Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dementia risk after traumatic brain injury vs nonbrain trauma: the role of age and severity.

IMPORTANCE Epidemiologic evidence regarding the importance of traumatic brain injury (TBI) as a risk factor for dementia is conflicting. Few previous studies have used patients with non-TBI trauma (NTT) as controls to investigate the influence of age and TBI severity. OBJECTIVE To quantify the risk of dementia among adults with recent TBI compared with adults with NTT. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This retrospective cohort study was performed from January 1, 2005, through December 31, 2011 (follow-up, 5-7 years). All patients 55 years or older diagnosed as having TBI or NTT in 2005 and 2006 and who did not have baseline dementia or die during hospitalization (n = 164,661) were identified in a California statewide administrative health database of emergency department (ED) and inpatient visits. EXPOSURES Mild vs moderate to severe TBI diagnosed by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria using International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9)codes, and NTT, defined as fractures excluding fractures of the head and neck, diagnosed using ICD-9 codes. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Incident ED or inpatient diagnosis of dementia (using ICD-9 codes) 1 year or more after initial TBI or NTT. The association between TBI and risk of dementia was estimated using Cox proportional hazards models before and after adjusting for common dementia predictors and potential confounders. We also stratified by TBI severity and age category (55-64, 65-74, 75-84, and ≥85 years). RESULTS A total of 51,799 patients with trauma (31.5%) had TBI. Of these, 4361 (8.4%) developed dementia compared with 6610 patients with NTT (5.9%) (P < .001). We found that TBI was associated with increased dementia risk (hazard ratio [HR], 1.46; 95% CI, 1.41-1.52; P < .001). Adjustment for covariates had little effect except adjustment for age category (fully adjusted model HR, 1.26; 95% CI, 1.21-1.32; P < .001). In stratified adjusted analyses, moderate to severe TBI was associated with increased risk of dementia across all ages (age 55-64: HR, 1.72; 95% CI, 1.40-2.10; P < .001; vs age 65-74: HR, 1.46; 95% CI, 1.30-1.64; P < .001), whereas mild TBI may be a more important risk factor with increasing age (age 55-64: HR, 1.11; 95% CI, 0.80-1.53; P = .55; vs age 65-74: HR, 1.25; 95% CI, 1.04-1.51; P = .02; age interaction P < .001). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Among patients evaluated in the ED or inpatient settings, those with moderate to severe TBI at 55 years or older or mild TBI at 65 years or older had an increased risk of developing dementia. Younger adults may be more resilient to the effects of recent mild TBI than older adults.
Effectiveness of nightguard vital bleaching with 10% carbamide peroxide -- a clinical study.

OBJECTIVE To use the criteria set by the American Dental Association to evaluate the effectiveness of nightguard vital bleaching with 10% carbamide peroxide through a controlled randomized clinical trial. MATERIALS AND METHODS Fifty volunteers allocated to either an experimental group(Opalescence PF 10%; OPA) or a control group (placebo; PLA) used a gel for 21 days. Observations of tooth colour were recorded at baseline, immediately after 3 weeks of use(day 21), and 30 days (day 30) and 6 months (day 180) after the treatment was finished. Colour was evaluated with the Vitapan classical shade guide and from the volunteers' degree of satisfaction. Tooth sensitivity and gingival bleeding were also assessed. RESULTS The median increase in the lightness of the teeth in the OPA group was 3 units,based on the value-ordered Vitapan shade guide. This improvement in lightness was maintained for 6 months in 88% of this group. In the PLA group, 8% had a 2-unit reduction in tooth colour at day 21. Tooth sensitivity occurred in the OPA (36%) and PLA (8%)groups. Gingival bleeding was not associated with gel use. Volunteers' satisfaction was 92% for the OPA and 8% for the PLA group. CONCLUSIONS With the protocol used, nightguard vital bleaching was an effective technique that had minimal and transient side effects that disappeared after treatment without causing sequelae or complications.
DroidDetector: Android Malware Characterization and Detection Using Deep Learning

