Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Lambl’s Excrescence Associated with Cryptogenic Stroke: A Case Report and Literature Review

Patient: Female, 51 Final Diagnosis: Transient ischemic attack Symptoms: Unilateral left-sided weakness and slurred speech Medication: Lisinopril 20 mg daily Clinical Procedure: Transesophageal echocardiogram Specialty: Cardiology • Neurology Objective: Rare disease Background: In 1856, a Bohemian physician, Vilém Dušan Lambl, first described the presence of filiform lesions in aortic valve leaflets. Lambl’s excrescences are tiny filiform strands that arise on the line of valve closure, and result from valvular wear and tear. It is a rare cause of cardioembolic stroke that can be detected by transesophageal echocardiogram. Case Report: We encountered a 51-year-old, African-American woman with a history of recurrent strokes that we suspect may be the result of Lambl’s excrescence. The patient was treated with dual antiplatelet therapy and was recommended to have surveillance transesophageal echocardiograms at 6 months and 1 year from the time of discharge. Conclusions: As there are no definitive guidelines for the management of patients with Lambl’s excrescences, we present a review of the current medical literature and a specific case report in an attempt to provide a better strategy for managing this condition. In our case report, we focus on the management and treatment for Lambl’s excrescence because no clear evidence has been published in the literature. Our review indicates that Lambl’s excrescence, despite its relative scarcity, should be considered in the differential diagnosis of a patient with cryptogenic stroke.
Face Detection Using Improved Faster RCNN

Faster RCNN has achieved great success for generic object detection including PASCAL object detection and MS COCO object detection. In this report, we propose a detailed designed Faster RCNN method named FDNet1.0 for face detection. Several techniques were employed including multi-scale training, multi-scale testing, light-designed RCNN, some tricks for inference and a vote-based ensemble method. Our method achieves two 1th places and one 2nd place in three tasks over WIDER FACE validation dataset (easy set, medium set, hard set).
Impact of induction treatment before autologous stem cell transplantation on long‐term outcome in patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma

Clinical trials for patients with multiple myeloma (MM) using novel agent (NA)‐based regimens before autologous stem cell transplantation (SCT) have shown improvement in response rates and progression‐free survival (PFS); however they have failed to identify a significant overall survival (OS) benefit. The aim of this study was to analyze the potential impact of initial induction on the feasibility and outcome of subsequent treatment lines in a real clinical practice setting.
Comparative performance of the BGISEQ-500 vs Illumina HiSeq2500 sequencing platforms for palaeogenomic sequencing

Abstract Ancient DNA research has been revolutionized following development of next-generation sequencing platforms. Although a number of such platforms have been applied to ancient DNA samples, the Illumina series are the dominant choice today, mainly because of high production capacities and short read production. Recently a potentially attractive alternative platform for palaeogenomic data generation has been developed, the BGISEQ-500, whose sequence output are comparable with the Illumina series. In this study, we modified the standard BGISEQ-500 library preparation specifically for use on degraded DNA, then directly compared the sequencing performance and data quality of the BGISEQ-500 to the Illumina HiSeq2500 platform on DNA extracted from 8 historic and ancient dog and wolf samples. The data generated were largely comparable between sequencing platforms, with no statistically significant difference observed for parameters including level (P = 0.371) and average sequence length (P = 0718) of endogenous nuclear DNA, sequence GC content (P = 0.311), double-stranded DNA damage rate (v. 0.309), and sequence clonality (P = 0.093). Small significant differences were found in single-strand DNA damage rate (δS; slightly lower for the BGISEQ-500, P = 0.011) and the background rate of difference from the reference genome (θ; slightly higher for BGISEQ-500, P = 0.012). This may result from the differences in amplification cycles used to polymerase chain reaction–amplify the libraries. A significant difference was also observed in the mitochondrial DNA percentages recovered (P = 0.018), although we believe this is likely a stochastic effect relating to the extremely low levels of mitochondria that were sequenced from 3 of the samples with overall very low levels of endogenous DNA. Although we acknowledge that our analyses were limited to animal material, our observations suggest that the BGISEQ-500 holds the potential to represent a valid and potentially valuable alternative platform for palaeogenomic data generation that is worthy of future exploration by those interested in the sequencing and analysis of degraded DNA.
A Context-Aware Indoor Air Quality System for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Prevention

Context-aware monitoring systems designed for e-Health solutions and ambient assisted living (AAL) play an important role in today’s personalized health-care services. The majority of these systems are intended for the monitoring of patients’ vital signs by means of bio-sensors. At present, there are very few systems that monitor environmental conditions and air quality in the homes of users. A home’s environmental conditions can have a significant influence on the state of the health of its residents. Monitoring the environment is the key to preventing possible diseases caused by conditions that do not favor health. This paper presents a context-aware system that monitors air quality to prevent a specific health problem at home. The aim of this system is to reduce the incidence of the Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, which is triggered mainly by environmental factors. In the conducted case study, the system monitored the state of the neonate and the quality of air while it was asleep. The designed proposal is characterized by its low cost and non-intrusive nature. The results are promising.
Effects of the “Living well with COPD” intervention in primary care: a comparative study

