Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Posterior Corneal Elevation after Small Incision Lenticule Extraction for Moderate and High Myopia

Purpose To investigate the changes of posterior corneal elevation after small incision lenticule extraction (SMILE) for moderate and high myopia. Methods In this prospective study, fifty consecutive eyes of thirty patients (10 male, 20 female) who underwent SMILE for myopia and myopic astigmatism were included. Eyes were divided in two groups based on the preoperative spherical equivalent refraction: high myopia group (32 eyes, range -6.25D to -10.00D) and moderate myopia group (18 eyes, range -3.00D to -6.00D). Posterior corneal surfaces were measured by a Scheimpflug camera (Pentacam, Oculus Germany) preoperatively and 1 month, 3 months, 6 months and 12 months postoperatively. Posterior central elevation (PCE) and posterior mean elevation (PME) at 17 predetermined points in the central-4mm area above the best-fit sphere were analyzed. Results No significant difference in the amount of posterior corneal elevation changes in the high myopia group was noted over time (P = 0.23 and P = 0.94 for PCE and PME, respectively). Similarly, the changes in the moderate myopia group before and after SMILE were not significant either (P = 0.34 and P = 0.40 for PCE and PME). A statistically significant correlation was found between the residual bed thickness and the shift of the PCE in the high myopia group at 12 months postoperatively (r = 0.53, P = 0.01). Conclusions The results of this study suggest that the posterior corneal surface remain stable within one year after SMILE for both moderate and high myopia. The changes of PCE correlate to the residual bed thickness for high myopia. Long-term changes of posterior corneal surface need further investigation.
Losing and Gaining in Old Age: Changes in Personal Network Size and Social Support in a Four-Year Longitudinal Study

Objectives. Previous studies have shown that most older people have a significant number of relationships. However, the question of whether the aging of old people produces losses in their personal networks remains open for discussion. This study models the individual variability of the changes affecting multiple personal network characteristics. Methods. Personal interviews were conducted with 2,903 older Dutch adults (aged 55-85) in three waves of a fouryear longitudinal study. Results. A stable total network size was observed, with an increasing number of close relatives and a decreasing number of friends. Contact frequency decreased in relationships, and the instrumental support received and emotional support given increased. Age moderated the effect of time for some of the network characteristics, and for many of them, effects of regression towards the mean were detected. Furthermore, major variations in the direction and the speed of the changes were detected among individual respondents, and nonlinear trends were observed. Discussion. The widely varying patterns of losses and gains among the respondents squares with the focus on the heterogeneity of developments among aging people. The instability of the network composition might reflect the natural circulation in the membership of networks.
Water-Pipe (Narghile) Smoking: An Emerging Health Risk Behavior

Narghile, or water-pipe smoking (WPS), has been practiced extensively for ∼400 years. It is common in the Arabian Peninsula, Turkey, India, Pakistan, and other countries. In recent years, there has been a revival of WPS, notably among youth. Most US health professionals are unfamiliar with the practice and health consequences of WPS. Therefore, this trend presents a new challenge for adolescent health care providers. The composition of the tobacco used in WPS is variable and not well standardized. Studies that have examined narghile smokers and the aerosol of narghile smoke have reported high concentrations of carbon monoxide, nicotine, “tar,” and heavy metals. These concentrations were as high or higher than those among cigarette smokers. The few scientific data regarding the adverse health consequences of WPS point to dangers that are similar to those associated with cigarette smoking: malignancy, impaired pulmonary function, low birth weight, and others. Additional dangers not encountered with cigarette smoking are infectious diseases resulting from pipe sharing and the frequent addition of alcohol or psychoactive drugs to the tobacco. Public health strategies for controlling the emerging epidemic of WPS include carrying out epidemiologic and toxicologic research; implementation of laws to limit acquisition and use; and health education, targeting adolescents in particular.
CpG Island Methylator Phenotype Associates with Low-Degree Chromosomal Abnormalities in Colorectal Cancer

