Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cardiac T2* magnetic resonance for prediction of cardiac complications in thalassemia major

Background— The goal of this study was to determine the predictive value of cardiac T2* magnetic resonance for heart failure and arrhythmia in thalassemia major. Methods and Results— We analyzed cardiac and liver T2* magnetic resonance and serum ferritin in 652 thalassemia major patients from 21 UK centers with 1442 magnetic resonance scans. The relative risk for heart failure with cardiac T2* values <10 ms (compared with >10 ms) was 160 (95% confidence interval, 39 to 653). Heart failure occurred in 47% of patients within 1 year of a cardiac T2* <6 ms with a relative risk of 270 (95% confidence interval, 64 to 1129). The area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve for predicting heart failure was significantly greater for cardiac T2* (0.948) than for liver T2* (0.589; P<0.001) or serum ferritin (0.629; P<0.001). Cardiac T2* was <10 ms in 98% of scans in patients who developed heart failure. The relative risk for arrhythmia with cardiac T2* values <20 ms (compared with >20 ms) was 4.6 (95% confidence interval, 2.66 to 7.95). Arrhythmia occurred in 14% of patients within 1 year of a cardiac T2* of <6 ms. The area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve for predicting arrhythmia was significantly greater for cardiac T2* (0.747) than for liver T2* (0.514; P<0.001) or serum ferritin (0.518; P<0.001). The cardiac T2* was <20 ms in 83% of scans in patients who developed arrhythmia. Conclusions— Cardiac T2* magnetic resonance identifies patients at high risk of heart failure and arrhythmia from myocardial siderosis in thalassemia major and is superior to serum ferritin and liver iron. Using cardiac T2* for the early identification and treatment of patients at risk is a logical means of reducing the high burden of cardiac mortality in myocardial siderosis. Clinical Trial Registration— URL: http://www.clinicaltrials. gov. Unique identifier: NCT00520559.
Nicotine alters male reproductive hormones in male albino rats: The role of cessation

OBJECTIVES: The use of nicotine through smoking remains a serious health problem. It has been associated with reduced fertility, although the mechanism responsible is still unclear. The present study was designed to investigate whether nicotine-induced infertility is associated with altered male reproductive hormones in male albino rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty male rats were divided equally into five groups and treated orally for thirty days. Group I, which served as the control received 0.2 ml/kg normal saline, Group II and III received 0.5 mg/kg (low dose) and 1.0 mg/kg (high dose) body weight of nicotine, respectively. The fourth and fifth groups were gavaged with 0.5 mg/kg and 1.0 mg/kg body weight of nicotine but were left untreated for another 30 days. These groups served as the recovery groups. Serum was analyzed for testosterone, luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle stimulating hormones (FSH), and prolactin using radioimmunoassay. RESULTS: Results showed that nicotine administration significantly decreased (P < 0.05) testosterone in the low and high treated groups and FSH in the high dose treated group when compared with the control group. There was a significant increase (P < 0.05) in mean LH and prolactin level in the high dose treated group when compared with the control. However, the values of the recovery groups were comparable with the control. CONCLUSION: The findings in this study suggest that nicotine administration is associated with distorted reproductive hormones in male rats although ameliorated by nicotine cessation. It is plausible that the decreased testosterone level is associated with testicular dysfunction rather than a pituitary disorder.
Potential utility of Ret-Y in the diagnosis of iron-restricted erythropoiesis.

