Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Oral Beta-Blockade in Patients for Coronary Computed Tomographic Angiography

Objective: To determine the effectiveness of oral medications in lowering the resting heart rate (HR) for coronary computed tomographic angiography (CTA). Background: The protocol of premedication for cardiac CTA is variable in terms of type, dose, route, and timing of administration. Methods: Nursing records were retrospectively reviewed in 238 consecutive patients having coronary CTA and 217 patients evaluated for type and amount of oral medication administered. The HR on arrival to computed tomography (CT) and 30 and 60 minutes after medication was noted. Results: One hundred twenty-three patients (56.6%) had a mean HR of 78.3 ± 9.4 beats per minute (bpm) on arrival and were given medication. One hundred fourteen patients (92.6%) were given 50 mg of oral metoprolol, with the remaining receiving 25 to 100 mg and 1 patient receiving 30 mg of oral diltiazem. Sixty-eight patients (55.2%) were monitored for less than 1 hour and had a mean HR of 73.1 ± 5.1 bpm on arrival, a 9.8 ± 4.7-bpm decrease in HR at 30 minutes, and an HR of 56.5 ± 7.2 bpm during CT. Thirty-nine patients (31.7%) had a mean HR of 81.3 ± 7.2 bpm on arrival, a 9.8 ± 7.4-bpm decrease in HR at 30 minutes, a 16.9 ± 6.3-bpm decrease in HR at 60 minutes, and an HR of 59.8 ± 4.8 bpm during CT. Sixteen patients were monitored for more than 1 hour, followed by intravenous metoprolol. These patients had a baseline HR of 93.5 ± 8.9 bpm, a 13.1 ± 6.4-bpm decrease in HR at 30 minutes, a 15.9 ± 6.8-bpm decrease in HR at 60 minutes, and an HR of 68.1 ± 7.9 bpm during CT. There were no complications due to metoprolol. Conclusion: Oral metoprolol given 1 hour before cardiac CT effectively and safely lowers the resting HR in most patients.
Supplementary Material To: "Prokaryote Phylogeny Meets Taxonomy: An Exhaustive Comparison of Composition Vector Trees With Systematic Bacteriology"

Abreviations: P=Phylum, C=Class, O=Order, F=Family, G=Genus, S=Species, str=strain; A=Archaea, B=Bacteria, E=Eukaryote. The abbreviations of organism names follow that of the SWISS-PROT database. If absent in SWISS-PROT we concatenate the first three letters of the genus name and two or three letters from the rest. Thus Thermococcus kodakaraensis KOD1 should be assigned an abbreviation as Theko according o our convention. However, as it was named Pyrko in SWISS-PROT we keep the latter (this was caused by the fact that this Archaea was considered a Pyrococcus before).
Essentials of endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair imaging: preprocedural assessment.

OBJECTIVE To understand the abdominal aortic aneurysm imaging characteristics that must be accurately described for endovascular aortic aneurysm repair treatment planning, including evaluation of the landing zones, aneurysm morphology, and vascular access. CONCLUSION A comprehensive understanding of preprocedural imaging is necessary to produce detailed and clinically useful imaging reports and assist the interventionalist in planning endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair.
Validation of a new plasma cystatin C-based formula and the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease creatinine-based formula for determination of glomerular filtration rate

