Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Contrast Sensitivity Function of the Albino Rat Determined Electrophysiologically

Albinism alters the neural projections of the visual system. The authors wondered how this would affect visual function in rodents. They had previously shown that it doesn't alter the luminance threshold. They now explore visual acuity in the albino rat. In this work, they describe its contrast sensitivity function (CSF), as determined electro-physiologically. They recorded cortical visual evoked potentials (VEP) on six albino rats, stimulated by sinusoidal contrast reversal gratings. The curve showed the same characteristics that this function has in other mammals. Compared with the pigmented rat, the albino reached lower sensitivity values and showed a loss of sensitivity at high spatial frequencies. The estimated cut-off was 0.48 c/°, that is, 0.72 log units below the estimated cut-off for the pigmented rat under similar experimental conditions. VEP and behavioral cut-off were very close, the VEP estimation being slightly higher than the behavioral one. El albinismo altera las proyecciones neurales del sistema visual. Nos planteamos qué efecto puede tener sobre la función visual en roedores. En trabajos previos hemos mostrado que el albinismo no altera el umbral de luminancia. En el presente trabajo hemos explorado la agudeza visual de la rata albina. Describimos la función de sensibilidad al contraste (FSC) determinada electrofisiológicamente mediante registros de potenciales evocados visuales (PEV) en seis ratas albinas que eran estimuladas por enrejados sinusoidales. La curva presenta las mismas características definitorias que esta función tiene en otros mamíferos. Comparada con la rata pigmentada, la rata albina alcanza unos valores de sensibilidad más bajos y muestra una pérdida de la sensibilidad para las frecuencias espaciales altas. La frecuencia de corte estimada es 0.48 c/°, es decir, 0.72 unidades logarítmicas más baja que la frecuencia de corte estimada para la rata pigmentada en condiciones experimentales similares. Las frecuencias de corte estimadas conductualmente o mediante registros de PEV están muy próximas, siendo la estimación electrofisiológica un poco más alta que la conductual.
Inactivation of p38 MAPK contributes to stem cell-like properties of non-small cell lung cancer

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are recognized as the major source for cancer initiation and recurrence. Yet, the mechanism by which the cancer stem cell properties are acquired and maintained in a cancer cell population is not well understood. In the current study, we observed that the level of active p38 MAPK is downregulated, while the level of the stemness marker SOX2 is upregulated in lung cancer tissues as compared to normal tissues. We further demonstrated that inactivation of p38 is a potential mechanism contributing to acquisition and maintenance of cancer stem cell properties in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells. p38, in particular the p38γ and p38δ isoforms, suppresses the cancer stem cell properties and tumor initiating ability of NSCLC cells by promoting the ubiquitylation and degradation of stemness proteins such as SOX2, Oct4, Nanog, Klf4 and c-Myc, through MK2-mediated phosphorylation of Hsp27 that is an essential component of the proteasomal degradation machinery. In contrast, inactivation of p38 in lung cancer cells leads to upregulation of the stemness proteins, thus promoting the cancer stem cell properties of these cells. These findings have demonstrated a novel mechanism by which cancer stem cell properties are acquired and maintained in a cancer cell population, and have revealed a new function of the p38 pathway in suppressing cancer development. These studies have also identified a new pathway that can potentially serve as a target for cancer therapies aimed at eliminating CSCs.
Talos: Neutralizing Vulnerabilities with Security Workarounds for Rapid Response