Diagnosis of iron deficiency (ID) or functional iron deficiency (FID) is particularly challenging in patients with acute or chronic inflammatory conditions because most biochemical markers for iron metabolism are affected by the acute-phase response (APR) (1). The hemoglobin content of reticulocytes (CHr) is an early and sensitive indicator of FID (2). Recently, we presented a novel approach to provide insights into the diagnosis of FID in APR by use of the CHr (3). ID and FID were defined as a CHr <28 pg based on the distribution of CHr and biochemical markers of iron status in healthy controls. When a CHr <28 pg was used for identification of ID and FID in anemic patients, the values of ferritin, soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR), and the sTfR-F index (sTfR/log ferritin) (4) performed significantly better in patients without APR [based on a C-reactive protein (CRP) cutoff of 5 mg/L]. In ID combined with inflammation, the cutoff value for the sTfR-F index was 0.8, and in simple ID, it was 1.5. A diagnostic plot was developed that combined CHr and sTfR-F index, which allowed identification of four major categories of ID: ( a ) iron repletion, normal erythropoiesis; ( b ) patients with reduced iron supply, but not yet in an iron-deficient erythropoietic state; ( c ) depletion of storage and functional iron with decreased hemoglobinization of erythrocytes, classic ID; and ( d ) FID in an iron-replete state, with decreased hemoglobinization of erythrocytes. The plot provided a useful approach to the diagnosis of iron-deficient states. To date, the measurement of reticulocyte hemoglobin has been restricted to the analyzers of a single manufacturer. Now a second manufacturer has produced what would appear to …
Watershed Cuts: Thinnings, Shortest Path Forests, and Topological Watersheds

We recently introduced watershed cuts, a notion of watershed in edge-weighted graphs. In this paper, our main contribution is a thinning paradigm from which we derive three algorithmic watershed cut strategies: The first one is well suited to parallel implementations, the second one leads to a flexible linear-time sequential implementation, whereas the third one links the watershed cuts and the popular flooding algorithms. We state that watershed cuts preserve a notion of contrast, called connection value, on which several morphological region merging methods are (implicitly) based. We also establish the links and differences between watershed cuts, minimum spanning forests, shortest path forests, and topological watersheds. Finally, we present illustrations of the proposed framework to the segmentation of artwork surfaces and diffusion tensor images.
Intestinal DMBT1 Expression Is Modulated by Crohn’s Disease-Associated IL23R Variants and by a DMBT1 Variant Which Influences Binding of the Transcription Factors CREB1 and ATF-2

Objectives DMBT is an antibacterial pattern recognition and scavenger receptor. In this study, we analyzed the role of DMBT1 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) regarding inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) susceptibility and examined their functional impact on transcription factor binding and downstream gene expression. Methods Seven SNPs in the DMBT1 gene region were analyzed in 2073 individuals including 818 Crohn’s disease (CD) patients and 972 healthy controls in two independent case-control panels. Comprehensive epistasis analyses for the known CD susceptibility genes NOD2, IL23R and IL27 were performed. The influence of IL23R variants on DMBT1 expression was analyzed. Functional analysis included siRNA transfection, quantitative PCR, western blot, electrophoretic mobility shift and luciferase assays. Results IL-22 induces DMBT1 protein expression in intestinal epithelial cells dependent on STAT3, ATF-2 and CREB1. IL-22 expression-modulating, CD risk-associated IL23R variants influence DMBT1 expression in CD patients and DMBT1 levels are increased in the inflamed intestinal mucosa of CD patients. Several DMBT1 SNPs were associated with CD susceptibility. SNP rs2981804 was most strongly associated with CD in the combined panel (p = 3.0×10−7, OR 1.42; 95% CI 1.24–1.63). All haplotype groups tested showed highly significant associations with CD (including omnibus P-values as low as 6.1×10−18). The most strongly CD risk-associated, non-coding DMBT1 SNP rs2981804 modifies the DNA binding sites for the transcription factors CREB1 and ATF-2 and the respective genomic region comprising rs2981804 is able to act as a transcriptional regulator in vitro. Intestinal DMBT1 expression is decreased in CD patients carrying the rs2981804 CD risk allele. Conclusion We identified novel associations of DMBT1 variants with CD susceptibility and discovered a novel functional role of rs2981804 in regulating DMBT1 expression. Our data suggest an important role of DMBT1 in CD pathogenesis.
Dynamic identification of the Kuka LightWeight robot: Comparison between actual and confidential Kuka's parameters