Smartphones and mobile tablets are rapidly becoming indispensable in daily life. Android has been the most popular mobile operating system since 2012. However, owing to the open nature of Android, countless malwares are hidden in a large number of benign apps in Android markets that seriously threaten Android security. Deep learning is a new area of machine learning research that has gained increasing attention in artificial intelligence. In this study, we propose to associate the features from the static analysis with features from dynamic analysis of Android apps and characterize malware using deep learning techniques. We implement an online deep-learning-based Android malware detection engine (DroidDetector) that can automatically detect whether an app is a malware or not. With thousands of Android apps, we thoroughly test DroidDetector and perform an indepth analysis on the features that deep learning essentially exploits to characterize malware. The results show that deep learning is suitable for characterizing Android malware and especially effective with the availability of more training data. DroidDetector can achieve 96.76% detection accuracy, which outperforms traditional machine learning techniques. An evaluation of ten popular anti-virus softwares demonstrates the urgency of advancing our capabilities in Android malware detection.
Automated Peritoneal Dialysis : Clinical Experience in 32 Children

Received December 3, 2003 Abstract We report the 61⁄2 years experience of automated peritoneal dialysis (APD) in 32 Chinese children who were put on the APD programme in the Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Princess Margaret Hospital since November 1996. There were 15 boys and 17 girls and the mean age of start of APD was 11.2±5.8 years (range 0.1-21.5 years). The mean duration of APD was 27.7±22.3 months (range 3-79 months). The primary diagnosis were glomerulonephropathies (40.6%), hypoplastic/dysplastic kidneys (31.3%), pyelonephritis (9.4%), and other renal diseases (18.8%). Peritoneal equilibration test showed that 14 patients (48.3%) were high transporter, 10 patients (34.5%) were high average transporter and 4 patients (13.8%) were low average transporter. Seven patients (21.8%) were on nightly intermittent peritoneal dialysis. Seventeen patients (53.1%) on continuous cyclic peritoneal dialysis (CCPD), 4 patients (12.5%) on high dose CCPD, and 3 patients (9%) on tidal peritoneal dialysis. The incidence of peritonitis rate was low with 1 infection every 80.5 patient months or annualised peritonitis rate 0.149. Causative organisms included gram positive organisms (45.5%), gram negative organisms (27.2%), atypical mycobacterium (9%), and culture negative (18.2%). The incidence of exit site infection was 1 episode per 23.5 patient months. The mean weekly Kt/V urea was 2.46±0.58 and mean combined weekly creatinine clearance was 59.3±19.5 litre/1.73 m. Eighteen patients (56.2%) remained on APD. Ten patients (31.3%) were successfully transplanted with functioning graft. One patient (3.1%) was on chronic HD and there were 3 deaths. We concluded that APD is a good dialysis modality for paediatric end stage renal failure patients and there was a low incidence of peritonitis while achieving adequate dialysis in the majority of patients.
Noise power estimation based on the probability of speech presence

In this paper, we analyze the minimum mean square error (MMSE) based spectral noise power estimator [1] and present an improvement. We will show that the MMSE based spectral noise power estimate is only updated when the a posteriori signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is lower than one. This threshold on the a posteriori SNR can be interpreted as a voice activity detector (VAD). We propose in this work to replace the hard decision of the VAD by a soft speech presence probability (SPP). We show that by doing so, the proposed estimator does not require a bias correction and safety-net as is required by the MMSE estimator presented in [1]. At the same time, the proposed estimator maintains the quick noise tracking capability which is characteristic for the MMSE noise tracker, results in less noise power overestimation and is computationally less expensive.
The Growth Arrest-Specific Gene Product Gas6 Promotes the Survival of Human Oligodendrocytes via a Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase-Dependent Pathway

