Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Treatable Potential Cardiac Sources of Embolism in Patients with Cerebral Ischemic Events: A Selective Transesophageal Echocardiographic Study

Objectives: To characterize cardiac sources of emboli detected by transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) in patients without recognizable cause of transient ischemic attack (TIA) and/or ischemic stroke and TIA. Methods: We examined a prospective registry that included all patients with TIA and/or stroke evaluated by TEE between July 2000 and August 2001 at our medical center. Ischemic events were classified according to clinical and neuroimaging findings as cortical, lacunar, or vertebrobasilar circulation. Demographic, clinical, neuroimaging, and echocardiographic characteristics were studied. Results: TEE was performed in 237 patients without recognized cause of TIA and/or stroke, of which 105 (44%) events were cortical, 35 (15%) were lacunar, 32 (14%) were vertebrobasilar, and 65 (27%) were in multiple distributions. Mean age of patients was 59 ± 14 years (range, 21 to 93 years); 119 (51%) were men. Potential treatable cardioembolic sources were detected in 146 (61%) patients: patent foramen ovale with right-to-left shunt (n = 59), left atrial clot (n = 6), left atrial appendage clot (n = 8), and severe thoracic aortic atherosclerotic plaque disease (plaque thickness >4 mm) (n = 79 patients [33%], 56 had an ulcerated plaque and 4 had mobile plaque). Patient age and topography of the ischemic event did not correlate with TEE-defined cardioembolic sources. Conclusions: TEE identified high frequencies of potential treatable cardioembolic sources in patients with ischemic events. TEE should be considered in all patients who do not have identified cause of TIA and/or stroke for early treatment and prevention of recurrent events.
Assessing Diabetes-Relevant Data Provided by Undergraduate and Crowdsourced Web-Based Survey Participants for Honesty and Accuracy

Background To eliminate health disparities, research will depend on our ability to reach select groups of people (eg, samples of a particular racial or ethnic group with a particular disease); unfortunately, researchers often experience difficulty obtaining high-quality data from samples of sufficient size. Objective Past studies utilizing MTurk applaud its diversity, so our initial objective was to capitalize on MTurk’s diversity to investigate psychosocial factors related to diabetes self-care. Methods In Study 1, a “Health Survey” was posted on MTurk to examine diabetes-relevant psychosocial factors. The survey was restricted to individuals who were 18 years of age or older with diabetes. Detection of irregularities in the data, however, prompted an evaluation of the quality of MTurk health-relevant data. This ultimately led to Study 2, which utilized an alert statement to improve conscientious behavior, or the likelihood that participants would be thorough and diligent in their responses. Trap questions were also embedded to assess conscientious behavior. Results In Study 1, of 4165 responses, 1246 were generated from 533 unique IP addresses completing the survey multiple times within close temporal proximity. Ultimately, only 252 responses were found to be acceptable. Further analyses indicated additional quality concerns with this subsample. In Study 2, as compared with the MTurk sample (N=316), the undergraduate sample (N=300) included more females, and fewer individuals who were married. The samples did not differ with respect to race. Although the presence of an alert resulted in fewer trap failures (mean=0.07) than when no alert was present (mean=0.11), this difference failed to reach significance: F1,604=2.5, P=. 11, ƞ²=. 004, power=. 35. The modal trap failure response was zero, while the mean was 0.092 (SD=0.32). There were a total of 60 trap failures in a context where the potential could have exceeded 16,000. Conclusions Published studies that utilize MTurk participants are rapidly appearing in the health domain. While MTurk may have the potential to be more diverse than an undergraduate sample, our efforts did not meet the criteria for what would constitute a diverse sample in and of itself. Because some researchers have experienced successful data collection on MTurk, while others report disastrous results, Kees et al recently identified that one essential area of research is of the types and magnitude of cheating behavior occurring on Web-based platforms. The present studies can contribute to this dialogue, and alternately provide evidence of disaster and success. Moving forward, it is recommended that researchers employ best practices in survey design and deliberately embed trap questions to assess participant behavior. We would strongly suggest that standards be in place for publishing the results of Web-based surveys—standards that protect against publication unless there are suitable quality assurance tests built into the survey design, distribution, and analysis.
A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Study of SRT2104, a SIRT1 Activator, in Patients with Moderate to Severe Psoriasis