The pivotal objective of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) self-management programmes is behaviour change to avoid moderate and severe exacerbations and improve health related quality of life. In a prospectively planned, controlled study, COPD patients who participated in the “Living well with COPD” (LWWCOPD) self-management intervention were compared with usual care patients from the primary care COPD Cohort ICE COLD ERIC, who did not receive self-management intervention (NCT00706602) The primary outcome was behaviour change and disease-specific health related quality of life after 1 year. Secondary end-points included exacerbation rates. We calculated mixed linear, zero-inflated negative binomial and logistic regression models and used propensity scores to counteract confounding. 467 patients, 71 from the LWWCOPD and 396 from the usual care cohort, were included. The differences between intervention and control were 0.54 (95% CI 0.13−0.94) on the Chronic Respiratory Questionnaire domain “mastery”, 0.55 (95% CI 0.11−0.99) on “fatigue”, 0.54 (0.14−0.93) on “emotional function” and 0.64 (95% CI 0.14−1.14) on “dyspnoea”. The intervention considerably reduced the risk of moderate and severe exacerbations (incidence rate ratio 0.36, 95% CI 0.25−0.52). Self-management coaching in primary care improves health-related quality of life and lowers exacerbation rates and health care use. COPD self-management coaching improves health-status and lowers exacerbation rates among patients in primary care http://ow.ly/jZPw30gMbwB
Propofol and Sevoflurane Differentially Modulate Cortical Depolarization following Electric Stimulation of the Ventrobasal Thalamus

The neuronal mechanisms how anesthetics lead to loss of consciousness are unclear. Thalamocortical interactions are crucially involved in conscious perception; hence the thalamocortical network might be a promising target for anesthetic modulation of neuronal information pertaining to arousal and waking behavior. General anesthetics affect the neurophysiology of the thalamus and the cortex but the exact mechanisms of how anesthetics interfere with processing thalamocortical information remain to be elucidated. Here we investigated the effect of the anesthetic agents sevoflurane and propofol on thalamocortical network activity in vitro. We used voltage-sensitive dye imaging techniques to analyze the cortical depolarization in response to stimulation of the thalamic ventrobasal nucleus in brain slices from mice. Exposure to sevoflurane globally decreased cortical depolarization in a dose-dependent manner. Sevoflurane reduced the intensity and extent of cortical depolarization and delayed thalamocortical signal propagation. In contrast, propofol neither affected area nor amplitude of cortical depolarization. However, propofol exposure resulted in regional changes in spatial distribution of maximum fluorescence intensity in deep regions of the cortex. In summary, our experiments revealed substance-specific effects on the thalamocortical network. Functional changes of the neuronal network are known to be pivotally involved in the anesthetic-induced loss of consciousness. Our findings provide further evidence that the mechanisms of anesthetic-mediated loss of consciousness are drug- and pathway-specific.
Joint Data Analysis in Nutritional Epidemiology: Identification of Observational Studies and Minimal Requirements.

Background Joint data analysis from multiple nutrition studies may improve the ability to answer complex questions regarding the role of nutritional status and diet in health and disease. Objective The objective was to identify nutritional observational studies from partners participating in the European Nutritional Phenotype Assessment and Data Sharing Initiative (ENPADASI) Consortium, as well as minimal requirements for joint data analysis. Methods A predefined template containing information on study design, exposure measurements (dietary intake, alcohol and tobacco consumption, physical activity, sedentary behavior, anthropometric measures, and sociodemographic and health status), main health-related outcomes, and laboratory measurements (traditional and omics biomarkers) was developed and circulated to those European research groups participating in the ENPADASI under the strategic research area of "diet-related chronic diseases. " Information about raw data disposition and metadata sharing was requested. A set of minimal requirements was abstracted from the gathered information. Results Studies (12 cohort, 12 cross-sectional, and 2 case-control) were identified. Two studies recruited children only and the rest recruited adults. All studies included dietary intake data. Twenty studies collected blood samples. Data on traditional biomarkers were available for 20 studies, of which 17 measured lipoproteins, glucose, and insulin and 13 measured inflammatory biomarkers. Metabolomics, proteomics, and genomics or transcriptomics data were available in 5, 3, and 12 studies, respectively. Although the study authors were willing to share metadata, most refused, were hesitant, or had legal or ethical issues related to sharing raw data. Forty-one descriptors of minimal requirements for the study data were identified to facilitate data integration. Conclusions Combining study data sets will enable sufficiently powered, refined investigations to increase the knowledge and understanding of the relation between food, nutrition, and human health. Furthermore, the minimal requirements for study data may encourage more efficient secondary usage of existing data and provide sufficient information for researchers to draft future multicenter research proposals in nutrition.
Molecular Profiling of Phagocytic Immune Cells in Anopheles gambiae Reveals Integral Roles for Hemocytes in Mosquito Innate Immunity*