Microarray analysis revealed that transcripts for the Axl and Mer receptor tyrosine kinases are expressed at high levels in O4+-immunopanned oligodendrocytes isolated from second trimester human fetal spinal cord. In humans the sole known ligand for the Axl/Rse/Mer kinases is growth arrest-specific gene 6 (Gas6), which in the CNS is secreted by neurons and endothelial cells. We hypothesized that Gas6 is a survival factor for oligodendrocytes and receptor activation signals downstream to the phosphatidylinositol 3 (PI3)-kinase/Akt pathway to increase cell survival in the absence of cell proliferation. To test this hypothesis, we grew enriched human oligodendrocytes for 6 d on a monolayer of NIH3T3 cells stably expressing Gas6. CNP+ oligodendrocytes on Gas6-secreting 3T3 cells had more primary processes and arborizations than those plated solely on 3T3 cells. Also, a twofold increase in CNP+ and MBP+ oligodendrocytes was observed when they were plated on the Gas6-secreting cells. The effect was abolished in the presence of Axl-Fc but remained unchanged in the presence of the irrelevant receptor fusion molecule TrkA-Fc. A significant decrease in CNP+/TUNEL+ oligodendrocytes was observed when recombinant human Gas6 (rhGas6) was administered to oligodendrocytes plated on poly-l-lysine, supporting a role for Gas6 signaling in oligodendrocyte survival during a period of active myelination in human fetal spinal cord development. PI3-kinase inhibitors blocked the anti-apoptotic effect of rhGas6, whereas a MEK/ERK inhibitor had no effect. Thus Gas6 sustains human fetal oligodendrocyte viability by receptor activation and downstream signaling via the PI3-kinase/Akt pathway.
Individualized Cutoff Value of the Serum Carcinoembryonic Antigen Level According to TNM Stage in Colorectal Cancer

See Article on Page 106-114 Serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) is the most widely used tumor marker for the management of colorectal cancer. The preoperative serum CEA level has been reported to be one of prognostic parameters for the recurrence of colorectal cancers [1, 2]. Postoperative monitoring of the serum CEA level has been commonly used in the follow-up for colorectal cancers [3]. However, whether the preoperative serum CEA level has a prognostic significance according to individual stages in patients with colorectal cancer is controversial [4-7]. Harrison et al. [6] analyzed a large cohort of node-negative colon cancer patients (T1-4, N0, M0) to determine prognostic factors. The study demonstrated that the preoperative serum CEA elevation (>5 ng/mL) had a poor prognostic value in node-negative patients (T1-4, N0, M0). Another study showed that 5 ng/mL, as cutoff value for serum CEA, had no significant prognostic value within the different Dukes' stages and had borderline prognostic value in the Dukes' C stage [7]. Those trials to identify the prognostic value of serum CEA elevation within individual stages have some limitations. The biochemical characters of serum CEA are not well known. For those trials, hypotheses are necessary. Serum CEA has other biochemical characters, but not as a marker to predict increasing size of tumor or metastasis to lymph nodes. Serum CEA might be a sensitive marker, represents size and metastasis. Few studies have reported optimal cutoff values for serum CEA levels in patients with colorectal cancer. Reiter et al. [8] reported the results of a multivariate analysis of the prognostic value of serum CEA level in colorectal cancer. For preoperative serum CEA levels of ≥4 ng/mL vs. 4 ng/mL and 10 ng/mL vs. 17 ng/mL) (P < 0.001). According to stage, a significant difference in survival was observed only in patients with stage III tumors (P = 0.007). In this study, the authors tried to determine the individual optimal cutoff value of CEA according to TNM stage [10]. The conventional cutoff value of CEA (5 ng/mL) has no significant prognostic value in stage T1-2, N0 and stage T1-4, N2. Optimal cutoff values from the receiver operating characteristic curve were 7.4, 5.5 and 4.5 ng/mL for TNM stages I, II and III, respectively. Those for stages N0, N1 and N2 were 5.5, 4.8 and 3.5 ng/mL, respectively. The 5-year disease free survivals were significantly different with these cutoff values for each TNM and N stages. However, one has to consider that a sub-normal CEA level may be a cutoff value that can be used as a prognostic marker.
Combining Agents that Target the Tumor Microenvironment Improves the Efficacy of Anticancer Therapy

