Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Loop Gain Predicts the Response to Upper Airway Surgery in Patients With Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Study Objectives Upper airway surgery is often recommended to treat patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) who cannot tolerate continuous positive airways pressure. However, the response to surgery is variable, potentially because it does not improve the nonanatomical factors (ie, loop gain [LG] and arousal threshold) causing OSA. Measuring these traits clinically might predict responses to surgery. Our primary objective was to test the value of LG and arousal threshold to predict surgical success defined as 50% reduction in apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) and AHI <10 events/hour post surgery. Methods We retrospectively analyzed data from patients who underwent upper airway surgery for OSA (n = 46). Clinical estimates of LG and arousal threshold were calculated from routine polysomnographic recordings presurgery and postsurgery (median of 124 [91-170] days follow-up). Results Surgery reduced both the AHI (39.1 ± 4.2 vs. 26.5 ± 3.6 events/hour; p < .005) and estimated arousal threshold (-14.8 [-22.9 to -10.2] vs. -9.4 [-14.5 to -6.0] cmH2O) but did not alter LG (0.45 ± 0.08 vs. 0.45 ± 0.12; p = .278). Responders to surgery had a lower baseline LG (0.38 ± 0.02 vs. 0.48 ± 0.01, p < .05) and were younger (31.0 [27.3-42.5] vs. 43.0 [33.0-55.3] years, p < .05) than nonresponders. Lower LG remained a significant predictor of surgical success after controlling for covariates (logistic regression p = .018; receiver operating characteristic area under curve = 0.80). Conclusions Our study provides proof-of-principle that upper airway surgery most effectively resolves OSA in patients with lower LG. Predicting the failure of surgical treatment, consequent to less stable ventilatory control (elevated LG), can be achieved in the clinic and may facilitate avoidance of surgical failures.
Obesity and chronic kidney disease

Purpose of review To review recent advances in the epidemiology, pathophysiology, clinical features, and treatment of obesity-related kidney disease. Recent findings Studies have confirmed that obesity is associated with increased risk of developing chronic kidney disease (CKD). This risk extends to those who are metabolically healthy, indicating that obesity per se contributes to CKD independent of the metabolic syndrome. Recent developments in the pathophysiology of obesity-related kidney disease indicate that chronic inflammation and abnormal lipid metabolism contribute to kidney cell injury. Children with severe obesity have increased prevalence of early kidney abnormalities, including albuminuria, decreased kidney function, and elevated biomarkers of early kidney injury. For these patients, bariatric surgery has emerged as a treatment option to consider. Longitudinal studies in children and adults have demonstrated that in patients with obesity-related kidney disease, kidney function and albuminuria improve following bariatric surgery. Summary The injurious renal effects of obesity are present in childhood, although the natural history and clinical spectrum of obesity-related kidney disease in children are not known. In obese children with early kidney disease, identification of kidney injury, implementation of preventive strategies, and prompt treatment are essential to improving clinical outcomes.
A Scoping Study of Psychosocial Factors in Women Diagnosed With and/or Treated for Pelvic Organ Prolapse

A scoping study of existing literature examining psychosocial factors associated with pelvic organ prolapse. Objective Pelvic organ prolapse (POP) is prevalent and can impact women's physical and psychosocial health. To develop interventions that support this population, an understanding of the state of research on psychosocial factors related to POP is essential. We conducted a scoping study focused on the psychosocial experience of women with POP. The purpose of this review was to (1) inventory and describe the current state of knowledge of the psychosocial experience of women with POP, (2) identify gaps in knowledge, and (3) identify targets for future research. Method Electronic databases PsycINFO, PubMed, EMBASE, and CINAHL were searched through November 1, 2017. Results Of 524 titles reviewed, 103 articles met all inclusion criteria. Articles were grouped by the disease period (ie, prediagnosis, diagnosis/preintervention, intervention, follow-up, and mixed) and psychosocial factors. Most articles (n = 73) focused on women undergoing intervention. Articles focusing on the preintervention period was the next largest category (n = 14). Follow-up after intervention (n = 8) and samples of mixed disease periods (n = 7) were less common. One article focused on women before diagnosis. Articles focused on quality of life (QOL; n = 79), sexual function (n = 51), satisfaction (n = 16), body image (n = 13), psychological distress (n = 4), and knowledge (n = 3). Conclusions Research on the psychosocial experience of POP has largely focused on changes in QOL and sexual function. Future research should target emotional experience of women with POP; relationships among QOL, psychological distress, body image, and sexual function; and psychosocial factors related to treatment outcomes.
Preliminary examination of the effects of relative humidity on the fracture morphology of cotton flat bundles