Objective. New proposed definitions of chronic kidney disease necessitate the development and use of simple and accurate methods for estimating glomerular filtration rate (GFR). Plasma cystatin C has been shown to be a more reliable GFR marker than creatinine and formulae for estimating GFR have been reported. The purpose of this study was to validate a cystatin C-based GFR prediction equation in a different population from the derivation set but using the cystatin C assay of a single laboratory, and to compare the results with that of the creatinine-based Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) Study equation. Material and methods. A newly presented formula based on plasma cystatin C and gender and the MDRD formula based on creatinine for estimation of GFR were validated in an unselective patient material. Single sample iohexol clearance was used as the GFR reference method in 406 consecutive patients with GFR varying from normal to poor renal function. The creatinine assay used was standardized to express true plasma creatinine. Results. Median bias (1.1%) and accuracy (79.1% of the estimates within ±30% of iohexol clearance) of the cystatin C formula were close to the derivation set. The accuracy was significantly higher than that of the original four-variable MDRD equation (73.2%; median bias 9.8%). However, the accuracy did not differ significantly from that of the re-expressed MDRD formula (79.6%; median bias 3.2%) based on true creatinine. Both formulae performed with a low bias and acceptable accuracy up to a GFR of 90 ml/min/1.73 m2. Conclusions. GFR estimation based on plasma cystatin C performed equally well in the validation as in the derivation set, and was as accurate as the re-expressed MDRD creatinine-based equation.
Robust Wirtinger Flow for Phase Retrieval with Arbitrary Corruption

We consider the robust phase retrieval problem of recovering the unknown signal from the magnitude-only measurements, where the measurements can be contaminated by both sparse arbitrary corruption and bounded random noise. We propose a new nonconvex algorithm for robust phase retrieval, namely Robust Wirtinger Flow to jointly estimate the unknown signal and the sparse corruption. We show that our proposed algorithm is guaranteed to converge linearly to the unknown true signal up to a minimax optimal statistical precision in such a challenging setting. Compared with existing robust phase retrieval methods, we achieve an optimal sample complexity of $O(n)$ in both noisy and noise-free settings. Thorough experiments on both synthetic and real datasets corroborate our theory.
Assessment of Myocardial Bridge and Mural Coronary Artery Using ECG-Gated 256-Slice CT Angiography: A Retrospective Study

Recent clinical reports have indicated that myocardial bridge and mural coronary artery complex (MB-MCA) might cause major adverse cardiac events. 256-slice CT angiography (256-slice CTA) is a newly developed CT system with faster scanning and lower radiation dose compared with other CT systems. The objective of this study is to evaluate the morphological features of MB-MCA and determine its changes from diastole to systole phase using 256-slice CTA. The imaging data of 2462 patients were collected retrospectively. Two independent radiologists reviewed the collected images and the diagnosis of MB-MCA was confirmed when consistency was obtained. The length, diameter, and thickness of MB-MCA in diastole and systole phases were recorded, and changes of MB-MCA were calculated. Our results showed that among the 2462 patients examined, 336 have one or multiple MB-MCA (13.6%). Out of 389 MB-MCA segments, 235 sites were located in LAD2 (60.41%). The average diameter change of MCA in LAD2 from systole phase to diastole phase was 1.1 ± 0.4 mm, and 34.9% of MCA have more than 50% diameter stenosis in systole phase. This study suggested that 256-slice CTA multiple-phase reconstruction technique is a reliable method to determine the changes of MB-MCA from diastole to systole phase.
High-Temperature Tempered Martensite Embrittlement in Quenched-and-Tempered Offshore Steels

Embrittlement induced by high-temperature tempering was investigated in two quenched-and-tempered offshore steels. Electron backscattering diffraction and analysis of Kernel average misorientation were applied to study the coalescence of martensite; transmission Kikuchi diffraction coupled with compositional mapping was used to characterize the martensite/austenite (M/A) phases. It is suggested that the formation of lenticular martensite along prior austenite grain boundaries or packet boundaries primarily explains the embrittlement in conventional S690Q steel, which has a higher carbon content. This embrittlement can be cured by additional heat treatment to decompose martensite into ferrite and cementite. In a newly designed NiCu steel with reduced carbon content, new lath martensite formed along interlath or inter-block boundaries of prior martensite. This microstructure is less detrimental to the impact toughness of the steel.
Quantitative study of insulin secretion and clearance in normal and obese subjects.

