Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Treatment of ureteral stones: A prospective randomized controlled trial on comparison of Ho:YAG laser and pneumatic lithotripsy

Objectives: To study the treatment of ureteric stones by HO:YAG laser lithotripsy and pneumatic lithotripsy and to evaluate the results of the two treatment modalities to assess effectiveness and complications. Materials and Methods: Over 1-year period, a total of 79 patients with 82 ureteral stones were randomized into two groups. In group 1 (39 cases with 41 ureteral stones) ureteroscopic HO:YAG laser lithotripsy was performed using a rigid 8 Fr-ureteroscope (LL group). In group 2 (40 cases with 41 ureteral stones) pneumatic lithotripsy was performed in like manner. Efficacy safety and complications in both groups were analyzed. Results: A total of 79 patients with 82 calculi were treated. Two cases in LL group and one in PL group had bilateral ureteral stones. Mean stone size was 12.07 mm in LL group and 10.2 mm in PL group. Stones located in lower ureter in 30 cases on LL group and 29 cases in PL group. Proximal migration of stone occurred in 1 case on LL group and in 3 cases on PL group. Successful fragmentation occurred in 37 cases on LL group and in 30 cases on PL group. Stone-free rate after 1 month in the base of Kidney Ureter Bladder (KUB) and sonography was 95% in LL group and 80.5% in PL group. Ureteral perforation, urinoma, and urosepsis were not seen in both groups. Conclusion: HO:YAG laser has advantages over PL in high efficacy of stone fragmentation and a low-retrograde migration of ureteral stone treatment. Other complication of ureteral stone treatment with LL and PL are the same and very rare.
The diagnostic value of three sacroiliac joint pain provocation tests for sacroiliitis identified by magnetic resonance imaging

Objectives: The aim of the current study was to investigate the diagnostic value of three sacroiliac (SI) joint pain provocation tests for sacroiliitis identified by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and stratified by gender. Method: Patients without clinical signs of nerve root compression were selected from a cohort of patients with persistent low back pain referred to an outpatient spine clinic. Data from Gaenslen’s test, the thigh thrust test, and the long dorsal sacroilia ligament test and sacroiliitis identified by MRI were analysed. Results: The median age of the 454 included patients was 33 (range 18–40) years and 241 (53%) were women. The prevalence of SI joints with sacroiliitis was 5%. In the whole study group, only the thigh trust test was associated with sacroiliitis, the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) was 0.58 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.51–0.65], sensitivity 31% (95% CI 18–47), and specificity 85% (95% CI 82–87). In men, sacroiliitis was associated with all the SI joint tests assessed and multi-test regimens, with the greatest AUC found for at least one positive out of three tests [AUC 0.68 (95% CI 0.56–0.80), sensitivity 56% (95% CI 31–79), and specificity 81% (95% CI 77–85)]. In women, no significant associations were observed between the SI joint tests and sacroiliitis. Conclusions: Only in men were the SI joint tests found to be associated with sacroiliitis identified by MRI. Although, the diagnostic value was relatively low, the results indicate that the use of SI joint tests for sacroiliitis may be optimized by gender-separate analyses.
Attempted suicide v. non-suicidal self-injury: behaviour, syndrome or diagnosis?

Summary Nomenclature used to describe acts of self-harm without fatal consequences varies considerably. The term ‘non-suicidal self-injury’ (NSSI) offers an opportunity to clarify study in this field, dichotomising the presence or absence of suicidal intent. This may improve consistency in reporting suicide and self-injurious behaviour with implications for management and prognosis.
Reinforcement versus Fluidization in Cytoskeletal Mechanoresponsiveness