This paper deals with the dynamic identification of the Kuka LightWeight Robot LWR4+. Although this robot is widely used for research purposes by many laboratories, there is not yet a published dynamic model available for model based control or simulation. Because Kuka does not give any information about the dynamic parameters of the robot we propose to identify 2 sets of parameters using the usual off-line identification method which is based on the Inverse Dynamic Identification Model and linear Least Squares technique (IDIM-LS). The first set is obtained by the actual dynamic parameters of links and joints (inertia, gravity and friction parameters) which are identified from motor torques and motor positions data. The second set is obtained by the Kuka's inertial parameters of links, implemented in the controller for model-based control. This is a reverse engineering procedure which recovers the confidential manufacturer's data. The link parameters are estimated using the IDIM-LS method with the sampled data of the inertia matrix and the gravity torques computed by the controller. To complete the reverse engineering procedure we also identify the joint stiffness parameters used by Kuka to estimate the joint link side position using the joint torque sensors and motor positions data. A Comparison between the actual dynamic parameters and the Kuka's parameters allow concluding to a reliable data sheet. This is a strong and very useful result for future work of the scientific community on this very popular robot.
HIV-1 Infection Impairs HSV-Specific CD4+ and CD8+ T-Cell Response by Reducing Th1 Cytokines and CCR5 Ligand Secretion

Background:The concept of HIV-1/HSV-negative immunosynergy has recently come to light, which leads us to explore the impact of HIV-1 infection on HSV-specific T-cell immunity. Methods:A combination of interferon (IFN)-γ ELISpot and Luminex-based multicytokine profiling assays was used to compare, in a cross-sectional study, the HSV-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell responses between 20 HIV-1/HSV-coinfected and 12 HIV-1-uninfected/HSV-infected individuals after in vitro restimulation with HSV glycoprotein D (gD) peptide epitopes. Results:In response to CD4+ and CD8+ gD peptide epitopes, mean value (±standard errors of the mean) of the different IFN-γ-secreting T cells (ISC) means was significantly reduced in HIV-1/HSV-coinfected individuals (70 ISC ± 10 and 60 ISC ± 8/106 cells) compared with HIV-1-uninfected/HSV-infected individuals (280 ISC ± 25 and 234 ISC ± 23/106 cells, both P < 0.001). After stimulation with the immunodominant CD4+ gD228-258 and CD8+ gD53-61 peptide epitopes, the Th1 cytokine and CCR5 ligand secretions were decreased in the HIV-1-infected group although Th17 cytokines increased. The mean concentration of interleukin (IL)-2, IFN-γ, the IFN-γ-induced protein 10 kDa, and the monokine induced by IFN-γ was correlated to the mean concentration of macrophage inflammatory proteins (MIP-1α, MIP-1β), RANTES and Eotaxin (ρ = 0.56, P = 0.02 and ρ = 0.52, P = 0.03). Conclusions:HIV-1 infection impairs both the number and function of HSV-specific T cells. The downregulation of Th1 cytokines and CCR5 ligands in HIV-1/HSV-coinfected individuals may further facilitate both HSV reactivations and HIV-1 replication.
Identifying the original contribution of a document via language modeling

One goal of text mining is to provide readers with automatic methods for quickly finding the key ideas in individual documents and whole corpora. To this effect, we propose a statistically well-founded method for identifying the original ideas that a document contributes to a corpus, focusing on self-referential diachronic corpora such as research publications, blogs, email, and news articles. Our statistical model of passage impact defines (interesting) original content through a combination of impact and novelty, and it can be used to identify the most original passages in a document. Unlike heuristic approaches, this statistical model is extensible and open to analysis. We evaluate the approach on both synthetic and real data, showing that the passage impact model outperforms a heuristic baseline method.
Using Altimetry Waveform Data and Ancillary Information From SRTM, Landsat, and MODIS to Retrieve River Characteristics