Activation of Sirtuin (silent mating type information regulation 2 homolog) 1, or SIRT1, is an unexplored therapeutic approach for treatment of inflammatory diseases. We randomized 40 patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis (4:1) to three escalating doses of SRT2104, a selective activator of SIRT1, or placebo. Across all SRT2104 groups, 35% of patients (p<0.0001) achieved good to excellent histological improvement based on skin biopsies taken at baseline and day 84 but was not consistently in agreement with PASI. Improvement in histology was associated with modulation of IL-17 and TNF-α signaling pathways and keratinocyte differentiation target genes. 27 subjects (69%) across all treatment groups, including placebo, experienced at least one treatment emergent adverse event. The majority of AEs were either mild or moderate. Most common were headache (8%), dizziness (8%), upper respiratory tract infection (8%), and psoriatic arthropathy (8%). Average drug exposure increased in a dose-dependent manner for escalating doses of SRT2104 and had high intra-subject variability in exposure (AUC %CV: 51–89%). Given the interesting signals of clinical activity, impact on gene expression and the generally favorable safety profile seen in this study, further investigation of SIRT1 activators for the treatment of psoriasis is warranted. Trial Registration Clinicaltrials.gov NCT01154101
Radiotoxicity after strontium-89 therapy for bone metastases using the micronucleus assay.

UNLABELLED The purpose of this study was to evaluate the degree of cytologic radiation damage to lymphocytes after 89Sr therapy using the cytokinesis-blocked micronucleus assay. The chromosomal damage to lymphocytes exposed to 89Sr in vivo should result in augmentation of the number of cells with micronucleus. METHODS We studied eight patients with painful bone metastases, who were treated with 111 MBq89Sr. Isolated lymphocytes collected from the patients 1 wk after therapy were harvested and treated according to the cytokinesis-blocked method of Fenech and Morley. The number of micronuclei per 500 binucleated cells was scored by visual inspection. As controls, lymphocytes from the same patients before therapy were also studied. For three patients, serial blood samples were examined for a maximum of 2 mo after therapy. In an in vitro study, lymphocytes from five normal volunteers were exposed to doses varying from 0.25 to 1.0 Gy and studied with the same method. RESULTS The mean number (+/-s.d.) of micronuclei per 500 binucleated cells after treatment was significantly increased (p<0.05) as compared to control subjects (17.1+/-3.0 compared to 6.0+/-1.7). Thereafter, the number of micronuclei recovered gradually by 6 wk following therapy and, in one case, nearly to the baseline range in 2 mo. The number of micronuclei after 0.53+/-0.13 Gy of external irradiation was nearly equivalent to that after 89Sr therapy. CONCLUSION The relatively low frequency of lymphocyte micronuclei exposed to 89Sr in vivo supported the contention that short-term nonstochastic damage with 111 MBq89Sr in patients with painful bone metastases is minimal.
Nigella sativa seed decreases endothelial dysfunction in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rat aorta

Objective: Diabetes is an important risk factor for cardiovascular events. The great percent of morbidity in patients with diabetes is due to endothelial dysfunction. The present study investigated the effects of hydroalcholic extract of Nigella sativa (N. sativa) on contractile and dilatation response of isolated aorta in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rat. Materials and Methods: Rats were divided into six experimental groups (control, untreated STZ-diabetic, and N. sativa hydroalcholic extract or metformin-treated diabetic rats). Treated rats received N. sativa extract (100, 200, and 400 mg/kg) or metformin (300 mg/kg) by gavage, daily for 6 weeks. Isolated rat thoracic rings were mounted in an organ bath system then contractile and dilatation responses induced by phenylephrine (PE), acetylcholine (ACh), potassium chloride (KCl), and sodium nitroprusside (SNP) were evaluated in different situations. Results: The lower concentrations of N. sativa seed extract (DE 100 and DE 200) and metformin significantly reduced the contractile responses to higher concentrations of PE (10-6 - 10-5 M) compared to diabetic group (p<0.05 to p<0.01). The relaxation response to Ach 10-8 M, was increased in DE 200 and metformin groups compared to diabetic group (p<0.05). The relaxation responses to Ach 10-7 - 10-5 M were significantly higher in all treated groups compared to diabetic group (p<0.05 to p<0.001). Conclusion: Chronic administration of N. sativa seed extract has a significant hypoglycemic effect and improves aortic reactivity to vasoconstrictor and vasodilator agents in STZ-induced diabetic rats.
Which Is the Ideal Marker for Early Atherosclerosis in Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) – Carotid Intima-Media Thickness or Mean Platelet Volume?

