Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effectiveness of ranibizumab intravitreal injections for exudative age-related macular degeneration treatment: 12-month outcomes

Summary Background The aim of this paper was to evaluate functional and anatomical results of intravitreal ranibizumab injections and the course of exudative age-related macular degeneration (AMD) treatment over a 12-month observation period. Material/Methods In 25 patients with active dominantly classic exudative AMD, treatment was performed according to the following schedule: 3 intravitreal injections of 0.5 mg ranibizumab at monthly intervals (saturation phase); further injections were based on activity of the neovascular process. Changes in VA and central retinal thickness (CRT) during treatment were evaluated with ANOVA testing. Results Mean pre-treatment best corrected visual acuity was 0.73±0.27 logMAR. After the third ranibizumab injection the best results, 0.54±0.27 logMAR, were seen; 12-month results were 0.58±0.26 logMAR. Patients had a mean improvement of 10.6 letters at 12 months. In 92% of patients stabilization or improvement of vision was observed. The mean number of injections in the 12-month period was 6. Baseline mean CRT was 351.12±74.15 μm. After the first ranibizumab injection it decreased significantly to 221.96±60.85 μm, after the third injection it was 200.80±47.63 μm, and after 12 months it was 213.16±44.37 μm. Mean correlations between baseline average CRT and baseline average VA measured in ETDRS letters (p=0.017) and in logMAR scale (p=0.033) and between average CRT after the third injection and average VA in logMAR scale after the third injection (p=0.047) were noted. Conclusions Treatment with intravitreal ranibizumab injections according to the presented scheme provides AMD patients with a chance of stabilization and improvement of the topical state, with a lower number of injections and preserved topical and general safety. Our results suggest that regular monthly controls are necessary to be able react rapidly to the smallest signs of deterioration, not only in visual acuity, but also in OCT images.
Lagrangian duality in 3D SLAM: Verification techniques and optimal solutions

State-of-the-art techniques for simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) employ iterative nonlinear optimization methods to compute an estimate for robot poses. While these techniques often work well in practice, they do not provide guarantees on the quality of the estimate. This paper shows that Lagrangian duality is a powerful tool to assess the quality of a given candidate solution. Our contribution is threefold. First, we discuss a revised formulation of the SLAM inference problem. We show that this formulation is probabilistically grounded and has the advantage of leading to an optimization problem with quadratic objective. The second contribution is the derivation of the corresponding Lagrangian dual problem. The SLAM dual problem is a (convex) semidefinite program, which can be solved reliably and globally by off-the-shelf solvers. The third contribution is to discuss the relation between the original SLAM problem and its dual. We show that from the dual problem, one can evaluate the quality (i.e., the suboptimality gap) of a candidate SLAM solution, and ultimately provide a certificate of optimality. Moreover, when the duality gap is zero, one can compute a guaranteed optimal SLAM solution from the dual problem, circumventing non-convex optimization. We present extensive (real and simulated) experiments supporting our claims and discuss practical relevance and open problems.
No Association Between the MDM2 −309 T/G Promoter Polymorphism and Breast Cancer in African-Americans or Whites

MDM2, a protein that binds and inactivates the tumor suppressor p53, is overexpressed in a variety of human cancers (1). Bond et al. (2) recently identified a single nucleotide polymorphism in the MDM2 gene, 309 T/G within the MDM2 promoter (database for single nucleotide polymorphism reference sequence number 2279744; http:// snp500cancer.nci.nih.gov). The G allele showed increased affinity for the transcriptional activator Sp1, resulting in elevated MDM2 transcription, higher MDM2 protein levels, and enhanced p53 inhibition. Among 88 members of LiFraumeni syndrome families who carried germ line mutations in p53 , persons with one or two copies of the MDM2 309 G allele showed earlier onset of cancer, including breast cancer, and G/G homozygous individuals showed increased frequency of multiple primary cancers. We examined the association of MDM2 genotype and breast cancer in the Carolina Breast Cancer Study, a population-based case-control study of African-Americans and Whites in North Carolina.
ADVANCED BONE DISEASE AS THE MOST COMMON CLINICAL PRESENTATION OF PRIMARY HYPERPARATHYROIDISM IN IRANIANS: CLINICAL AND LABORATORY FEATURES OF 62 PATIENTS FROM NORTH-WESTERN IRAN