There is often a considerable delay between the discovery of a vulnerability and the issue of a patch. One way to mitigate this window of vulnerability is to use a configuration workaround, which prevents the vulnerable code from being executed at the cost of some lost functionality -- but only if one is available. Since application configurations are not specifically designed to mitigate software vulnerabilities, we find that they only cover 25.2% of vulnerabilities. To minimize patch delay vulnerabilities and address the limitations of configuration workarounds, we propose Security Workarounds for Rapid Response (SWRRs), which are designed to neutralize security vulnerabilities in a timely, secure, and unobtrusive manner. Similar to configuration workarounds, SWRRs neutralize vulnerabilities by preventing vulnerable code from being executed at the cost of some lost functionality. However, the key difference is that SWRRs use existing error-handling code within applications, which enables them to be mechanically inserted with minimal knowledge of the application and minimal developer effort. This allows SWRRs to achieve high coverage while still being fast and easy to deploy. We have designed and implemented Talos, a system that mechanically instruments SWRRs into a given application, and evaluate it on five popular Linux server applications. We run exploits against 11 real-world software vulnerabilities and show that SWRRs neutralize the vulnerabilities in all cases. Quantitative measurements on 320 SWRRs indicate that SWRRs instrumented by Talos can neutralize 75.1% of all potential vulnerabilities and incur a loss of functionality similar to configuration workarounds in 71.3% of those cases. Our overall conclusion is that automatically generated SWRRs can safely mitigate 2.1× more vulnerabilities, while only incurring a loss of functionality comparable to that of traditional configuration workarounds.
Etiology and renal outcomes of acute tubulointerstitial nephritis: a single-center prospective cohort study in China

Background The aim of this study was to explore the etiology, long-term renal outcomes and affecting factors of acute tubulointerstitial nephritis (ATIN). Methods Patients with biopsy-proven ATIN from 1 January 2005 to 31 December 2013 at Peking University First Hospital were enrolled in the study and received scheduled follow-up for at least 24 months. The causes of ATIN were defined at biopsy and reclassified during follow-up. Factors affecting renal recovery at 6 months post-biopsy and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) at 12 months post-biopsy and at the end of follow-up were analyzed. Results A total of 157 ATIN patients were enrolled, with an average follow-up of 48 months (range 24-108 months). A modified etiology spectrum was identified, with a decreased proportion of drug-induced ATIN (D-ATIN, 64% at biopsy to 50% after follow-up) and an increase in autoimmune-related ATIN (22-41%) with late-onset systemic manifestations in patients who had been classified as D-ATIN or ATIN of unknown cause. Recurrent kidney injury was observed in 51% of the patients with tubulointerstitial nephritis and uveitis syndrome (TINU), 53% of those with an autoimmune disease and 8% of those with D-ATIN, resulting in prolonged immunosuppressive treatment. By 12 months, decreased eGFR (<60 mL/min/1.73 m2) was observed in 47% of the patients with D-ATIN, 74% of those with TINU and 57% of those with other autoimmune diseases. In multivariable analysis, female sex, older age, presence of hypertension and recurrent kidney injury were independent risk factors for worse renal outcomes. Conclusions Our data demonstrate that autoimmune-related ATIN may present with systemic manifestations after kidney injury and is, therefore, commonly misdiagnosed. Repeated kidney injury is not uncommon in patients with ATIN. Scheduled follow-up is, therefore, critical for defining the exact etiology and proper management of ATIN.
On the Design of Secure Non-Orthogonal Multiple Access Systems

This paper proposes a new design of non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) under secrecy considerations. We focus on a NOMA system, where a transmitter sends confidential messages to multiple users in the presence of an external eavesdropper. The optimal designs of decoding order, transmission rates, and power allocated to each user are investigated. Considering the practical passive eavesdropping scenario where the instantaneous channel state of the eavesdropper is unknown, we adopt the secrecy outage probability as the secrecy metric. We first consider the problem of minimizing the transmit power subject to the secrecy outage and quality of service constraints, and derive the closed-form solution to this problem. We then explore the problem of maximizing the minimum confidential information rate among users subject to the secrecy outage and transmit power constraints, and provide an iterative algorithm to solve this problem. We find that the secrecy outage constraint in the studied problems does not change the optimal decoding order for NOMA, and one should increase the power allocated to the user whose channel is relatively bad when the secrecy constraint becomes more stringent. Finally, we show the advantage of NOMA over orthogonal multiple access in the studied problems both analytically and numerically.
Family History and Breast Cancer Risk Among Older Women in the Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium Cohort