The innate immune response is highly conserved across all eukaryotes and has been studied in great detail in several model organisms. Hemocytes, the primary immune cell population in mosquitoes, are important components of the mosquito innate immune response, yet critical aspects of their biology have remained uncharacterized. Using a novel method of enrichment, we isolated phagocytic granulocytes and quantified their proteomes by mass spectrometry. The data demonstrate that phagocytosis, blood-feeding, and Plasmodium falciparum infection promote dramatic shifts in the proteomic profiles of An. gambiae granulocyte populations. Of interest, large numbers of immune proteins were induced in response to blood feeding alone, suggesting that granulocytes have an integral role in priming the mosquito immune system for pathogen challenge. In addition, we identify several granulocyte proteins with putative roles as membrane receptors, cell signaling, or immune components that when silenced, have either positive or negative effects on malaria parasite survival. Integrating existing hemocyte transcriptional profiles, we also compare differences in hemocyte transcript and protein expression to provide new insight into hemocyte gene regulation and discuss the potential that post-transcriptional regulation may be an important component of hemocyte gene expression. These data represent a significant advancement in mosquito hemocyte biology, providing the first comprehensive proteomic profiling of mosquito phagocytic granulocytes during homeostasis blood-feeding, and pathogen challenge. Together, these findings extend current knowledge to further illustrate the importance of hemocytes in shaping mosquito innate immunity and their principal role in defining malaria parasite survival in the mosquito host.
Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Symptoms in Menopausal Arab Women: Shedding More Light on a Complex Relationship

Background: The association between depression, anxiety, and stress among Arab menopause and postmenopausal women have been explored in detailed. Aim: The objective of this study was to determine the correlation between depression, anxiety, and stress in menopausal and postmenopausal women and shedding more light on a complex relationship. Subjects and Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was used to generate menopause symptoms experienced by Arabian women at the primary health care centers in Qatar. A representative sample of 1468 women aged 45–65 years were approached during July 2012 and May 2014 and 1101 women agreed to participate (75.0%) and responded to the study. Depression, anxiety, and stress were measured using the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales 21. Data on body mass index (BMI), clinical and other parameters were used. Univariate, multivariate, and matrix correlation analysis were performed for statistical analysis. Results: A total of 1101 women agreed to participate after informed consent was obtained. The mean age and standard deviation (SD) of the menopausal age were 49.55 (3.12), the mean and SD of postmenopausal age was 58.08 (3.26) (P < 0.001). There were statistically significant differences between menopausal stages with regards to age, ethnicity, educational status, occupation status, and place of living. Furthermore, there were statistically significant differences between menopausal stages with regards to BMI, systolic and diastolic blood pressure (BP), Vitamin D deficiency, and diseases. Depression and anxiety were more common among postmenopause women. Furthermore, there were no differences between the groups regarding the frequency of certain levels of stress among menopause and postmenopause. The multivariate regression analyses revealed that age in years, diastolic BP, consanguinity, regular exercise were a predictor for depression. Meanwhile, diastolic BP, occupation, and physical activity considered the main risk factors for anxiety. Furthermore, age in years, occupation, and sheesha smoking habits were considered as the main risk factors associated with stress. Conclusion: A large number of factors were associated with experiencing menopausal and psycho-social problems and which had negative effects on the quality of life among Arabian women. Depression, anxiety, and stress should be considered as important risk factors for osteoporosis.
The Incidence of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder After Floods: A Meta-Analysis

Abstract This study analyzes the incidence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among flood victims, between different flood intensities, and between different time points after a flood. A search of several electronic literature databases was conducted to collect data on the incidence of PTSD after a flood. Loney criteria for research quality were used to evaluate the quality of selected search results. The combined incidence of PTSD was estimated using the Freeman-Tukey double arcsine transformation method. Subgroup analyses were conducted on different trauma intensities and different time points after a flood. Sensitivity analysis was performed to evaluate the impact of research quality. Fourteen articles were included in this meta-analysis, including a total of 40 600 flood victims; 3862 victims were diagnosed with PTSD. The combined incidence of PTSD was 15.74%. The subgroup analyses showed that the incidence of PTSD in victims who experienced severe and moderate flood intensity was higher than that in victims who experienced mild flood intensity. The incidence of PTSD was lower at 6 or more months after a flood (11.45%) than within 6 months (16.01%) of a flood. In conclusion, the incidence of PTSD among floods of different trauma intensities was statistically significant. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2015;9:329-333)
Long-term changes in quality of life after surgery for pediatric obstructive sleep apnea.