he original studies of Albright and Reifenstein characterized primary hyperparathyroidism as a disease of “bones and stones”. The disease at present is recognized most frequently as a totally asymptomatic condition, detection being based on the finding of hypercalcemia in the routine screening of serum calcium levels. The purpose of this cross sectional clinical case study was to analyze the clinical, biochemical, radiological, and pathological features of the disease in Iranians and to compare these features with those of patients from western countries. Materials and Methods: From 1985 through 2002, sixty-two patients with primary hyperparathyroidism were studied from the north-western part of Iran. In addition to routine studies, the following evaluations were conducted; 1) measurements of serum calcium, phosphorous, alkaline phosphatase, creatinine and electrolytes; 2) X-rays of skull, hands, clavicles, pelvis, vertebral bones, abdomen, long bones, and dental film of lamina dura, and 3) Intravenous pyelogram and/or ultrasonography of kidneys. PTH was measured in only 29 patients because of lack of reliable laboratory methods during the earlier years of the study. Surgery was performed in all subjects and they were followed postoperatively. Results: There were 52 females and 10 males, with a female to male ratio of 5.2:1, and an age range of 13 to 71 years with a mean age of 38/6 years. The peak incidence in both sexes was in the 4th decade. The vast majority of patients in this series presented with symptoms referable to skeletal involvement. Fifty-eight (93.5%) patients suffered from bone pains, deformities, pathologic fractures, and localized bone tumors. Renal colic was a less frequent complaint; only in 4 patients (6.4%) clinical renal disease led to the diagnosis of hyperparathyroidism. No patient was asymptomatic. Fifty-four patients had persistent hypercalcemia. In 3 patients hypercalcemia was intermittent and 5 patients were normocalcemic. Mean serum calcium concentration was 11.2 mg/dl (range 9.3-15.6 mg/dl). A high proportion of the patients, 49 of 62, had low serum phosphorus level. Mean serum phosphate concentration was 2.1 mg/dl (range 1.4-3.6 mg/dl). Interestingly, all 5 normocalcemic patients were hypophosphatemic. Serum alkaline phosphatase level was elevated in 56 patients, and PTH concentration was high in all the 29 patients in whom it was measured. All patients displayed some radiologic changes. Subperiosteal resorption of phalanges and/or distal clavicles was the most frequent (43/62) radiologic finding. Salt and pepper appearance on skull xrays, brown tumor T
Challenges of Disorders of Sex Development: Diverse Perceptions across Stakeholders

Background/Aims: Disorders of sex development (DSD) are congenital conditions in which chromosomal, gonadal, or anatomic sex development is atypical. Optimal management is patient- and family-centered and delivered by interdisciplinary teams. The present pilot study elicits concerns held by important stakeholders on issues affecting young patients with DSD and their families. Methods: Content from focus groups with expert clinicians (pediatric urologists (n = 7), pediatric endocrinologists (n = 10), mental health professionals (n = 4), DSD patient advocates (n = 4), and interviews with parents of DSD-affected children (newborn to 6 years; n = 11) was coded and content-analyzed to identify health-related quality of life issues. Results: Key stressors varied across stakeholder groups. In general, family-centered issues were noted more than child-centered. In the child-centered domain, providers worried more about physical functioning; family and advocates emphasized gender concerns and body image. In the family-centered domain, parental concerns about medication management outweighed those of providers. Advocates reported more stressors regarding communication/information than other stakeholders. Conclusion: Variability exists across stakeholder groups in the key concerns affecting young children/families with DSD. Interdisciplinary DSD healthcare team development should account for varying perspectives when counseling families and planning treatment.
Conservation Value of Remnant Riparian Forest Corridors of Varying Quality for Amazonian Birds and Mammals