Every adherent eukaryotic cell exerts appreciable traction forces upon its substrate. Moreover, every resident cell within the heart, great vessels, bladder, gut or lung routinely experiences large periodic stretches. As an acute response to such stretches the cytoskeleton can stiffen, increase traction forces and reinforce, as reported by some, or can soften and fluidize, as reported more recently by our laboratory, but in any given circumstance it remains unknown which response might prevail or why. Using a novel nanotechnology, we show here that in loading conditions expected in most physiological circumstances the localized reinforcement response fails to scale up to the level of homogeneous cell stretch; fluidization trumps reinforcement. Whereas the reinforcement response is known to be mediated by upstream mechanosensing and downstream signaling, results presented here show the fluidization response to be altogether novel: it is a direct physical effect of mechanical force acting upon a structural lattice that is soft and fragile. Cytoskeletal softness and fragility, we argue, is consistent with early evolutionary adaptations of the eukaryotic cell to material properties of a soft inert microenvironment.
Normal Cerebrovascular Reactivity in Stroke-Like Migraine Attacks After Radiation Therapy Syndrome

Stroke-like Migraine Attacks after Radiation Therapy (SMART) syndrome is a rare complication of cranial irradiation. Radiation is well-known to impair vascular vessel architecture and function. We investigated the hypothesis of radiation-induced cerebral vascular reserve dysfunction as the underlying mechanism of SMART. Interictal cerebrovascular reactivity was investigated using Tc-99m hexamethylpropyleneamine oxime-SPECT and acetazolamide challenge in 3 patients. We found interictal hypoperfusion and normal cerebrovascular reactivity in all patients. Neither ictal restriction of the apparent diffusion coefficient nor MR angiography abnormalities were observed. These findings do not support a vascular mechanism in SMART syndrome. Postradiation neuronal dysfunction may be the underlying mechanism. Further investigations on larger series are needed to confirm this hypothesis.
Milk consumption, stroke, and heart attack risk: evidence from the Caerphilly cohort of older men

Objective: To examine associations between milk consumption and incident heart disease and stroke. Design: A representative population sample of men was asked to weigh and record their food intake for seven days. The total consumption of milk was obtained from these records. Details of all deaths and vascular events were collected during the following 20 years. Incident ischaemic strokes and heart disease events were diagnosed by standard criteria. Setting: The Caerphilly cohort, a representative population sample of men in South Wales, aged 45–59 when first seen in 1979–83. Participants: A representative 3:10 subsample of the men in the cohort. Main results: 665 men (87% of those approached) returned satisfactory seven day diet diaries. After adjustment, the relative odds of an event in the men whose milk consumption was the median or higher, relative to those with lower intakes of milk, were 0.52 (0.27 to 0.99) for an ischaemic stroke and 0.88 (0.56 to 1.40) for an ischaemic heart disease event. Deaths from all causes were similar in the two milk consumption groups (relative odds 1.08; 0.74 to 1.58). Conclusions: These results give no convincing evidence of an increased risk of vascular disease from milk drinking. Rather, the subjects who drank more than the median amount of milk had a reduced risk of an ischaemic stroke, and possibly a reduced risk of an ischaemic heart disease event. These conclusions are in agreement with the results of a previously reported overview of 10 large, long term cohort studies based on food frequency intake records.
Analysis on degradation characteristics of component subcells in IMM triple-junction solar cells

The radiation response of single-junction solar cells with InGaP, GaAs and InGaAs with different indium content (20 and 30%), were prepared and irradiated with varieties of energies of protons and electrons. These cells are component subcells of inverted metamorphic triple-junction (IMM3J) solar cells. Characteristics of the solar cells, namely, light-illuminated current-voltage (LIV) and external quantum efficiency (EQE) were obtained before and after irradiation, and the corresponding changes due to the irradiations were compared and analyzed. The degradation of the cell output parameters by electrons and protons were plotted as a function of the displacement damage dose. It was realized that the radiation resistance of the two InGaAs cells is reasonably equivalent to that of the InGaP and GaAs cells from the materials standpoint. However, the InGaAs cells show relatively low radiation resistance to electrons especially for short-circuit current.
Title: Relationships among Low-frequency Local Field Potentials, Spiking Activity and 2 3-d Reach and Grasp Kinematics in Primary Motor and Ventral Premotor Cortices 3 4 Running Head: Lf-lfp, Spikes and 3-d Reach and Grasp Kinematics 13

