrial fibrillation transcatheter ablation was observed. We hypothesize that such selectivity may apply to microemboli of different sources.
Predictive and prognostic significance of p27, Akt, PTEN and PI3K expression in HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer.

BACKGROUND The phosphatidylinositol 3'-kinase/Akt (PI3K/Akt) pathway is a key regulator for HER2- overexpressing breast cancer, but data about whether activation of PI3K/Akt is associated with poor prognosis and resistance to trastuzumab therapy is controversial. In this study we investigated predictive and prognostic significance of expression of p27, Akt, PTEN and PI3K, which are components of the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway, in HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer (MBC), retrospectively. MATERIALS AND METHODS Fifty-four HER2- positive MBC patients who had received first-line trastuzumab-based therapy were recruited for the study group. All of the patient's breast tissue samples were examined for p27 and Akt expression. In addition, twenty-five patients with sufficient amount of tumor tissue were also examined for PTEN and PI3K expression. p27, Akt, PTEN and PI3K were evaluated by immunohistochemistry and their relationship with patient demographic features, tumor characteristics, response to trastuzumab-based treatment and survival outcomes were analyzed. RESULTS p27, Akt, PTEN and PI3K were positive in 25.9%, 70.4%, 24% and 96% of the cases, respectively. Nomne were significantly associated with response to trastuzumab and time to progression (TTP). A trend toward statistical significance for longer overall survival (OS) was found for PTEN-positive patients (p=0.058); there was no significant relationship between the other immunohistochemical variables and OS. When we analyzed groups regarding co-expression, the PTEN-negative/Akt-negative group had a significantly lower objective response rate (ORR) (20% vs 80%, p=0.023) and the PTEN-negative/p27-negative and PTEN-negative/Akt-negative groups had significantly lower median OS compared to other patients (26.4 months vs 76.1 months, p=0.005 and 25.6 months vs 52.0 months, p=0.007, respectively). CONCLUSIONS p27, Akt, PTEN and PI3K expression is not statistically significantly associated with ORR, TTP and OS, individually. However, the combined evaluation of p27, Akt and PTEN could be helpful to predict the response to trastuzumab-based therapy and prognosis in HER2-positive MBC.
Tangential Flow Ultrafiltration Allows Purification and Concentration of Lauric Acid-/Albumin-Coated Particles for Improved Magnetic Treatment

Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) are frequently used for drug targeting, hyperthermia and other biomedical purposes. Recently, we have reported the synthesis of lauric acid-/albumin-coated iron oxide nanoparticles SEONLA-BSA, which were synthesized using excess albumin. For optimization of magnetic treatment applications, SPION suspensions need to be purified of excess surfactant and concentrated. Conventional methods for the purification and concentration of such ferrofluids often involve high shear stress and low purification rates for macromolecules, like albumin. In this work, removal of albumin by low shear stress tangential ultrafiltration and its influence on SEONLA-BSA particles was studied. Hydrodynamic size, surface properties and, consequently, colloidal stability of the nanoparticles remained unchanged by filtration or concentration up to four-fold (v/v). Thereby, the saturation magnetization of the suspension can be increased from 446.5 A/m up to 1667.9 A/m. In vitro analysis revealed that cellular uptake of SEONLA-BSA changed only marginally. The specific absorption rate (SAR) was not greatly affected by concentration. In contrast, the maximum temperature Tmax in magnetic hyperthermia is greatly enhanced from 44.4 °C up to 64.9 °C by the concentration of the particles up to 16.9 mg/mL total iron. Taken together, tangential ultrafiltration is feasible for purifying and concentrating complex hybrid coated SPION suspensions without negatively influencing specific particle characteristics. This enhances their potential for magnetic treatment.