Abstract: Forest corridors are often considered the main instrument with which to offset the effects of habitat loss and fragmentation. Brazilian forestry legislation requires that all riparian zones on private landholdings be maintained as permanent reserves and sets fixed minimum widths of riparian forest buffers to be retained alongside rivers and perennial streams. We investigated the effects of corridor width and degradation status of 37 riparian forest sites (including 24 corridors connected to large source‐forest patches, 8 unconnected forest corridors, and 5 control riparian zones embedded within continuous forest patches) on bird and mammal species richness in a hyper‐fragmented forest landscape surrounding Alta Floresta, Mato Grosso, Brazil. We used point‐count and track‐sampling methodology, coupled with an intensive forest‐quality assessment that combined satellite imagery and ground truthed data. Vertebrate use of corridors was highly species‐specific, but broad trends emerged depending on species life histories and their sensitivity to disturbance. Narrow and/or highly disturbed riparian corridors retained only a depauperate vertebrate assemblage that was typical of deforested habitats, whereas wide, well‐preserved corridors retained a nearly complete species assemblage. Restriction of livestock movement along riparian buffers and their exclusion from key areas alongside deforested streams would permit corridor regeneration and facilitate restoration of connectivity.
Age-dependent carriage of multiple Plasmodium falciparum merozoite surface antigen-2 alleles in asymptomatic malaria infections.

Genetic diversity of the merozoite surface antigen-2 gene of the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum has been analyzed in a Senegalese village where malaria is holoendemic. A cross-sectional survey of 65 residents was performed in 1992 during the high transmission season. Plasmodium falciparum was detected both by microscopy (77% positive samples) and DNA amplification using a single (29% or 38% positive samples, depending on the primers used) or nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) (78% positive samples). The overlap between the positive nested PCR and microscopic examination was not complete. The PCR fragments were analyzed for size polymorphism on agarose gels, and were subsequently assigned to the major allelic families 3D7 or FC27 by hybridization with family-specific probes. Both allelic families were found, with a slightly higher prevalence for FC27. Chimeric alleles that failed to hybridize under stringent conditions to the reference probes were also observed. Some were typed using a novel PCR approach, using hybrid pairs of primers, consisting of a family-specific sense oligonucleotide combined with an antisense oligonucleotide specific for the other family. Combining typing techniques, 82% of the positive PCR results yielded more than one band. Both the overall number of fragments and the number of allelic types per carrier were markedly reduced around the age of 15 years. The number of DNA fragments decreased abruptly from an average of four per carrier before the age of 15 years to an average of two in individuals more than 15 years of age. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Elimination of Local Abnormal Ventricular Activities: A New End Point for Substrate Modification in Patients With Scar-Related Ventricular Tachycardia

Background— Catheter ablation of ventricular tachycardia (VT) is effective and particularly useful in patients with frequent defibrillator interventions. Various substrate modification techniques have been described for unmappable or hemodynamically intolerable VT. Noninducibility is the most frequently used end point but is associated with significant limitations, so the optimal end point remains unclear. We hypothesized that elimination of local abnormal ventricular activities (LAVAs) during sinus rhythm or ventricular pacing would be a useful and effective end point for substrate-based VT ablation. As an adjunct to this strategy, we used a new high-density mapping catheter and frequently used epicardial mapping. Methods and Results— Seventy patients (age, 67±11 years; 7 female) with VT and structurally abnormal ventricle(s) were prospectively enrolled. Conventional mapping was performed in sinus rhythm in all, and a high-density Pentaray mapping catheter was used in the endocardium (n=35) and epicardially. LAVAs were recorded in 67 patients (95.7%; 95% confidence interval, 89.2–98.9). Catheter ablation was performed targeting LAVA with an irrigated-tip catheter placed endocardially via a transseptal or retrograde aortic approach or epicardially via the subxiphoid approach. LAVAs were successfully abolished or dissociated in 47 of 67 patients (70.1%; 95% confidence interval, 58.7–80.1). In multivariate analysis, LAVA elimination was independently associated with a reduction in recurrent VT or death (hazard ratio, 0.49; 95% confidence interval, 0.26–0.95; P=0.035) during long-term follow-up (median, 22 months). Conclusions— LAVAs can be identified in most patients with scar-related VT. Elimination of LAVAs is feasible and safe and is associated with superior survival free from recurrent VT.
Bartonella spp. Bacteremia in Blood Donors from Campinas, Brazil