The secretion and hepatic extraction of insulin were compared in 14 normal volunteers and 15 obese subjects using a previously validated mathematical model of insulin secretion and rate constants for C-peptide derived from analysis of individual decay curves after intravenous bolus injections of biosynthetic human C-peptide. Insulin secretion rates were substantially higher than normal in the obese subjects after an overnight fast (86.7 +/- 7.1 vs. 50.9 +/- 4.8 pmol/m2 per min, P less than 0.001, mean +/- SEM), over a 24-h period on a mixed diet (279.6 +/- 24.2 vs. 145.8 +/- 8.8 nmol/m2 per 24 h, P less than 0.001), and during a hyperglycemic intravenous glucose infusion (102.2 +/- 10.8 vs. 57.2 +/- 2.8 nmol/m2 per 180 min, P less than 0.001). Linear regression analysis revealed a highly significant relationship between insulin secretion and body mass index. Basal hepatic insulin extraction was not significantly different in the normal and obese subjects (53.1 +/- 3.8 vs. 51.6 +/- 4.0%). In the normal subjects, fasting insulin did not correlate with basal hepatic insulin extraction, but a significant negative correlation between fasting insulin and hepatic insulin extraction was seen in obesity (r = -0.63, P less than 0.02). This finding reflected a higher extraction in the six obese subjects with fasting insulin levels within the range of the normal subjects than in the nine subjects with elevated fasting insulin concentrations (61 +/- 3 vs. 45 +/- 6%, P less than 0.05). During the hyperglycemic clamp, the insulin secretion rate increased to an average maximum of 6.2-fold over baseline in the normal subjects and 5.8-fold in the obese subjects. Over the same time, the peripheral insulin concentration increased 14.1-fold over baseline in the normals and 16.6-fold over baseline in the obese, indicating a reduction in the clearance of endogenously secreted insulin. Although the fall in insulin clearance tended to be greater in the obese subjects, the differences between the two groups were not statistically significant. Thus, under basal, fasting conditions and during ingestion of a mixed diet, the hyperinsulinemia of obesity results predominantly from increased insulin secretion. In patients with more marked basal hyperinsulinemia and during intense stimulation of insulin secretion, a reduction in insulin clearance may contribute to the greater increase in peripheral insulin concentrations that are characteristic of the obese state. +
Influência do agregado graúdo na resistência ao cisalhamento de vigas de concreto autoadensável

Um programa experimental foi realizado para investigar a influencia do volume e diâmetro maximo do agregado graudo empregado na producao do concreto autoadensavel na resistencia ao cisalhamento deste material comparado ao concreto convencionalmente vibrado. Foram avaliadas seis dosagens de concreto, quatro de concreto autoadensavel e duas de concreto convencionalmente vibrado tendo como variaveis o diâmetro maximo do agregado graudo e o volume deste agregado na dosagem. Um total de 18 vigas com armadura de flexao e sem armadura transversal foram ensaiadas a flexao a quatro pontos sendo avaliados os modos de ruptura, padroes de fissuracao e a forca cortante ultima, comparando as resistencias obtidas experimentalmente com as estimativas das normas ACI-318 e EC-2. Os resultados demonstram menor resistencia ao cisalhamento em vigas de concreto autoadensavel em relacao ao concreto convencional, principalmente quando reduzido o diâmetro maximo do agregado.
State of the Art Control of Atari Games Using Shallow Reinforcement Learning

The recently introduced Deep Q-Networks (DQN) algorithm has gained attention as one of the first successful combinations of deep neural networks and reinforcement learning. Its promise was demonstrated in the Arcade Learning Environment (ALE), a challenging framework composed of dozens of Atari 2600 games used to evaluate general competency in AI. It achieved dramatically better results than earlier approaches, showing that its ability to learn good representations is quite robust and general. This paper attempts to understand the principles that underlie DQN's impressive performance and to better contextualize its success. We systematically evaluate the importance of key representational biases encoded by DQN's network by proposing simple linear representations that make use of these concepts. Incorporating these characteristics, we obtain a computationally practical feature set that achieves competitive performance to DQN in the ALE. Besides offering insight into the strengths and weaknesses of DQN, we provide a generic representation for the ALE, significantly reducing the burden of learning a representation for each game. Moreover, we also provide a simple, reproducible benchmark for the sake of comparison to future work in the ALE.
A distinct integrin-mediated phagocytic pathway for extracellular matrix remodeling by RPE cells.