Purpose: Over the past 60 years, cytotoxic chemotherapy has targeted the cancer cell. Despite this, there have been few cancer cures. A new approach to cancer therapy is to target the multicellular biological entity of the tumor microenvironment. Experimental Design: Lenalidomide, an immunomodulatory drug, sunitinib, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor, and low-dose metronomic cyclophosphamide, were tested alone and in combination for their abilities to inhibit endothelial cell tube formation, rat aortic ring outgrowth, tumor growth, and metastatic development in mice. In addition, ectopic tumor lysates were evaluated for the presence of proangiogenic proteins. Results: The three agents alone were shown to significantly inhibit endothelial cells' ability to form tubes and significantly inhibit the multicellular microenvironment in the rat aortic ring assay (P < 0.01 and P < 0.001). This effect was also significantly augmented when the agents were combined. Furthermore, the three-drug combination was able halt the progression of tumor growth almost completely in xenograft models of ocular melanoma, colon cancer, pancreatic cancer, and cutaneous melanoma. These agents significantly decrease the number of proliferating cells in tumors, significantly increase the number of cells undergoing active cell death in tumors, and significantly decrease the number of blood vessels in treated tumors (P < 0.05). Combination therapy shows a decrease in the compensatory up-regulation of proangiogenic proteins after treatment when compared with single-agent therapy. Conclusions: This combination of agents causes an inhospitable microenvironment for tumor cells and shows great promise for use in the clinic.
New strategy to reduce the global burden of stroke.

The socioeconomic and health effect of stroke and other noncommunicable disorders (NCDs) that share many of the same risk factors with stroke, such as heart attack, dementia, and diabetes mellitus, is huge and increasing.1–4 Collectively, NCDs account for 34.5 million deaths (66% of deaths from all causes)3 and 1344 million disability-adjusted life years lost worldwide in 2010.2 The burden of NCDs is likely to burgeon given the aging of the world’s population and the epidemiological transition currently observed in many low- to middle-income countries (LMICs). 5,6 In addition, there is low awareness in the population about these NCDs and their risk factors,7–10 particularly in LMICs.11 These factors, coupled with underuse of strategies for primary prevention of stroke/NCDs on an individual level and the lack of accurate data on the prevalence and effect of risk factors in different countries and populations have been implicated in the ever-increasing worldwide burden of the NCDs.12–15 Of particular concern is a significant increase in the number of young adults (aged <65 years) affected by stroke,16 and the increasing epidemic of overweight/obesity17 and diabetes mellitus worldwide.18 If these trends continue, the burden of stroke and other major NCDs will increase even faster. The increasing burden of stroke and other major NCDs provide strong support for the notion that the currently used primary prevention strategies for stroke and other major NCDs (business as usual) are not sufficiently effective. The most pertinent solution to this problem is the implementation of new, effective, widely available, and cost-effective prevention and treatment strategies to reduce the incidence and severity distribution of stroke and other major NCDs. The recent INTERSTROKE case-control study, conducted in 22 countries worldwide, provided evidence that, collectively, 10 risk factors accounted …
Highly accurate calculation of rotating neutron stars - Detailed description of the numerical methods

We give a detailed description of the recently developed multi-domain spectral method for constructing highly accurate general-relativistic models of rapidly rotating stars. For both "ordinary" and "critical" configurations, we show using representative examples, how the accuracy improves as the order of the approximation increases. As well as homogeneous fluid bodies, we also discuss models of polytropic and strange stars.
Volume minimization of the main DM/CM EMI filter stage of a bidirectional three-phase three-level PWM rectifier system

Three-phase voltage source AC-DC converters disclose a differential mode (DM) and a considerable common mode (CM) bridge-leg output voltage at the switching frequency, which need to be filtered by an EMI input filter to comply with conducted EMI standards (e.g. CISPR 11) at the mains terminal. Additionally, the EMI filter (which in this paper includes the boost inductor) should usually limit the maximum peak-to-peak bridge-leg output current ripple, to which a DM and CM component contribute, to 20%-40% of the nominal peak current. Typically, the DM current ripple is defined by the boost inductance Ldm, 1 and the CM current ripple by the CM inductance Lcm, 1. Therefore, a degree of freedom in the filter design exists: different combinations of Ldm, 1 and Lcm, 1 lead to the same peak-to-peak bridge-leg output current ripple. Accordingly, this paper investigates the optimal ratio kL, opt = Lcm, 1/Ldm, 1, which minimizes the volume of the main LC stage of the DM/CM EMI input filter. To achieve a compact filter, it is demonstrated for a 10 kW PWM rectifier system that for kL ≥ 3 the boxed filter volume is almost constant. Additionally, kL, opt = 14 minimizes the stray field of the CM choke Lcm, 1 and leads to a minimal boxed filter volume of 0.43 ltr. for a filter cooled by natural convection.
The “emotion misattribution” procedure: Processing beyond good and bad under masked and unmasked presentation conditions