Bartonella species are blood-borne, re-emerging organisms, capable of causing prolonged infection with diverse disease manifestations, from asymptomatic bacteremia to chronic debilitating disease and death. This pathogen can survive for over a month in stored blood. However, its prevalence among blood donors is unknown, and screening of blood supplies for this pathogen is not routinely performed. We investigated Bartonella spp. prevalence in 500 blood donors from Campinas, Brazil, based on a cross-sectional design. Blood samples were inoculated into an enrichment liquid growth medium and sub-inoculated onto blood agar. Liquid culture samples and Gram-negative isolates were tested using a genus specific ITS PCR with amplicons sequenced for species identification. Bartonella henselae and Bartonella quintana antibodies were assayed by indirect immunofluorescence. B. henselae was isolated from six donors (1.2%). Sixteen donors (3.2%) were Bartonella-PCR positive after culture in liquid or on solid media, with 15 donors infected with B. henselae and one donor infected with Bartonella clarridgeiae. Antibodies against B. henselae or B. quintana were found in 16% and 32% of 500 blood donors, respectively. Serology was not associated with infection, with only three of 16 Bartonella-infected subjects seropositive for B. henselae or B. quintana. Bartonella DNA was present in the bloodstream of approximately one out of 30 donors from a major blood bank in South America. Negative serology does not rule out Bartonella spp. infection in healthy subjects. Using a combination of liquid and solid cultures, PCR, and DNA sequencing, this study documents for the first time that Bartonella spp. bacteremia occurs in asymptomatic blood donors. Our findings support further evaluation of Bartonella spp. transmission which can occur through blood transfusions.
Target Selection Recommendations Based on Impact of Deep Brain Stimulation Surgeries on Nonmotor Symptoms of Parkinson's Disease

Objective: This review examines the evidence that deep brain stimulation (DBS) has extensive impact on nonmotor symptoms (NMSs) of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Data Sources: We retrieved information from the PubMed database up to September, 2015, using various search terms and their combinations including PD, NMSs, DBS, globus pallidus internus (GPi), subthalamic nucleus (STN), and ventral intermediate thalamic nucleus. Study Selection: We included data from peer-reviewed journals on impacts of DBS on neuropsychological profiles, sensory function, autonomic symptoms, weight changes, and sleep disturbances. For psychological symptoms and cognitive impairment, we tried to use more reliable proofs: Random, control, multicenter, large sample sizes, and long period follow-up clinical studies. We categorized the NMSs into four groups: those that would improve definitively following DBS; those that are not significantly affected by DBS; those that remain controversial on their surgical benefit; and those that can be worsened by DBS. Results: In general, it seems to be an overall beneficial effect of DBS on NMSs, such as sensory, sleep, gastrointestinal, sweating, cardiovascular, odor, urological symptoms, and sexual dysfunction, GPi-DBS may produce similar results; Both STN and Gpi-DBS are safe with regard to cognition and psychology over long-term follow-up, though verbal fluency decline is related to DBS; The impact of DBS on behavioral addictions and dysphagia is still uncertain. Conclusions: As the motor effects of STN-DBS and GPi-DBS are similar, NMSs may determine the target choice in surgery of future patients.
We Are Grateful for Help- Ful Comments and Suggestions from the Bond Premium in a Dsge Model with Long-run Real and Nominal Risks †