In this paper, spaceborne radar altimeters are shown to have the potential for monitoring the height of large rivers with accuracies of approximately 1 m. However, the need for a better height accuracy and the observations of smaller continental basins have led to studies on how to improve and extend the use of nadir-altimeter data. Conventional retracking techniques over land are limited to the examination of altimeter waveforms on a case-by-case basis. Due to the arbitrary geometry which may be present at altimeter river crossings, this approach may be limited to large rivers, which approximate ocean crossings. To overcome this limitation, we introduce a waveform-fitting method which uses the entire set of waveforms associated with a water crossing, rather than individual waveforms. By using ancillary data, such as digital elevation model (obtained from Shuttle Radar Topography Mission and Gtopo30) and classification maps (obtained from Landsat and MODIS), it is possible to recast the retracking problems as a maximum-likelihood-estimation problem. Theoretical power returns based on the a priori knowledge of the observed scenes are generated, resulting in a parametric library of waveform histories, which is then used to constrain the estimation. For demonstration, we concentrate on the river Meuse in northern western Europe and on the river Lena in Russia. The Meuse has important social impact, since it has flooded in the past and better real-time predictions of its changing stage may improve flood-forecasting skill. Furthermore, it presents a challenge to conventional nadir-altimeter waveform retracking. We will present both theoretical performance results and demonstrate the feasibility based on real altimeter data.
Amygdalar volume and behavioral development in autism.

CONTEXT The amygdala is associated with socioemotional function and has been implicated in the pathophysiology of autism. OBJECTIVE To examine the relationship between amygdalar volume at ages 3 and 4 years and severity of clinical course and outcome at 6 years of age in children with autism spectrum disorder. DESIGN Magnetic resonance images acquired at 3 and 4 years of age were used to measure total cerebral, amygdalar, and hippocampal volumes. Acquisition of social and communication skills was assessed semiannually using the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales. Hierarchical linear models were used to predict variability in individual linear growth trajectories as a function of IQ, total cerebral, and amygdalar or hippocampal volumes. SETTING Longitudinal study of children with autism spectrum disorder. PARTICIPANTS Forty-five children with autism spectrum disorders between 3 and 6 years of age. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE Linear growth trajectory of age equivalence Vineland communication and social scores. RESULTS Larger right amygdalar volume was associated with more severe social and communication impairments at ages 3 and 4 years. Larger right amygdalar volume also was predictive of poorer social and communication abilities at age 6 years, even after controlling for IQ and total cerebral volume. Parallel analyses with hippocampal volumes found no relationship to social or communication development. CONCLUSIONS Larger right amygdalar volume at 3 and 4 years of age, but not left amygdalar, hippocampal, or total cerebral volume, is associated with a more severe clinical course and worse outcome at age 6 years in children with autism spectrum disorder. These results provide additional evidence that amygdalar development is implicated in the behavioral impairments found in autism.
Antidiuretic Hormones

There are at least 3 antidiuretic hormones. Arginine vasopressin is the antidiuretic hormone of most mammals, including man. This function is served by lysine vasopressin in the pig, and by arginine vasotocin in birds, reptiles and amphibians. All 3 hormones are closely related chemically and act on the kidney in a similar manner. Arginine vasotocin also exists in fish, in which the antidiuretic response is not known to occur. This antidiuretic hormone appeared, therefore, in vertebrate phylogeny before it acquired antidiuretic function. Anatomic considerations suggest that the fish neurohypophysis serves to regulate adenohypophysial secretion. There is evidence that such a primitive type of neurohypophysial function has persisted throughout subsequent vertebrate evolution.
Using computational auditory models to predict simultaneous masking data: model comparison

In order to develop improved remediation techniques for hearing impairment, auditory researchers must gain a greater understanding of the relation between the psychophysics of hearing and the underlying physiology. One approach to studying the auditory system has been to design computational auditory models that predict neurophysiological data such as neural firing rates. To link these physiologically-based models to psychophysics, theoretical bounds on detection performance have been derived using signal detection theory to analyze the simulated data for various psychophysical tasks. Previous efforts, including the authors' own recent work using the Auditory Image Model, have demonstrated the validity of this type of analysis; however, theoretical predictions often continue to exceed experimentally-measured performance. Here, the authors compare predictions of detection performance across several computational auditory models. They also reconcile some of the previously observed discrepancies by incorporating appropriate signal uncertainty into the optimal detector.
Teledermatology reduces the number of patient referrals to a dermatologist