42 A prominent feature of motor cortex field potentials during movement is a distinctive 43 low-frequency local field potential (lf-LFP) (<4 Hz), referred to as the movement event44 related potential (mEP). The lf-LFP appears to be a global signal related to regional 45 synaptic input, but its relationship to nearby output signaled by single unit spiking 46 activity (SUA) or to movement remains to be established. Previous studies comparing 47 information in primary motor cortex (MI) lf-LFPs and SUA in the context of planar 48 reaching tasks concluded that lf-LFPs have more information than spikes about 49 movement. However, the relative performance of these signals was based on a small 50 number of simultaneously recorded channels and units, or for data averaged across 51 sessions, which could miss information of larger-scale spiking populations. Here, we 52 simultaneously recorded LFPs and SUA from two 96-microelectrode arrays implanted in 53 two major motor cortical areas, MI and ventral premotor (PMv), while monkeys freely 54 reached for and grasped objects swinging in front of them. We compared arm endpoint 55 and grip aperture kinematics’ decoding accuracy for lf-LFPs and SUA ensembles. The 56 results show that lf-LFPs provide enough information to reconstruct kinematics in both 57 areas with little difference in decoding performance between MI and PMv. Individual lf58 LFPs channels often provided more accurate decoding of single kinematic variables than 59 any one single unit. However, the decoding performance of the best single unit amongst 60 the large population usually exceeded that of the best single lf-LFP channel. Further, 61 ensembles of SUA outperformed the pool of lf-LFPs channels, in disagreement with the 62 previously reported superiority of lf-LFP decoding. Decoding results suggest that 63 information in lf-LFPs recorded from intracortical arrays may allow the reconstruction of 64 reach and grasp for real-time neuroprosthetic applications, thus potentially supplementing 65 the ability to decode these same features from spiking populations. 66 67 68 69
A computational study on different penalty approaches for solving constrained global optimization problems with the electromagnetism-like method

In this article, the application of the electromagnetism-like method (EM) for solving constrained optimization problems is investigated. A number of penalty functions have been tested with EM in this investigation, and their merits and demerits have been discussed. We have also provided motivations for such an investigation. Finally, we have compared EM with two recent global optimization algorithms from the literature. We have shown that EM is a suitable alternative to these methods and that it has a role to play in solving constrained global optimization problems.
Attribution analysis of actual and potential evapotranspiration changes based on the complementary relationship theory in the Huai River basin of eastern China

Accurate terrestrial evapotranspiration (ET) estimation and understanding the causes of ET variation are essential for water resource management and irrigation planning. In this research, the complementary relationship (CR) between actual evapotranspiration (ETa) and potential evapotranspiration (ETp) was evaluated. An Advection–Aridity (AA) model was calibrated and validated using eddy covariance measurements. The spatiotemporal variations of ETa, ETp and associated meteorological variables were examined through Mann–Kendall (MK) testing and Theil–Sen's estimator, using daily weather data from 137 meteorological stations in Huai River basin (HRB) during 1961–2014. Moreover, the influences of meteorological factors on ETa and ETp were quantified by the differential equation method. The results indicate that CR theory is applicable in the HRB and the calibrated AA model can simulate the ETa well. ETa exhibited a significant increasing trend before 1990 and then decreased significantly. However, ETp decreased significantly before 1990 and then declined slightly. During 1961–1990, except for significant increasing relative humidity (RH), other meteorological variables exhibited decreasing trends. The aerodynamic component dominated ETa and ETp trends in general. The wind speed at 2‐m height (u2) dominated ETa trends except for summer and growing season and ETp trends except for summer, when the dominant factor is net radiation (R n). During 1991–2014, mean temperature (T a) and RH showed distinct increasing and decreasing trends, respectively, whereas significant decline in u2 palpably slowed. The absolute value of the radiative component was larger than that of the aerodynamic one. The dominant factor of ETa trends shifted from u2 to RH in spring and to R n in autumn, winter and annual timescales. Moreover, the dominant factor of ETp trends changed from u2 to RH in spring, winter and annual timescales and to R n in growing season and autumn. R n always played a pivotal role in both ETa and ETp trends in summer.
Consumer Choices and Motives for Eco-Labeled Products in China: An Empirical Analysis Based on the Choice Experiment