In general, it is assumed that misattribution in the Affect Misattribution Procedure (AMP) is restricted to crude affect due to its unbound nature, especially under limited presentation conditions. In two experiments, we investigated whether emotion-specific misattributions occur using a four-category misattribution procedure. Experiment 1 yielded emotion-specific misattribution effects under clearly visible presentation conditions demonstrating that the procedure is principally susceptible for emotion-specific effects. In Experiment 2, we employed masked presentation conditions impeding conscious prime perception. A specific pattern of emotion-specific misattributions effects emerged indicating some emotion-specific processing at initial stages of processing. However, not each emotion was misattributed equally. We discuss the implications of these results for the non-conscious processing of emotional information, for the supposed mechanisms of the AMP and its implicit nature.
Spatial and temporal distribution of Lepeophtheirus salmonis (Krøyer) larvae in a sea loch containing Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., farms on the north-west coast of Scotland.

A plankton survey investigated spatial and temporal distributions of larval sea lice in a sea loch on the north-west coast of Scotland. Plankton tows were collected approximately weekly at two depths (0 and 5 m) at five sample stations over a 2-year period. The survey began in March 2002 when Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L. , farms in the study area stocked with fish and finished in March 2004, after farms completed harvesting. Over 90% of lice recovered were Lepeophtheirus salmonis (Krøyer); therefore, the results of this paper refer largely to that species. The data were analysed using generalized additive models with explanatory variables for time, depth and station. Greatest densities of nauplii were recovered at stations adjacent to farms indicating that the local salmon farms were a likely source of larvae at times during the production cycle. There were significant temporal trends in larval densities and the stocking and harvesting of farms can possibly account for these increases and decreases, particularly at the start and at the end of the production cycle. The distribution of copepodids was more widespread than that of nauplii, indicating that the larvae can be transported several kilometres from the point of release.
Stability and instability intervals of polynomially dependent systems: An matrix pencil analysis

In this paper we present a stability analysis approach for polynomially-dependent one-parameter systems. The approach, which appears to be conceptually appealing and computationally efficient and is referred to as an eigenvalue perturbation approach, seeks to characterize the analytical and asymptotic properties of eigenvalues of matrix-valued functions or operators. The essential problem dwells on the asymptotic behavior of the critical eigenvalues on the imaginary axis, that is, on how the imaginary eigenvalues may vary with respect to the varying parameter. This behavior determines whether the imaginary eigenvalues cross from one half plane into another, and hence plays a critical role in determining the stability of such systems. Our results reveal that the eigenvalue asymptotic behavior can be characterized by solving a simple generalized eigenvalue problem, leading to numerically efficient stability conditions.
Smokers' response to combination bupropion, nicotine patch, and counseling treatment by race/ethnicity.

BACKGROUND Evidence on how to tailor nicotine dependence treatment to specific race/ethnic groups is limited. The present study investigated responses to established smoking cessation treatments among African American, Hispanic, and White adults. METHODS Participants were 559 smokers (126 African American, 73 Hispanic, and 360 White). All received treatment for eight weeks with open-label bupropion, the nicotine patch, and individual counseling. The dependent variable was tobacco abstinence during the last four weeks of treatment. The independent variables were race/ethnicity and other known predictors of abstinence, including sex, age, smoking history (nicotine dependence level, number of cigarettes smoked daily, serum cotinine level and expired carbon monoxide, number of past quit attempts, and age when daily smoking began), confidence in ability to stop smoking, body mass index, psychological status, and psychiatric history (past major depression and alcohol dependence). RESULTS The total proportion of abstainers in the sample was 53%, with proportional differences by race/ethnicity (Whites 60%, African Americans 38%, Hispanics 41%). Compared to Whites, the odds ratios (OR) for quitting, adjusted for moderators of race/ ethnicity and other predictors of abstinence, were significantly lower among African Americans (OR .44, 95% confidence interval 195% CI] .27-.72) and Hispanics (OR .46, 95% CI .26-.81). CONCLUSION Disparity in smoking cessation treatment outcome among African American and Hispanic smokers compared to Whites implies that the burden of tobacco-related illness will continue to fall disproportionately among minority racial/ethnic groups. Gaining knowledge on the effectiveness of nicotine dependence treatments and on the factors that facilitate or impede a successful response by minority smokers is a public health priority.