Purpose: Aberrant promoter methylation and genomic instability occur frequently during colorectal cancer development. CpG island methylator phenotype (CIMP) has been shown to associate with microsatellite instability, and BRAF mutation and is often found in the right-side colon. Nevertheless, the relative importance of CIMP and chromosomal instability (CIN) for tumorigenesis has yet to be thoroughly investigated in sporadic colorectal cancers. Experimental Design: We determined CIMP in 161 primary colorectal cancers and 66 matched normal mucosae using a quantitative bisulfite/PCR/ligase detection reaction (LDR)/Universal Array assay. The validity of CIMP was confirmed in a subset of 60 primary tumors using MethyLight assay and five independent markers. In parallel, CIN was analyzed in the same study cohort using Affymetrix 50K Human Mapping arrays. Results: The identified CIMP-positive cancers correlate with microsatellite instability (P = 0.075) and the BRAF mutation V600E (P = 0.00005). The array-based high-resolution analysis of chromosomal aberrations indicated that the degree of aneuploidy is spread over a wide spectrum among analyzed colorectal cancers. Whether CIN was defined by copy number variations in selected microsatellite loci (criterion 1) or considered as a continuous variable (criterion 2), CIMP-positive samples showed a strong correlation with low-degree chromosomal aberrations (P = 0.075 and P = 0.012, respectively). Similar correlations were observed when CIMP was determined by MethyLight assay (P = 0.001 and P = 0.013, respectively). Conclusion: CIMP-positive tumors generally possess lower chromosomal aberrations, which may only be revealed using a genome-wide approach. The significant difference in the degree of chromosomal aberrations between CIMP-positive and the remainder of samples suggests that epigenetic (CIMP) and genetic (CIN) abnormalities may arise from independent molecular mechanisms of tumor progression.
Is Lysosomal Enzymes Changes Important In the Pathogenesis of Liver And Kidney Injury Induced By Short and Long Term Administration of Some NSAID ' Drugs in Rats ?

Moderate lysosomal membrane permeabilization is an important inducer of apoptosis. The objective of this study was to investigate the harmful hepatotoxicity and nephrotoxicity effects induced by short and long term administration of paracetamol, nimesulide, and lornoxicam drugs in rats. Results revealed that liver and kidney lysosomal enzymes activities (ACP, β-NAG and β-GAL) were significantly increased by paracetamol followed by nimesulide in acute study as compared with chronic study, while no changes were observed in lysosomal enzymes of lornoxicam group in both studies. Serum liver enzymes activities (AST, ALT and γ-GT) and (urea and creatinine) levels were significantly increased by paracetamol followed by nimesulide and lornoxicam in chronic study as compared with acute study. Liver and kidney GSH levels and antioxidant enzymes activities were significantly decreased by paracetamol followed by nimesulide in acute study as compared with chronic study, while no changes were observed by lornoxicam in both organs either in acute or chronic studies. Liver and kidney MDA levels were significantly increased by paracetamol followed by nimesulide in acute study as compared to chronic study. These results demonstrated that liver and kidney functions were affected by oxidative stress greatly by paracetamol than nimesulide or lornoxicam in both studies. [Omaima Salah-Eldin, Samy A. Abd El-Azim, Kamal M. Eldeib, Maged M. Barakat Is Lysosomal Enzymes Changes Important In the Pathogenesis of Liver And Kidney Injury Induced By Short and Long Term Administration of Some NSAID' Drugs in Rats? ] Life Sci J 2012;9(4):1102-1113]. (ISSN: 1097-8135). http://www.lifesciencesite. com. 167
A two-base-pairs deletion in the albumin gene causes a new case of analbuminemia

Gianluca Caridi 1 , Monica Dagnino 1 , Marco Di Duca 1 , Saikat Santra 2 , Sarah Ball 3 , Raashda A. Sulaiman 4 , Monica Campagnoli 5 , Monica Galliano 5 and Lorenzo Minchiotti 5, * 1 Laboratory on Pathophysiology of Uremia , Istituto Giannina Gaslini IRCCS, Genova , Italy 2 Department of Clinical Inherited Metabolic Disorders , Birmingham Children ’ s Hospital, Birmingham , UK 3 Department of Newborn Screening and Biochemical Genetics , Birmingham Children ’ s Hospital, Birmingham , UK 4 Department of Chemical Pathology and Metabolism , University Hospitals, Birmingham, West Midlands , UK 5 Department of Molecular Medicine , University of Pavia, Pavia , Italy
Role of inhibitory CDC2 phosphorylation in radiation-induced G2 arrest in human cells

The activity of the mitosis-promoting kinase CDC2-cyclin B is normally suppressed in S phase and G2 by inhibitory phosphorylation at Thr14 and Tyr15. This work explores the possibility that these phosphorylations are responsible for the G2 arrest that occurs in human cells after DNA damage. HeLa cell lines were established in which CDC2AF, a mutant that cannot be phosphorylated at Thr14 and Tyr15, was expressed from a tetracycline-repressible promoter. Expression of CDC2AF did not induce mitotic events in cells arrested at the beginning of S phase with DNA synthesis inhibitors, but induced low levels of premature chromatin condensation in cells progressing through S phase and G2. Expression of CDC2AF greatly reduced the G2 delay that resulted when cells were X- irradiated in S phase. However, a significant G2 delay was still observed and was accompanied by high CDC2-associated kinase activity. Expression of wild-type CDC2, or the related kinase CDK2AF, had no effect on the radiation-induced delay. Thus, inhibitory phosphorylation of CDC2, as well as additional undefined mechanisms, delay mitosis after DNA damage.
Regulatory T-lymphocytes mediate amyotrophic lateral sclerosis progression and survival

In amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) mice, regulatory T‐lymphocytes (Tregs) are neuroprotective, slowing disease progression. To address whether Tregs and FoxP3, a transcription factor required for Treg function, similarly influence progression rates of ALS patients, T‐lymphocytes from patients were assessed by flow cytometry. Both numbers of Tregs and their FoxP3 protein expressions were reduced in rapidly progressing ALS patients and inversely correlated with progression rates. The mRNA levels of FoxP3, TGF‐β, IL4 and Gata3, a Th2 transcription factor, were reduced in rapidly progressing patients and inversely correlated with progression rates. Both FoxP3 and Gata3 were accurate indicators of progression rates. No differences in IL10, Tbx21, a Th1 transcription factor or IFN‐γ expression were found between slow and rapidly progressing patients. A 3.5‐year prospective study with a second larger cohort revealed that early reduced FoxP3 levels were indicative of progression rates at collection and predictive of future rapid progression and attenuated survival. Collectively, these data suggest that Tregs and Th2 lymphocytes influence disease progression rates. Importantly, early reduced FoxP3 levels could be used to identify rapidly progressing patients.
On the Uniqueness of the Convolution Theorem for the Fourier Transform

This paper shows that members of the fourier transform family are the only linear transforms that have a convolution theorem, that is, that can replace O(N 2) operations of a convolution in a time domain by O(N) operations in a transform domain. Generally, there is an additional cost to compute the transform itself. Our observation is motivated by recent activity in wavelet and subband decompositions and related spectral analyses, which are attractive alternatives for signal compression applications. A natural question when using such techniques is to determine if convolutions of N-point signals can be calculated with fewer operations in a compressed transform domain than in an uncompressed time domain. The answer is negative for a broad set of assumptions. This paper indicates what assumptions must be relaxed in seeking a linear transform that has a convolution theorem comparable to the convolution theorem for fourier transforms.
Multilingual web conferencing using speech-to-speech translation

It is now commonplace to use web conferencing technology in order to hold meetings between participants situated in different physical locations. A drawback of this technology is that nearly all of the interaction between these participants is monolingual. Here, we demonstrate a novel form of this technology that enables cross-lingual speech-to-speech communication between conference participants in real time. We model this translation problem as a combination of incremental speech recognition and segmentation, addressing the question of finding which segmentation strategy maximizes translation accuracy while minimizing latency. Our demonstration takes the form of a web conferencing scenario where a lecturer speaks in one language while talk participants listen to or read the lecturer’s translated texts in real time. This system is flexible enough to allow realtime translation of technical talks or speeches covering broad topics.
Crowdsourced single-trial probes of visual working memory for irrelevant features

We measured the precision with which an irrelevant feature of a relevant object is stored in visual short-term memory. In each experiment, 600 online subjects each completed 30 trials in which the same feature (orientation or color) was relevant, followed by a single surprise trial in which the other feature was relevant. Pooling data across all subjects, we find in a delayed-estimation task but not in a change localization task that the irrelevant feature is retrieved, but with much lower precision than when the same feature is relevant: The irrelevant/relevant precision ratio was 3.8% for orientation and 20.4% for color.
Fertility and combined oral contraceptives – unintended pregnancies and planned pregnancies following oral contraceptive use – results from the INAS-SCORE study

Abstract Objectives: To estimate the real-use contraceptive effectiveness of the combined oral contraceptive containing dienogest and estradiol valerate (DNG/EV) and whether DNG/EV compared to other combined oral contraceptives (oCOC) has a negative effect on return to fertility. Methods: Transatlantic, prospective, non-interventional cohort study conducted in the USA and seven European countries with two main exposure groups and one exposure subgroup: new users of DNG/EV and other COC (oCOC), particularly levonorgestrel-containing COCs (LNG). In a planned secondary analysis, pregnancy outcomes were investigated including contraceptive effectiveness and pregnancy following contraceptive cessation. The influence of age, parity and OC-type were assessed. Results: 50,203 COC users were followed for 105,761 woman-years (WY). There were 677 unintended pregnancies reported: 451 in the USA and 226 in Europe. The contraceptive failure rate in Europe was 0.5 events/100 WY (95% CI: 0.4–0.5) and in the USA 1.9 events/100 WY (95% CI: 1.7–2.1). Differences in compliance (1.3 pregnancies/100 WY) accounted for 90% of the geographical difference seen between Europe and the USA. DNG/EV showed lower contraceptive failure rates compared to the comparators; 0.9% DNG/EV, 2.1% oCOC and 2.8% LNG after 4 years. Overall, 1167 (2.3%) of women stopped contraceptive use with the intention of becoming pregnant with 89% conceiving within 2 years. No significant differences were seen between groups after adjusting for age. Conclusion/Discussion: DNG/EV is associated with similar contraceptive effectiveness in typical-use settings when compared to oCOC and LNG. There was no difference observed between cohorts in fertility following OC use.
A 240MHz-BW 112dB-DR TIA