Background Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is known to be closely associated with cardiovascular disease. Carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) is widely used for assessment of atherosclerosis. Mean platelet volume (MPV) is a new marker associated with atherothrombosis. In this study, we aimed to detect early atherosclerosis by measuring carotid intima-media thickness and to investigate the relationship between MPV and IMT and OSA severity. Material/Methods The study population consisted of 158 patients who underwent polysomnography and did not have any overt cardiac disease or risk factors. Carotid IMT was measured by ultrasonography. Blood samples were taken for MPV determination. Subjects were divided into 4 groups according to OSA severity: control, mild, moderate, and severe OSA. Results The patients with OSA (mild, moderate, severe) had an increased carotid IMT (0.59±0.2, 0.60±0.1, 0.64±0.1, respectively) compared to controls (0.50±0.1, p<0.05). There were no differences found between groups regarding mean platelet volume. Carotid IMT was found to be positively correlated with age, systolic blood pressure, apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), oxygen desaturation index (ODI), and time duration with oxygen saturation <90% (T90), and negatively correlated with minimum SpO2 and mean SpO2. MPV was not correlated with OSA severity or other parameters. Carotid IMT was found to be effective in predicting the presence of OSA [AUC=0.769 (0.683, 0.855), p<0.001)] but MPV was not found to be effective [AUC=0.496 (0.337,0.614) p=0.946)]. Conclusions OSA patients appear to have increased carotid IMT suggestive of an atherosclerotic process. Carotid IMT could be a more useful indicator than MPV in these patients. Long-term prospective studies are needed to confirm these results.
ToolStone: effective use of the physical manipulation vocabularies of input devices

The ToolStone is a cordless, multiple degree-of-freedom (MDOF) input device that senses physical manipulation of itself, such as rotating, flipping, or tilting. As an input device for the non-dominant hand when a bimanual interface is used, the ToolStone provides several interaction techniques including a toolpalette selector, and MDOF interactors such as zooming, 3D rotation, and virtual camera control. In this paper, we discuss the design principles of input devices that effectively use a human’s physical manipulation skills, and describe the system architecture and applications of the ToolStone input device.
Large stakes and big mistakes

Workers in a wide variety of jobs are paid based on performance, which is commonly seen as enhancing effort and productivity relative to non-contingent pay schemes. However, psychological research suggests that excessive rewards can, in some cases, result in a decline in performance. To test whether very high monetary rewards can decrease performance, we conducted a set of experiments in the U.S. and in India in which subjects worked on different tasks and received performance-contingent payments that varied in amount from small to very large relative to their typical levels of pay. With some important exceptions, very high reward levels had a detrimental effect on performance.
Verapamil induced gingival enlargement in cluster headache

Verapamil is an effective prophylactic treatment for cluster headaches and, therefore, is widely used. This report describes four patients with cluster headache who developed gingival enlargement after initiating treatment with verapamil. In two patients, it was possible to control this side effect adequately by optimising oral hygiene and dental plaque control. In the other two patients, lowering of the verapamil dose, in addition to optimal oral hygiene and dental plaque control, was necessary; in one patient verapamil had to be stopped completely to reverse the gingival enlargement. Doctors treating cluster headache with verapamil need to be aware of this side effect, especially as it may be preventable with good dental hygiene and dental plaque control, is reversible with reduction or cessation of verapamil, and can lead to dental loss.
Assessing effects of a semi-customized experimental cervical pillow on symptomatic adults with chronic neck pain with and without headache.

OBJECTIVE To determine the effects of a semi-customized experimental cervical pillow on symptomatic adults with chronic neck pain (with and without headache) during a four week study. DESIGN A randomized controlled trial. SAMPLE SIZE Thirty-six adults were recruited for the trial, and randomly assigned to experimental or non-experimental groups of 17 and 19 participants respectively. SUBJECTS Adults with chronic biomechanical neck pain who were recruited from the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College (CMCC) Walk-in Clinic. OUTCOME MEASURES Subjective findings were assessed using a mail-in self-report daily pain diary, and the CMCC Neck Disability Index (NDI). STATISTICAL ANALYSIS Using repeated measure analysis of variance weekly NDI scores, average weekly AM and PM pain scores between the experimental and non-experimental groups were compared throughout the study. RESULTS The experimental group had statistically significant lower NDI scores (p < 0.05) than the non-experimental group. The average weekly AM scores were lower and statistically significant (p < 0.05) in the experimental group. The PM scores in the experimental group were lower but not statistically significant than the other group. CONCLUSIONS The study results show that compared to conventional pillows, this experimental semi-customized cervical pillow was effective in reducing low-level neck pain intensity, especially in the morning following its use in a 4 week long study.
New Fuzzy Identity-Based Encryption in the Standard Model

In a fuzzy identity-based encryption (IBE) scheme, a user with the secret key for an identity ID is able to decrypt a ciphertext encrypted with another identity ID' if and only if ID and ID' are within a certain distance of each other as judged by some metric. Fuzzy IBE also allows to encrypt a document to all users that have a certain set of attributes. In 2005, Sahai and Waters first proposed the notion of fuzzy IBE and proved the security of their scheme under the selective-ID model. Currently, there is no fuzzy IBE scheme available that is fully CCA2 secure in the standard model. In this paper, we propose a new fuzzy IBE scheme which achieves IND-FID-CCA2 security in the standard model with a tight reduction. Moreover, the size of public parameters is independent of the number of attributes associated with an identity.
Thugs, spies and vigilantes: community policing and street politics in inner city Addis Ababa