OBJECTIVE To study long-term changes in quality of life in children after adenotonsillectomy for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) documented by polysomnography. DESIGN AND SETTING Prospective study of children with OSA at the University of New Mexico Children's Hospital, Albuquerque. METHODS Children who met inclusion criteria underwent adenotonsillectomy. Caregivers were asked to complete the OSA-18 quality of life survey prior to surgery (survey 1), within 7 months after surgery (short-term) (survey 2), and between 9 and 24 months after surgery (long-term) (survey 3). Scores from the preoperative and postoperative surveys were compared using the paired t test. RESULTS The study population included 34 children, 27 (79%) of whom were male. The mean age of the children at the time of inclusion in the study was 6.7 years (range, 3.0-16.8 years). The mean total score for survey 1 (76.7) was significantly higher (P<.001) than the mean total score for survey 2 (32.0) or for survey 3 (40.9). However, the domains of sleep disturbance and physical suffering were significantly lower (P<or=.005) in survey 2 than in survey 3. The differences in the domains of emotional distress, daytime problems, and caregiver concerns between survey 2 and survey 3 were not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS Caregivers perceive a long-term improvement in quality of life after adenotonsillectomy for OSA although these improvements are more pronounced in the short-term than in the long-term and are not uniform across all domains of the OSA-18 survey.
Computer-Assisted HIV Prevention for Youth With Substance Use Disorders

We developed an interactive, customizable, Web-based program focused on the prevention of HIV, sexually transmitted infections, and hepatitis among youth. Results from a randomized, controlled trial with youth in treatment for substance use demonstrated that this Web-based tool, when provided as an adjunct to an educator-delivered prevention intervention, increased accurate prevention knowledge, increased intentions to carefully choose partners, and was perceived as significantly more useful relative to the educator-delivered intervention when provided alone. Results suggest this Web-based program may be effective and engaging and may increase the adoption of effective HIV and disease prevention science for youth. Limitations are discussed.
In‐utero coxsackievirus B4 infection of the mouse thymus

Type B coxsackievirus (CV‐B) infections are involved frequently in the triggering of several autoimmune diseases such as myocarditis, dilated cardiomyopathy, pericarditis, pancreatitis, type 1 diabetes, encephalitis, thyroiditis or Sjögren's syndrome. Serological and virological evidence suggests that maternal infections during pregnancy can play a role in the appearance of these diseases in offspring. The current study aims to explore the effect of an in‐utero CV‐B infection on the fetal thymus, the central site for programming immunological self‐tolerance. In this perspective, female Swiss albino mice were inoculated intraperitoneally or orally with the diabetogenic CV‐B4 E2 strain at gestational days 10 or 17. Offspring were killed at different post‐inoculation times, and their thymuses were analysed for evidence of infection and alterations in thymic T cell subsets. In‐utero CV‐B infection of the thymus was demonstrated during the course of vertical transmission, as attested by viral RNA and infectious virus detection in most analysed samples. No histopathological changes were evident. Thymic T cells were not depleted, despite being positive for viral RNA. As evidenced by flow cytometry analysis, CV‐B infection of the fetal thymus induced significant changes of thymic T cell populations, particularly with maternal inoculation at gestational day 10. Altogether, these findings suggest that CV‐B infection of the fetal thymus may play an important role in the genesis of autoimmune diseases.
Template-Based Modeling of Protein-RNA Interactions

Protein-RNA complexes formed by specific recognition between RNA and RNA-binding proteins play an important role in biological processes. More than a thousand of such proteins in human are curated and many novel RNA-binding proteins are to be discovered. Due to limitations of experimental approaches, computational techniques are needed for characterization of protein-RNA interactions. Although much progress has been made, adequate methodologies reliably providing atomic resolution structural details are still lacking. Although protein-RNA free docking approaches proved to be useful, in general, the template-based approaches provide higher quality of predictions. Templates are key to building a high quality model. Sequence/structure relationships were studied based on a representative set of binary protein-RNA complexes from PDB. Several approaches were tested for pairwise target/template alignment. The analysis revealed a transition point between random and correct binding modes. The results showed that structural alignment is better than sequence alignment in identifying good templates, suitable for generating protein-RNA complexes close to the native structure, and outperforms free docking, successfully predicting complexes where the free docking fails, including cases of significant conformational change upon binding. A template-based protein-RNA interaction modeling protocol PRIME was developed and benchmarked on a representative set of complexes.