During a two-year study, 505 teledermatology consultations were carried out on 503 patients of 29 participating general practitioners (GPs) in the province of Friesland. One overview and two detail digital photographs of the skin problems were taken on a digital camera and attached to an email message containing standard clinical information. These email messages were sent to a dermatologist, who replied by email after evaluation. After a median follow-up time of 548 days, the GPs were interviewed about the dermatological referrals. The reduction in referrals was 51% (0.95 confidence interval = 47–58%) when the GP had the intention to refer. When the GPs had no intention to refer, there turned out to be a secondary traditional consultation in 17% of cases. The reduction of 51% of referrals after store-and-forward teledermatology consultation was similar to that seen in other studies of videoconferencing. Consultation using digital store-and-forward teledermatology by the GP can halve the number of referrals to a dermatologist for selected patients.
Association between widowhood and risk of diagnosis with a sexually transmitted infection in older adults.

OBJECTIVES We assessed whether widowhood is associated with risk of diagnosis with a sexually transmitted infection (STI) among older adults in the United States and whether the associations observed in men differed before and after the introduction of sildenafil, the first oral erectile dysfunction medication approved by the Food and Drug Administration. METHODS We used Cox proportional hazards regression to analyze the time to first STI diagnosis in a random sample of married, Medicare-eligible couples aged 67 to 99 years in 1993 (N = 420 790 couples). RESULTS Twenty-one percent of male and 43% of female participants lost a spouse during the 9-year study period. Only 0.65% of men and 0.97% of women were diagnosed with an STI. Widowhood was associated with an increased risk of STI diagnosis for men only, with the largest effects found 0.5 to 1 year after a wife's death. Effects for men were larger after the introduction of sildenafil. CONCLUSIONS Widowhood in older men, but not women, increased the risk for STIs, especially in the postsildenafil era. Clinicians should address sexual health issues with older patients, especially bereaved men taking erectile dysfunction medications.
Healthcare provider-led interventions to support medication adherence following ACS: a meta-analysis

We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to determine the effectiveness of healthcare provider-led (HCPs) interventions to support medication adherence in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). A systematic search of Cochrane Library, Medline, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Web of Science, IPA, CINAHL, ASSIA, OpenGrey, EthOS, WorldCat and PQDT was undertaken. Interventions were deemed eligible if they included adult ACS patients, were HCP-led, measured medication adherence and randomised participants to parallel groups. Intervention content was coded using the Behaviour Change Technique (BCT) Taxonomy and data were pooled for analysis using random-effects models. Our search identified 8870 records, of which 27 were eligible (23 primary studies). A meta-analysis (n=9735) revealed HCP-led interventions increased the odds of medication adherence by 54% compared to control interventions (k=23, OR 1.54, 95% CI 1.26 to 1.88, I2=57.5%). After removing outliers, there was a 41% increase in the odds of medication adherence with moderate heterogeneity (k=21, OR 1.41, 95% CI 1.21 to 1.65, I2=35.3%). Interventions that included phone contact yielded (k=12, OR 1.63, 95% CI 1.25 to 2.12, I2=32.0%) a larger effect compared to those delivered exclusively in person. A total of 32/93 BCTs were identified across interventions (mean=4.7, SD=2.2) with ‘information about health consequences’ (BCT 5.1) (19/23) the most common. HCP-led interventions for ACS patients appear to have a small positive impact on medication adherence. While we were able to identify BCTs among interventions, data were insufficient to determine the impact of particular BCTs on study effectiveness. PROSPERO registration number CRD42016037706.
Research on structure emergence based on cellular automata

In order to reveal the complexity regularity of structure emergence, this paper adopts cellular automata to describe its local interactions, and a continuous structure emergence model based on cellular automata is proposed. At first, the model uses the unit with regular shape to make mesh generation of continuous structure, and adopts the finite element method to calculate the local strain energy density. Then it directly maps the mesh to the evolutionary environment of the cellular automata, and uses PID control theory and fully stressed design criterion to reconstruct local evolutionary rule of the cellular based on the strain energy. At last, it obtains the variation coefficients of the unit density through cellular evolution, thus getting a new design domain. The control parameters of the interaction rule and neighbourhood structure are also analysed. Furthermore, an optimal topology emergence example of the square plate dissipating heat is given. Finally, the characteristics of the proposed structure emergence model based on cellular automata are summarises.