PURPOSE To characterize the phagocytosis of extracellular matrix components by retinal pigment epithelial cells and to determine which receptors and signal transduction pathways are involved. METHODS Fluorescent latex beads were coated with fibronectin (FN), collagen type I or IV, or thrombospondin and incubated with human retinal pigment epithelial cells for 3 hours. Phagocytosis was quantified by flow cytometry. The effects of adhesion blocking antibodies to cell surface receptors (alpha1, alpha3, alpha5, beta1, alpha5beta1, alphavbeta3, alphavbeta5 integrins and CD36) and inhibitors of specific intracellular signaling pathways (tyrosine kinase phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase [PI3-kinase], protein kinase C [PKC], and mitogen-activated protein kinase) were determined using FN-coated beads. RESULTS Phagocytosis of FN-coated beads was greater than phagocytosis of beads coated with collagen type I, collagen type IV, or thrombospondin or uncoated controls (P < 0.0005). Anti-alpha5, -beta1, and -alpha5beta1 antibodies markedly inhibited FN phagocytosis (P < 0.0005); the inhibitory effects of anti-alpha5 antibody were stronger in the initial stages (binding) than in the later stages (internalization) of phagocytosis. There was no significant effect on phagocytosis when anti-alpha1, -alpha3, -alphavbeta5, -alphavbeta3 or -CD36 antibodies were used. Fibronectin phagocytosis was decreased by inhibitors of tyrosine kinase (genistein, 100 microg/ml, P < 0.005) and PI3-kinase (wortmannin, 5 microM, P < 0.01), but these reagents did not affect the uncoated controls. The PKC inhibitor calphostin C (400 nM) nonspecifically increased the phagocytosis of FN-coated (P < 0.05) and uncoated beads (P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS Subconfluent retinal pigment epithelial cells preferentially phagocytose FN over other extracellular matrix components. Phagocytosis of FN utilizes the alpha5beta1 integrin, is mediated in part through tyrosine kinase and PI3-kinase signaling pathways, and is modulated by PKC. Phagocytosis of extracellular matrix by retinal pigment epithelial cells may represent a novel mechanism for remodeling of the provisional extracellular matrix during outer retinal wound healing.
Rational Design of a Flavivirus Vaccine by Abolishing Viral RNA 2′-O Methylation

ABSTRACT Viruses that replicate in the cytoplasm cannot access the host nuclear capping machinery. These viruses have evolved viral methyltransferase(s) to methylate N-7 and 2′-O cap of their RNA; alternatively, they “snatch” host mRNA cap to form the 5′ end of viral RNA. The function of 2′-O methylation of viral RNA cap is to mimic cellular mRNA and to evade host innate immune restriction. A cytoplasmic virus defective in 2′-O methylation is replicative, but its viral RNA lacks 2′-O methylation and is recognized and eliminated by the host immune response. Such a mutant virus could be rationally designed as a live attenuated vaccine. Here, we use Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), an important mosquito-borne flavivirus, to prove this novel vaccine concept. We show that JEV methyltransferase is responsible for both N-7 and 2′-O cap methylations as well as evasion of host innate immune response. Recombinant virus completely defective in 2′-O methylation was stable in cell culture after being passaged for >30 days. The mutant virus was attenuated in mice, elicited robust humoral and cellular immune responses, and retained the engineered mutation in vivo. A single dose of immunization induced full protection against lethal challenge with JEV strains in mice. Mechanistically, the attenuation phenotype was attributed to the enhanced sensitivity of the mutant virus to the antiviral effects of interferon and IFIT proteins. Collectively, the results demonstrate the feasibility of using 2′-O methylation-defective virus as a vaccine approach; this vaccine approach should be applicable to other flaviviruses and nonflaviviruses that encode their own viral 2′-O methyltransferases.
Analysis of multimodal binary detection systems based on dependent/independent modalities