Based on choice experiments conducted via face-to-face interviews with 435 participants in four provincial areas of China (Shanghai, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, and Guangdong), Chinese consumers’ preferences and motives for purchasing eco-labeled rice are examined in this study. The heterogeneous effects of each motivating channel are also investigated. The results reveal positive correlations between premiums for eco-labeled rice and consumers’ concerns about food safety and the environment, suggesting that health benefits and environmental considerations are the two critical motivations. The willingness to pay for eco-labeled rice does not increase with consumers’ knowledge of the different production standards indicated by each eco-label. Individual characteristics that determine each class are further explored through a seemingly irrelevant regression to identify the target group of consumers for policy-makers.
Building A Contrasting Taxa Extractor for Relation Identification from Assertions: BIOlogical Taxonomy & Ontology Phrase Extraction System

In this paper, we present the methods we used to extract bacteria and biotopes names and then to identify the relation between those entities while participating to the BioNLP’13 Bacteria and Biotopes Shared Task. We used machine-learning based approaches for this task, namely a CRF to extract bacteria and biotopes names and a simple matching algorithm to predict the relations. We achieved poor results: an SER of 0.66 in sub-task 1, and a 0.06 F-measure in both sub-tasks 2 and 3.
NGF and NGF-receptor expression of cultured immortalized human corneal endothelial cells

Purpose Several growth factors, including nerve growth factor (NGF) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), play an important role in the homeostasis of the ocular surface. The involvement of both these growth factors in the pathophysiology of intraocular tissues has been extensively investigated. Despite the expression of NGF receptors by corneal endothelium, to date the role of NGF on the endothelial cell remains to be determined. Using a clonal cell line of human corneal endothelial cells, the aim of this study was to investigate the expression of the NGF-receptor and the potential partnership of NGF and VEGF in maintaining cell viability in vitro. Methods A human endothelial cell line (B4G12), was cultured under serum-free conditions as previously described with and without addition of different concentrations of NGF, anti-NGF-antibody (ANA), or VEGF for 4 days and these cells were used for immuno-istochemical, biochemical, and molecular analyses. Results NGF induces overexpression of NGF-receptors and synthesis and release of VEGF by endothelial cells and these cells are able to produce and secrete NGF. Conclusions These observations indicate that human corneal endothelial cells are receptive to the action of NGF and that these cells may regulate NGF activity through autocrine/paracrine mechanisms.
Indications for magnetic resonance imaging of the female pelvis at a referral center for cancer