T he term premium on long-term nominal bonds compensates investors for inflation and consumption risks over the lifetime of the bond. A large finance literature finds that these risk premiums are substantial and vary significantly over time (e.g., Campbell and Shiller 1991; Cochrane and Piazzesi 2005); however, the economic forces that can justify such large and variable term premiums are less clear. Piazzesi and Schneider (2007) provide some economic insight into the source of a large positive mean term premium in a consumption-based asset pricing model of an endowment economy. Their analysis relies on two crucial features: first, the structural assumption that investors have Epstein-Zin recursive utility preferences; 1 and second, an estimated reduced-form process for consumption and inflation with the feature that positive inflation surprises lead to lower future consumption growth. With these two elements, they show that investors require a premium for holding nominal bonds because a positive inflation surprise 1 Kreps and Porteus (1978) provide the original theoretical framework for these preferences. Epstein and Zin (1989) and Weil (1989) provide extended results and applications for a special case of this framework. The views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of other individuals within the Federal Reserve System. The term premium in standard macroeconomic DSGE models is far too small and stable relative to the data—an example of the " bond premium puzzle. " However, in endowment economy models, researchers have generated reasonable term premiums by assuming investors have recursive Epstein-Zin preferences and face long-run economic risks. We show that introducing Epstein-Zin preferences into a canonical DSGE model can also produce a large and variable term premium without compromising the model's ability to fit key macroeconomic variables. Long-run nominal risks further improve the model's empirical fit, but do not substantially reduce the need for high risk aversion.
Regeneration of granule neurons after lesioning of hippocampal dentate gyrus: Evaluation using adult mice treated with trimethyltin chloride as a model

The hippocampal dentate gyrus in adult animals is known to contain neural progenitors that proliferate and differentiate into neurons in response to brain injury. Little has been observed, however, on regeneration of the granule cell layer of the dentate gyrus that has been directly injured. Using trimethyltin (TMT)‐treated mice as an in vivo model, we evaluated the ability of this layer to regenerate after injury. The administration of TMT induced neuronal death in the dentate gyrus selectively 2 days later, with recovery of granule neurons on day 14 and thereafter. At an early stage (days 2–5) after the damage by TMT treatment, 5‐bromo‐2′‐deoxyuridine (BrdU) incorporation into at least two different types of cells was facilitated in the dentate gyrus: BrdU‐positive/neuronal nuclear antigen (NeuN)‐negative cells were found predominantly in the subgranular zone and granule cell layer, whereas BrdU‐positive/NeuN‐positive cells were numerous in the dentate molecular layer and hilus. In addition, expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen, nestin, NeuroD3, and doublecortin, which are markers for proliferating cells and neural progenitors/neuronal precursors, was extremely enhanced in the dentate gyrus at the early stage after treatment. Double staining revealed that BrdU was colocalized with nestin and doublecortin in the subgranular zone. Behavioral analysis revealed that TMT‐induced cognition impairment was ameliorated by day 14 after the treatment. Taken together, our data indicate that the hippocampal dentate gyrus itself is capable of regenerating the neuronal cell layer through rapid enhancement of neurogenesis after injury. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Study partners perform essential tasks in dementia research and can experience burdens and benefits in this role

Most studies that enroll individuals with dementia require a study partner for each participant. Study partners—usually family members—perform several key roles: accompanying the participant to visits, providing information about the participant, and assisting with procedures such as taking medication. Little is known, however, about their experiences when performing these roles. Dementia researchers and institutional review boards need to know these experiences because the study partner role is one key factor in a study’s success. This prospective qualitative study, using up to three semi-structured interviews with 62 study partners involved in a range of dementia studies, documented their subjective experiences. Content analysis demonstrates that study partners perform a range of tasks—often within the context of being a caregiver—that enable cognitively impaired individuals to participate in dementia research. These tasks present study partners with unique burdens and benefits, some of which dementia researchers and institutional review boards can address.