A preliminary examination of the effects of relative humidity (RH) of three testing conditions on cotton fiber fracture morphology is presented herein. In addition, measurements of fiber moisture content, stelometer cotton flat bundle strength and elongation were collected at the three testing conditions. A general trend is observed for moisture content, strength and elongations measurements; testing in conditions with higher RH generally resulted in a progressive increase in moisture content, strength and elongation values. The morphology of broken fibers was also affected by the testing conditions. Fibers broken at high RH (i.e. 70 ± 2°F and 80 ± 2% RH) showed a more frayed fracture where microfibril separation, a fracture pattern that suggests independent microfibril failure, was evident. In contrast, at standard conditions (i.e. 70 ± 2°F and 65 ± 2%), fiber fractures were more granular (clean fractures), a reflection of a more unilateral breaking action. At low RH (i.e. 70 ± 2°F and 50 ± 2%), fiber fractures exhibited a distorted granular pattern, with extended fracture breaks that did not exhibit microfibril separation. Our preliminary findings are of relevance to post-harvest moisture control efforts currently employed in industry and may contribute to larger efforts to understand the effects of the fracture and damage observed in cotton fiber properties.
Presence of species within the Anopheles gambiae complex in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

BACKGROUND Anopheles gambiae s.l. is the primary vector of malaria in the Democratic Republic of Congo, however, there is little data on the species from this complex present in the country. METHODS This paper presents the species collected (as determined by PCR) between 2004 and 2011 in 16 locations across the country. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS The two species from the An. gambiae complex that were detected were An. coluzzii and An. gambiae s.s. An. gambiae s.s. was predominant in eastern DRC, whereas An. coluzzii was the main species found in several locations in Bandundu. The species were also found in sympatry in several locations (Kinshasa, Kisangani, Lodja). These results provide a basis for future work, which is needed to accurately describe the distribution of the An. gambiae complex species in DRC.
Phase Asynchronous Physical-Layer Network Coding: Decoder Design and Experimental Study

Physical-layer network coding (PNC) channel decoding at the relay is of key importance for good performance in PNC systems. However, PNC channel decoders can have prohibitive computation complexity. Low complexity non-iterative PNC channel decoders are desired in practice. For such PNC decoders, decoding performance may degrade significantly when there is a relative phase offset between the simultaneous signals of multiple nodes received at the relay, particularly when bit-likelihood-based decoding is adopted. In this paper, we thoroughly investigate and numerically quantify the impact of relative phase offset on decoding performance. To maintain good decoding performance under relative phase offset, we introduce and experimentally evaluate symbol-likelihood-based decoding (in contrast to bit-likelihood-based decoding) for PNC systems. Our experimental results show that symbol-likelihood-based decoding improves the packet throughput over bit-likelihood-based decoding by 100% to 400% at SNR of 15 dBs. Moreover, we study the computational complexity under both these decoding methods. We find that a reduced-complexity decoder with symbol-likelihood-based decoding provides the best performance-complexity tradeoff for practical PNC systems.
Consumer Health-Related Activities on Social Media: Exploratory Study

Background Although a number of studies have investigated how consumers use social media for health-related purposes, there is a paucity of studies in the Australian context. Objective This study aimed to explore how Australian consumers used social media for health-related purposes, specifically how they identified social media platforms, which were used, and which health-related activities commonly took place. Methods A total of 5 focus groups (n=36 participants), each lasting 60 to 90 minutes, were conducted in the Sydney metropolitan area. The group discussions were audiorecorded and transcribed verbatim. The transcripts were coded line-by-line and thematically analyzed. Results Participants used general search engines to locate health-related social media platforms. They accessed a wide range of social media on a daily basis, using several electronic devices (in particular, mobile phones). Although privacy was a concern, it did not prevent consumers from fully engaging in social media for health-related purposes. Blogs were used to learn from other people’s experiences with the same condition. Facebook allowed consumers to follow health-related pages and to participate in disease-specific group discussions. Wikipedia was used for factual information about diseases and treatments. YouTube was accessed to learn about medical procedures such as surgery. No participant reported editing or contributing to Wikipedia or posting YouTube videos related to health topics. Twitter was rarely used for health-related purposes. Social media allowed consumers to obtain and provide disease and treatment-related information and social and emotional support for those living with the same condition. Most considered their participation as observational, but some also contributed (eg, responded to people’s questions). Conclusions Participants used a wide range of social media for health-related purposes. Medical information exchange (eg, disease and treatment) and social and emotional support were the cornerstones of their online activities. Social media appears to be used as a key tool to support disease self-management.
Systematic review of public-targeted communication interventions to improve antibiotic use