The implementation of community policing schemes and development programmes targeting street youth in inner city Addis Ababa, intended to prevent crime and unrest, has resulted in an expansion of structures of political mobilization and surveillance of the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), the party that has ruled the country since 1991. Yet the fact that the government managed to implement its programmes does not imply that the ruling party was entirely successful in tackling ordinary crime as well as political dissent. As neighbourhoods continued to be insecure, especially at night, the efficacy of the ruling party’s politicized narratives on community policing and crime prevention was questioned. An appreciation of the shortcomings of government action on the streets of the inner city raises questions about the extent of the reach of the EPRDF’s state into the grass roots of urban society as well as about the ways in which dissent is voiced in a context where forms of political surveillance and control are expanding. This paper investigates these issues in order to contribute to the study of the Ethiopian state and to the broader debate on community policing and crime prevention on the African continent.La mise en œuvre de programmes de police communautaire et de développement visant les jeunes des rues du centre d’Addis Ababa, destinée à prévenir la criminalité et les troubles, a conduit à un essor des structures de mobilisation politique et de surveillance du parti au pouvoir depuis 1991 en Éthiopie, l’EPRDF (Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front). Or, le fait que le Gouvernement soit parvenu à mettre ces programmes en œuvre ne signifie pas pour autant que le parti au pouvoir a réussi à juguler la criminalité ordinaire et la dissidence politique. Face à la persistance de la criminalité dans les quartiers, notamment la nuit, l’efficacité des propos politisés du parti au pouvoir sur la police communautaire et la prévention de la criminalité a été mise en question. Le manque d’efficacité constaté de l’action gouvernementale sur les rues des quartiers pauvres du cœur de la ville soulève des questions sur la capacité de l’État à toucher les couches populaires de la société urbaine, ainsi que sur les modes d’expression de la dissidence dans un contexte d’expansion des formes de surveillance politique et de contrôle. Cet article examine ces questions pour contribuer à l’étude de l’État éthiopien et au débat plus large sur la police communautaire et la prévention de la criminalité sur le continent africain.
Probabilistic Models for Collecting, Analyzing, and Modeling Expression Data

Advances in genomics allow researchers to measure the complete set of transcripts in cells. These transcripts include mRNAs (which encode for proteins) and microRNAs, short RNAs that play a regulatory role in cellular networks. While this data is a great resource for reconstructing the activity of networks in the cell, it also presents several challenges. These challenges begin with the data collection stage since the technology used to generate the data leads to incomplete and noisy measurements. Another challenge involves the ability to integrate several experiments within and across species. Finally, using this data to map the interactions and networks that are activated in specific conditions leads to large search problems that require efficient algorithmic solutions. In this thesis, we present novel probabilistic models to address the set of challenges associated with expression data. First, we present a novel probabilistic error correction method for RNA-Seq reads. RNA-Seq generates large and comprehensive datasets that has revolutionized our ability to accurately recover the set of transcript in cells. However, sequencing reads inevitably contain errors, which affect all downstream analyses. To address these problems we develop an efficient HMM based error correction method for this data. Second, for the analysis of expression data across species, we develop clustering and distance function learning methods for querying large expression databases. The methods use a Dirichlet Process Mixture Model with latent matchings that uses soft assignments between genes in two species to allow comparison and clustering across species. Third, we introduce new probabilistic models using the Indian Buffet Process for predicting active targets of microRNAs and use them to reconstruct the expression network regulated by the microRNAs. Combined, the methods developed in this thesis provide a solution to the pipeline of expression analysis used by experimentalists when performing expression experiments.
Timescale analysis of aerosol sensitivity during homogeneous freezing and implications for upper tropospheric water vapor budgets

Using timescales for the generation and depletion of water vapor, we predict aerosol sensitivity in clouds formed by homogeneous freezing. Our timescale analysis explains why aerosol sensitivity increases dramatically with ice deposition coefficients (αi) ≪ 0.1, and also why aerosol sensitivity increases as vertical velocity increases, temperature decreases, aerosol number decreases, and aerosol size decreases. We combine existing in‐situ observations with adiabatic parcel modeling to constrain αi ≥ 0.1 for small ice crystals forming at high ice supersaturations. Two important implications for understanding and modeling upper tropospheric water vapor budgets emerge from our results: 1) aerosol sensitivity can be appreciable at low temperatures and moderate updrafts (∼5 cm/s) in the upper tropical troposphere, 2) reconciling our results with recent laboratory measurements supports theory that αi increases with ice supersaturation and/or decreases with ice crystal size.