Importance First-degree family history is a strong risk factor for breast cancer, but controversy exists about the magnitude of the association among older women. Objective To determine whether first-degree family history is associated with increased risk of breast cancer among older women, and identify whether the association varies by breast density. Design, Setting, and Participants Prospective cohort study between 1996 and 2012 from 7 Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium (BCSC) registries located in New Hampshire, North Carolina, San Francisco Bay area, western Washington state, New Mexico, Colorado, and Vermont. During a mean (SD) follow-up of 6.3 (3.2) years, 10 929 invasive breast cancers were diagnosed in a cohort of 403 268 women 65 years and older with data from 472 220 mammography examinations. We estimated the 5-year cumulative incidence of invasive breast cancer by first-degree family history, breast density, and age groups. Cox proportional hazards models were fit to estimate the association of first-degree family history with risk of invasive breast cancer (after adjustment for breast density, BCSC registry, race/ethnicity, body mass index, postmenopausal hormone therapy use, and benign breast disease for age groups 65 to 74 years and 75 years and older, separately). Data analyses were performed between June 2016 and June 2017. Exposure First-degree family history of breast cancer. Main Outcomes and Measures Incident breast cancer. Results In 403 268 women 65 years and older, first-degree family history was associated with an increased risk of breast cancer among women ages 65 to 74 years (hazard ratio [HR], 1.48; 95% CI, 1.35-1.61) and 75 years and older (HR, 1.44; 95% CI, 1.28-1.62). Estimates were similar for women 65 to 74 years with first-degree relative’s diagnosis age younger than 50 years (HR, 1.47; 95% CI, 1.25-1.73) vs 50 years and older (HR, 1.33; 95% CI, 1.17-1.51) and for women ages 75 years and older with the relative’s diagnosis age younger than 50 years (HR, 1.31; 95% CI, 1.05-1.63) vs 50 years and older (HR, 1.55; 95% CI, 1.33-1.81). Among women ages 65 to 74 years, the risk associated with first-degree family history was highest among those with fatty breasts (HR, 1.67; 95% CI, 1.27-2.21), whereas in women 75 years and older the risk associated with family history was highest among those with dense breasts (HR, 1.55; 95% CI, 1.29-1.87). Conclusions and Relevance First-degree family history was associated with increased risk of invasive breast cancer in all subgroups of older women irrespective of a relative’s age at diagnosis.
The Use of Mobile Apps and SMS Messaging as Physical and Mental Health Interventions: Systematic Review

Background The initial introduction of the World Wide Web in 1990 brought around the biggest change in information acquisition. Due to the abundance of devices and ease of access they subsequently allow, the utility of mobile health (mHealth) has never been more endemic. A substantial amount of interactive and psychoeducational apps are readily available to download concerning a wide range of health issues. mHealth has the potential to reduce waiting times for appointments; eradicate the need to meet in person with a clinician, successively diminishing the workload of mental health professionals; be more cost effective to practices; and encourage self-care tactics. Previous research has given valid evidence with empirical studies proving the effectiveness of physical and mental health interventions using mobile apps. Alongside apps, there is evidence to show that receiving short message service (SMS) messages, which entail psychoeducation, medication reminders, and links to useful informative Web pages can also be advantageous to a patient’s mental and physical well-being. Available mHealth apps and SMS services and their ever improving quality necessitates a systematic review in the area in reference to reduction of symptomology, adherence to intervention, and usability. Objective The aim of this review was to study the efficacy, usability, and feasibility of mobile apps and SMS messages as mHealth interventions for self-guided care. Methods A systematic literature search was carried out in JMIR, PubMed, PsychINFO, PsychARTICLES, Google Scholar, MEDLINE, and SAGE. The search spanned from January 2008 to January 2017. The primary outcome measures consisted of weight management, (pregnancy) smoking cessation, medication adherence, depression, anxiety and stress. Where possible, adherence, feasibility, and usability outcomes of the apps or SMS services were evaluated. Between-group and within-group effect sizes (Cohen d) for the mHealth intervention method group were determined. Results A total of 27 studies, inclusive of 4658 participants were reviewed. The papers included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) (n=19), within-group studies (n=7), and 1 within-group study with qualitative aspect. Studies show improvement in physical health and significant reductions of anxiety, stress, and depression. Within-group and between-group effect sizes ranged from 0.05-3.37 (immediately posttest), 0.05-3.25 (1-month follow-up), 0.08-3.08 (2-month follow-up), 0.00-3.10 (3-month follow-up), and 0.02-0.27 (6-month follow-up). Usability and feasibility of mHealth interventions, where reported, also gave promising, significant results. Conclusions The review shows the promising and emerging efficacy of using mobile apps and SMS text messaging as mHealth interventions.
Self-Paced Learning with Statistics Uncertainty Prior