Background: Excessive use of antibiotics accelerates the acquisition/spread of antimicrobial resistance. A systematic review was conducted to identify the components of successful communication interventions targeted at the general public to improve antibiotic use. Methods: The databases MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, Web of Science and Cochrane Library were searched. Search terms were related to the population (public, community), intervention (campaign, mass media) and outcomes (antibiotic, antimicrobial resistance). References were screened for inclusion by one author with a random subset of 10% screened by a second author. No date restrictions were applied and only articles in the English language were considered. Studies had to have a control group or be an interrupted time-series. Outcomes had to measure change in antibiotic-related prescribing/consumption and/or the public’s knowledge, attitudes or behaviour. Two reviewers assessed the quality of studies. Narrative synthesis was performed. Results: Fourteen studies were included with an estimated 74–75 million participants. Most studies were conducted in the United States or Europe and targeted both the general public and clinicians. Twelve of the studies measured changes in antibiotic prescribing. There was quite strong (P < 0·05 to ≥ 0·01) to very strong (P < 0·001) evidence that interventions that targeted prescribing for RTIs were associated with decreases in antibiotic prescribing; the majority of these studies reported reductions of greater than −14% with the largest effect size reaching −30%. Conclusion: Multi-faceted communication interventions that target both the general public and clinicians can reduce antibiotic prescribing in high-income countries but the sustainability of reductions in antibiotic prescribing is unclear.
Decoupled ISAR imaging using RSFW based on twice compressed sensing

Random stepped-frequency radar without delay-Doppler coupling can suppress the range ambiguity and become less sensitive to electronic countermeasures. Considering its inherent randomness, this paper focuses on sidelobe reduction in inverse synthetic aperture radar imaging for sparse target scenes based on the compressed sensing (CS) theory. First, precise motion compensation and a high-resolution range profile (HRRP) with a low sidelobe are simultaneously achieved by the CS scheme for each train containing fewer pulses. Then, we analyze the disadvantages of conventional cross-range compression algorithms, which cannot guarantee high-quality focusing performance because there may be some false HRRPs caused by the uncertainty of the CS theory or some other factors. Finally, the modified correlation coefficient is defined to discard a large percentage of those uncorrelated HRRPs and the cross-range resolution is achieved by using the CS theory again. The validity of this decoupled imaging algorithm is demonstrated by some simulation and experimental results, which indicate that the approach is capable of precise estimation of scattering centers and effective suppression of a high sidelobe.
Utilization of Buprenorphine and Methadone among Opioid users who Inject Drugs

Background There has been a rise in opioid abuse and related injection drug use in the United States, and treatment for opioid use disorders may be underutilized. The study aim was to describe utilization of opioid agonist therapy (OAT), and assess factors associated with utilization of OAT, among persons who inject drugs (PWID) in the Seattle metropolitan area. Methods Data were obtained from the 2015 National HIV Behavioral Surveillance (NHBS) system among PWID in the Seattle area. Persons aged ≥18 years who injected drugs in the past year were recruited using respondent-driven sampling. Local supplemental questions assessed whether participants had received methadone or buprenorphine treatment in the past year. The analysis was restricted to participants who reported use of any opioids in the past year. Analyses compared the demographic, health insurance status, duration of injection drug use, prior history of overdose, prior receipt of hepatitis C virus/human immunodeficiency virus (HCV/HIV) testing (self-report), and screening positive for HCV/HIV via study testing between methadone- or buprenorphine-treated and untreated PWID. Multivariate logistic models were performed to assess adjusted associations with receipt of any OAT. Results The sample included 487 PWID who used opioids in the past year, of whom 27.1% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 23.1–31.1) reported past-year treatment with methadone and 4.7% (95% CI: 2.8–6.6) reported treatment with buprenorphine. There were no significant differences in demographics among participants who did and did not report past-year OAT; however, participants who were treated with methadone were more likely to be insured and have hepatitis C. After adjustment for other covariates, having health insurance was strongly associated with receipt of OAT (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 18.6; 95% CI: 2.5–138.7). Conclusions OAT, in particular buprenorphine, has been underutilized by opioid-using PWID in the Seattle area. Health insurance is a critical factor for enabling PWID to utilize OAT treatment for opioid use disorders.
Clozapine Augmentation With Antiepileptic Drugs for Treatment-Resistant Schizophrenia: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