Performance limits of multimodal detection systems are analyzed in this paper. Two main setups are considered, i.e., based on fusion of dependent and independent modalities, respectively. The analysis is performed in terms of attainable probability of detection errors characterized by the corresponding error exponents. It is demonstrated that an expected performance gain from fusion of dependent modalities is superior than in the case when one fuses independent signals. In order to quantify the efficiency of dependent modality fusion versus the independent case, the problem analysis is performed in the Gaussian formulation.
Diagnosis of osteoarthritis and prognosis of tibial cartilage loss by quantification of tibia trabecular bone from MRI

A longitudinal study was used to investigate the quantification of osteoarthritis and prediction of tibial cartilage loss by analysis of the tibia trabecular bone from magnetic resonance images of knees. The Kellgren Lawrence (KL) grades were determined by radiologists and the levels of cartilage loss were assessed by a segmentation process. Aiming to quantify and potentially capture the structure of the trabecular bone anatomy, a machine learning approach used a set of texture features for training a classifier to recognize the trabecular bone of a knee with radiographic osteoarthritis. Using cross‐validation, the bone structure marker was used to estimate for each knee both the probability of having radiographic osteoarthritis (KL >1) and the probability of rapid cartilage volume loss. The diagnostic ability reached a median area under the receiver‐operator‐characteristics curve of 0.92 (P < 0.0001), and the prognosis had odds ratio of 3.9 (95% confidence interval: 2.4–6.5). The medians of cartilage loss of the subjects classified as slow and rapid progressors were 1.1% and 4.9% per year, respectively. A preliminary radiological reading of the high and low risk knees put forward an hypothesis of which pathologies the bone marker could be capturing to define the prognosis of cartilage loss. Magn Reson Med 70:568–575, 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Physiological consequences of DnaK and DnaJ overproduction in Escherichia coli

The physiological consequences of molecular chaperone overproduction in Escherichia coli are presented. Constitutive overproduction of DnaK from a multicopy plasmid containing large chromosomal fragments spanning the dnaK region resulted in plasmid instability. Co-overproduction of DnaJ with DnaK stabilized plasmid levels. To examine the effects of altered levels of DnaK and DnaJ in a more specific manner, an inducible expression system for dnaK and dnaJ was constructed and characterized. Differential rates of DnaK synthesis were determined by quantitative Western blot (immunoblot) analysis. Moderate levels of DnaK overproduction resulted in a defect in cell septation and formation of cell filaments, but co-overproduction of DnaJ overcame this effect. Further increases in the level of DnaK terminated culture growth despite increased levels of DnaJ. DnaK overproduction was found to be bacteriocidal, and this effect was also partially suppressed by DnaJ. The bacteriocidal effect was apparent only with cultures which were allowed to enter stationary phase, indicating that DnaK toxicity is growth phase dependent.
[Impulse control disorders in Parkinson's disease].

BACKGROUND Parkinson's disease is characterised not only by the classic triad of bradykinesia, rigidity and tremor, but also by the frequent occurrence of various non-motor symptoms such as the impulse control disorders (pathological gambling, hypersexuality, compulsive buying, binge eating, punding and dopamine dependency). AIM To increase insight into the clinical presentation, risk factors, treatment and the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms of impulse control disorders in Parkinson's disease. METHOD Relevant literature was reviewed. RESULTS Impulse control disorders belong to an important group of neuropsychiatric disorders that occur at some point in 5-10% of patients with Parkinson's disease. They generally occur in conjunction with dopaminergic medication and can have a marked social, relational and/ or financial impact. CONCLUSION Early recognition of impulse control disorders in Parkinson's disease is important and a close collaboration between the neurologist and the psychiatrist is essential in order to ensure correct diagnosis and the best possible treatment. Impulse control disorders in Parkinson's disease show considerable phenomenological overlap with other repetitive behaviours within the impulsive-compulsive spectrum of disorders to which the obsessive-compulsive disorders and addiction disorders belong. The overlap can possibly be explained by a shared pathophysiological mechanism involving an imbalance between the direct and indirect pathways of the dorsal and ventral frontal-striatal circuits.