Self-paced learning (SPL) gradually trains the data from easy to hard, and includes more data into the training process in a selfpaced manner. The advantage of SPL is that it has an ability to avoid bad local minima, and the system can improve the generalization performance. However, SPL’s system needs an expert to judge the complexity of data at the beginning of training. Generally, this expert does not exist in the beginning, and is learned by gradually training the samples. Based on this consideration, we add an uncertainty of complexity judgment into SPL’s system, and propose a self-paced learning with uncertainty prior (SPUP). For efficiently solving our system optimization function, an iterative optimization and statistical simulated annealing method are introduced. The final experimental results indicate that our SPUP has more robustness to the outlier and achieves higher accuracy and less error than SPL. key words: self-paced learning, curriculum learning, uncertainty prior, simulated annealing
Effect of Spatial Orientation of the Horizontal Semicircular Canal on the Vestibulo-Ocular Reflex.

OBJECTIVE To determine if an alignment of the horizontal semi-circular canal (hSCC) with the plane of rotation would enhance the vestibular-ocular reflex (VOR) gain result as it has been previously suggested. STUDY DESIGN Comparative study of a physiological vestibular function test in healthy subjects. SETTING Tertiary referral center for otology and neurotology. PATIENTS Twenty two healthy volunteers were recruited for this study. Their mean age was 25.6 years and the sex distribution was 14:8 (M:F). None of the subjects had a history of audiovestibular disorders. INTERVENTION The video Head Impulse Test (v-HIT) was performed with the hSCC in the conventional position (head upright, horizontal gaze) and also with the hSCC in-line with the earth horizontal. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES depending on the alignment of the hSCC with the plane of head rotation. RESULTS There was no significant difference between the results, either for the VOR gain at 60 ms, or the regression slope gain, when the two alternative head positions were compared. CONCLUSIONS The data acquired in this study show that the VOR as measured by the v-HIT is not enhanced by aligning the plane of the hSCC with the plane of rotation during the testing procedure. Hence, we recommend that the positioning of the patient, with the head upright and a horizontal gaze direction should be routinely used in the clinical evaluation of the angular VOR by v-HIT.
A Smart Insole to Promote Healthy Aging for Frail Elderly Individuals: Specifications, Design, and Preliminary Results

Background Older individuals frequently experience reversible “frailty syndrome,”, increasing incidence of disability. Although physical exercise interventions may delay functional decline, there are difficulties in implementing them and performing seamless follow-up at home. Very few technological solutions attempt to address this challenge and improve individual participation. Objective Our objectives are to (1) develop a technological solution designed to support active aging of frail older persons, (2) conduct a first laboratory evaluation of the device, and (3) design a multidimensional clinical trial to validate our solution. Methods We conducted a first phase of multidisciplinary meetings to identify real end users and health professional’s unmet needs, and to produce specifications for the architecture of the solution. In a second phase, we performed laboratory tests of the first proposed prototype (a smart insole) with 3 healthy volunteers. We then designed an ongoing clinical trial to finalize the multidimensional evaluation and improvement of the solution. Results To respond to the needs expressed by the stakeholders (frailty monitoring and adherence improvement), we developed a prototype of smart shoe insole to monitor key parameters of frailty during daily life and promote walking. It is a noninvasive wireless insole, which automatically measures gait parameters and transmits information to a remote terminal via a secure Internet connection. To ensure the solution’s autonomy and transparency, we developed an original energy harvesting system, which transforms mechanical energy produced by the user’s walking movement into electrical energy. The first laboratory tests of this technological solution showed good reliability measures and also a good acceptability for the users. We have planned an original iterative medical research protocol to validate our solution in real life. Conclusions Our smart insole could support preventive strategies against disability in primary care by empowering the older patients without increasing the busy health professional’s workload. Trial Registration Clinicaltrials.gov NCT02316600; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/results? term=NCT02316600&Search=Search. Accessed: 2015-05-13 . (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6YUTkObrQ).
Expression and localization of fibroblast growth factor (FGF)23 and Klotho in the spleen: its physiological and functional implications