OBJECTIVE To meta-analyze randomized controlled trials (RCTs) for the efficacy and safety of adjunctive antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) to augment clozapine therapy for treatment-resistant schizophrenia. DATA SOURCES The search included databases in English (PubMed, PsycINFO, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases and the Cochrane Controlled Trials Register) and in Chinese (China Journal Net [CJN], WanFang, and China Biology Medicine [CBM]) and references from retrieved articles. The databases were searched using dates inclusive from their onset until January 1, 2016, for terms reflecting (a) schizophrenia, (b) clozapine, and (c) adjunctive drugs. STUDY SELECTION From 1,969 potentially relevant articles, 21 articles describing 22 RCTs were selected. DATA EXTRACTION Two independent investigators extracted data for a random-effects meta-analysis and assessed the quality of the studies using risk of bias and the Jadad scale. Standard mean difference, risk ratio (RR) ± 95% confidence intervals (CIs), and the number needed to harm (NNH) were used. RESULTS A total of 22 RCTs (N = 1,227) with 4 AEDs (topiramate [5 RCTs, n = 270], lamotrigine [8 RCTs, n = 299], sodium valproate [6 RCTs, n = 430], and magnesium valproate [3 RCTs, n = 228]) were analyzed. The means weighted by sample size were 12.1 weeks for treatment duration, 36.2 years for age, and 61% for male frequency. Significant superiority in total psychopathology was observed for topiramate (P < .0001), lamotrigine (P = .05), and sodium valproate (P = .002), compared to clozapine monotherapy. After removing outliers, the positive effect of sodium valproate remained, but the positive effect of lamotrigine disappeared (P = .40). Significantly improved efficacy in positive and general symptom severity was observed for topiramate (P = .04 and P = .02, respectively) and sodium valproate (P = .009 and P = .003, respectively). There were no significant differences regarding adverse drug reactions and all-cause discontinuations except for topiramate, which was associated with more all-cause discontinuations (RR = 1.99; 95% CI, 1.16 to 3.39; P = .01; I² = 0%; NNH = 7). CONCLUSIONS Sodium valproate augmentation was efficacious and safe. Topiramate augmentation had a too-high discontinuation rate. High-quality RCTs are needed to inform clinical recommendations.
Divergent evolution of temozolomide resistance in glioblastoma stem cells is reflected in extracellular vesicles and coupled with radiosensitization

Background Glioblastoma (GBM) is almost invariably fatal due to failure of standard therapy. The relapse of GBM following surgery, radiation, and systemic temozolomide (TMZ) is attributed to the ability of glioma stem cells (GSCs) to survive, evolve, and repopulate the tumor mass, events on which therapy exerts a poorly understood influence. Methods Here we explore the molecular and cellular evolution of TMZ resistance as it emerges in vivo (xenograft models) in a series of human GSCs with either proneural (PN) or mesenchymal (MES) molecular characteristics. Results We observed that the initial response of GSC-initiated intracranial xenografts to TMZ is eventually replaced by refractory growth pattern. Individual tumors derived from the same isogenic GSC line expressed divergent and complex profiles of TMZ resistance markers, with a minor representation of O6-methylguanine DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) upregulation. In several independent TMZ-resistant tumors originating from MES GSCs we observed a consistent diminution of mesenchymal features, which persisted in cell culture and correlated with increased expression of Nestin, decline in transglutaminase 2 and sensitivity to radiation. The corresponding mRNA expression profiles reflective of TMZ resistance and stem cell phenotype were recapitulated in the transcriptome of exosome-like extracellular vesicles (EVs) released by GSCs into the culture medium. Conclusions Intrinsic changes in the tumor-initiating cell compartment may include loss of subtype characteristics and reciprocal alterations in sensitivity to chemo- and radiation therapy. These observations suggest that exploiting therapy-induced changes in the GSC phenotype and alternating cycles of therapy may be explored to improve GBM outcomes.
The pipe model theory half a century on: a review.

HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access archive for the deposit and dissemination of scientific research documents, whether they are published or not. The documents may come from teaching and research institutions in France or abroad, or from public or private research centers. L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires publics ou privés. The pipe model theory half a century on: a review Romain Lehnebach, Robert Beyer, Veronique Letort, Patrick Heuret
A Novel Decoding-and-Forward Scheme with Joint Modulation for Two-Way Relay Channel

In this letter, a novel decode-and-forward (DF) strategy for the two-way relay over Rayleigh fading channels is presented and analyzed. By encoding the two messages jointly at the relay node, the proposed scheme (termed DF-JM) can effectively handle matched or unmatched data rates from the two sources. In addition, it is possible to design optimal constellation labeling maps at the relay node, so that the minimum Euclidean distance among the desired points can be maximized for side-information based demodulation at the destinations. Simulation results indicate that the DF-JM approach performs better than existing DF schemes and the denoise-and-forward (DNF) scheme in terms of the end-to-end bit error rate (BER).