Radiol Bras. 2017 Jan/Fev;50(1):V–VI Guidelines that review the criteria and technical parameters for indicating and conducting diagnostic imaging can optimize radiology care. In an article published in this issue of Radiologia Brasileira, the criteria established by the American College of Radiology for conducting magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examinations of the female pelvis were compared with those employed at a national referral center for cancer in Brazil. The results were compatible with those of the renowned American institution and show that MRI was correctly indicated in most (76.7%) of the patients. The authors found that the main indications were as follows: tumor recurrence after resection (25.9%); detection and staging of malignancies (23.3%); and evaluation of pain or pelvic mass (17.1%). There is a well-defined role for MRI in the study of the female pelvis after the initial ultrasound evaluation, as has been amply demonstrated in the literature. When the examination is indicated in the appropriate clinical context, the inherent characteristics of the method (related to its multiplanar capacity, the possibility of tissue differentiations of the pelvic organs, and the absence of ionizing radiation) outweigh its disadvantages (longer examination time, possible motion artifacts, lower availability, and higher costs) when compared with computer tomography. As observed by the authors of the cited study, one of the main indications for MRI of the female pelvis is for the diagnosis or oncological follow-up of primary gynecological lesions. In relation to primary uterine lesions, diffusion-weighted imaging facilitates the identification of tumors in the uterine body and cervix. The use of diffusion-weighted imaging also facilitates the restaging of such tumors after chemotherapy and radiotherapy, as well as allowing the identification of tumor remnants and recurrence. These diagnostic processes tend to be challenging, since actinic and fibrotic alterations, which are typical of these treatments, alter the morphology of the pelvic organs. Still within the field of oncology, MRI is frequently used for the evaluation of adnexal lesions that are considered “indeterminate” in the ultrasound study . The interpretation of an MRI of the female pelvis begins with the characterization of the origin of the pelvic lesion as ovarian or extraovarian. Specifically, when the
Joint Contour Nets

Contour Trees and Reeb Graphs are firmly embedded in scientific visualization for analysing univariate (scalar) fields. We generalize this analysis to multivariate fields with a data structure called the Joint Contour Net that quantizes the variation of multiple variables simultaneously. We report the first algorithm for constructing the Joint Contour Net, and demonstrate some of the properties that make it practically useful for visualisation, including accelerating computation by exploiting a relationship with rasterisation in the range of the function.
Exploiting Natural Variation to Uncover an Alkene Biosynthetic Enzyme in Poplar[OPEN]

A ketoacyl CoA synthase (PotriKCS1) is key to the biosynthesis of alkenes in the cuticular waxes of poplar leaves. Alkenes are linear hydrocarbons with one or more double bonds. Despite their potential as biofuels and precursors for specialty chemicals, the underlying biochemistry and genetics of alkene biosynthesis in plants remain elusive. Here, we report on a screen of natural accessions of poplar (Populus trichocarpa), revealing that the leaf cuticular waxes are predominantly composed of alkanes and alkenes. Interestingly, the accumulation of alkenes increases with leaf development, is limited to the abaxial side of the leaf, and is impaired in a few accessions. Among other genes, a β-ketoacyl CoA synthase gene (PotriKCS1) was downregulated in leaves from non-alkene-producing accessions. We demonstrated biochemically that PotriKCS1 elongates monounsaturated fatty acids and is responsible for the recruitment of unsaturated substrates to the cuticular wax. Moreover, we found significant associations between the presence of alkenes and tree growth and resistance to leaf spot. These findings highlight the crucial role of cuticular waxes as the first point of contact with the environment, and they provide a foundation for engineering long-chain monounsaturated oils in other species.
Learning to See Biological Motion: Brain Activity Parallels Behavior

Individuals improve with practice on a variety of perceptual tasks, presumably reflecting plasticity in underlying neural mechanisms. We trained observers to discriminate biological motion from scrambled (nonbiological) motion and examined whether the resulting improvement in perceptual performance was accompanied by changes in activation within the posterior superior temporal sulcus and the fusiform face area, brain areas involved in perception of biological events. With daily practice, initially naive observers became more proficient at discriminating biological from scrambled animations embedded in an array of dynamic noise dots, with the extent of improvement varying among observers. Learning generalized to animations never seen before, indicating that observers had not simply memorized specific exemplars. In the same observers, neural activity prior to and following training was measured using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Neural activity within the posterior superior temporal sulcus and the fusiform face area reflected the participants' learning: BOLD signals were significantly larger after training in response both to animations experienced during training and to novel animations. The degree of learning was positively correlated with the amplitude changes in BOLD signals.