Abstract The FGF23–Klotho signaling axis is known to exert anti-aging effects via calcium–phosphorus metabolism. In mice deficient in FGF23–Klotho signaling, however, the number of splenocytes is reduced. FGF23 is expressed in both bone and spleen, with regulation of its production differing in these organs. As FGF23–Klotho signaling may play an immunological role in the spleen, splenocytes in male C57BL/6J mice were assayed for expression of Klotho or FGF23 by flow cytometry and immunohistochemistry. Cells that expressed Klotho included CD45R/B220+ CD21/CD35+ CD1d+ CD43− marginal zone B cells. These cells also expressed FGF receptor 1, indicating that Klotho-positive B cells could respond to FGF23. Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) with CD11c+ CD45R/B220+ CD11b− CD8α− were found to produce FGF23. Klotho-positive cells and FGF23-producing cells were present in close proximity to each other, suggesting that FGF23 produced by pDCs may act within a limited area. These findings indicate that FGF23–Klotho signaling could play a biological or immunological role in the spleen.
Epidemiological Studies on Echinococcosis and Characterization of Human and Livestock Hydatid Cysts in Mauritania

Background Echinococcosis/hydatidosis is considered endemic in Mauritania. The aim of this study is to present an epidemiological study on the echinococcosis in man and animals in the Nouakchott region. Methods The internal organs from livestock carcasses were inspected for research of hydatid cysts. The hydatid fluid was examined for research of the protoscoleces. Dogs were necropsied for the collect of Echinococcus granulosus. Results In the Nouakchott Hospital, 24 surgical operation of human hydatid cysts have been performed, out of which 50% were localised in the lung, 33% in the liver and 17% elsewhere. Then, the incidence rate would be of 1.2% per 100 000 inhabitants in Mauritania. In the dog, the prevalence rate is 14%. The average number of E. granulosus on the whole dogs is 172 and 1227 on the positive dogs. Concerning the livestock, hydatid cysts found in 30.1% of the dromedary, 5.5% of the cattle and 6.5 of the sheep. The fertility rate of hydatid cysts in humans (75%) and camels (76%) was significantly higher than that of sheep (24%) and cattle (23%) (P<0.0001). Hydatid infestation is characterized globally by the dominance of pulmonary localizations in humans (50%) and camels (72.7%) and in the liver in sheep (76.1%) and cattle (82.3%). Conclusion The differences between prevalence rates, the fertility of hydatid cysts and diversity sites localization observed in humans and camels of one hand and the sheep and cattle on the other hand, depends possibly the strain(s) diversity of E. granulosus.
Depression, Suicidal Behaviour, and Mental Disorders in Older Aboriginal Australians

Aboriginal Australians experience higher levels of psychological distress, which may develop from the long-term sequelae of social determinants and adversities in early and mid-life. There is little evidence available on the impact of these on the mental health of older Aboriginal Australians. This study enrolled 336 Aboriginal Australian participants over 60 years from 5 major urban and regional areas in NSW, utilizing a structured interview on social determinants, and life-time history of physical and mental conditions; current psychosocial determinants and mental health. Univariate and multivariate analyses were utilized to examine the link between these determinants and current depressive scores and suicidality. There was a high rate of life-time depression (33.3%), current late-life depression (18.1%), and suicidal ideation (11.1%). Risk factors strongly associated with late-life depression included sleep disturbances, a history of suicidal behaviour, suicidal ideation in late-life and living in a regional location. This study supports certain historical and psychosocial factors predicting later depression in old age, and highlights areas to target for prevention strategies.