A nonsaturating TIA with 20mA input current overdrive and 48nA equivalent rms input noise current is described. The proposed TIA has a linear region for small input currents and a compressing one for high currents, which would otherwise saturate the TIA. The complete chip including the 50Omega driver occupies 1.24mm2 in 0.35mum SiGe BiCMOS technology.
Variability Analysis on Gestures for People With Quadriplegia

Gesture-based interfaces have become an effective control modality within the human computer interaction realm to assist individuals with mobility impairments in accessing technologies for daily living to entertainment. Recent studies have shown that gesture-based interfaces in tandem with gaming consoles are being used to complement physical therapies at rehabilitation hospitals and in their homes. Because the motor movements of individuals with physical impairments are different from persons without disabilities, the gesture sets required to operate those interfaces must be customized. This limits significantly the number and quality of available software environments for users with motor impairments. Previous work presented an analytic approach to convert an existing gesture-based interface designed for individuals without disabilities to be usable by people with motor disabilities. The objective of this paper is to include gesture variability analysis into the existing framework using robotics as an additional validation framework. Based on this, a physical metric (referred as work) was empirically obtained to compare the physical effort of each gesture. An integration method was presented to determine the accessible gesture set based on stability and empirical robot execution. For all the gesture types, the accessible gestures were found to lie within 34% of the optimality of stability and work. Lastly, the gesture set determined by the proposed methodology was practically evaluated by target users in experiments while solving a spatial navigational problem.
Recommendations for Premature Ovarian Insufficiency Surveillance for Female Survivors of Childhood, Adolescent, and Young Adult Cancer: A Report From the International Late Effects of Childhood Cancer Guideline Harmonization Group in Collaboration With the PanCareSurFup Consortium.

PURPOSE Female survivors of childhood, adolescent, and young adult (CAYA) cancer who were treated with alkylating agents and/or radiation, with potential exposure of the ovaries, have an increased risk of premature ovarian insufficiency (POI). Clinical practice guidelines can facilitate these survivors' access to optimal treatment of late effects that may improve health and quality of survival; however, surveillance recommendations vary among the existing long-term follow-up guidelines, which impedes the implementation of screening. PATIENTS AND METHODS The present guideline was developed by using an evidence-based approach and summarizes harmonized POI surveillance recommendations for female survivors of CAYA cancer who were diagnosed at age < 25 years. The recommendations were formulated by an international multidisciplinary panel and graded according to the strength of the evidence and the potential benefit gained from early detection and intervention. The harmonized POI surveillance recommendations were developed by using a transparent process and are intended to facilitate care for survivors of CAYA cancer. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION The harmonized set of POI surveillance recommendations is intended to be scientifically rigorous, to positively influence health outcomes, and to facilitate the care for female survivors of CAYA cancer.
Cigarette Smoke Enhances the Expression of Profibrotic Molecules in Alveolar Epithelial Cells

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive and lethal disease of unknown etiology. A growing body of evidence indicates that it may result from an aberrant activation of alveolar epithelium, which induces the expansion of the fibroblast population, their differentiation to myofibroblasts and the excessive accumulation of extracellular matrix. The mechanisms that activate the alveolar epithelium are unknown, but several studies indicate that smoking is the main environmental risk factor for the development of IPF. In this study we explored the effect of cigarette smoke on the gene expression profile and signaling pathways in alveolar epithelial cells. Lung epithelial cell line from human (A549), was exposed to cigarette smoke extract (CSE) for 1, 3, and 5 weeks at 1, 5 and 10% and gene expression was evaluated by complete transcriptome microarrays. Signaling networks were analyzed with the Ingenuity Pathway Analysis software. At 5 weeks of exposure, alveolar epithelial cells acquired a fibroblast-like phenotype. At this time, gene expression profile revealed a significant increase of more than 1000 genes and deregulation of canonical signaling pathways such as TGF-β and Wnt. Several profibrotic genes involved in EMT were over-expressed, and incomplete EMT was observed in these cells, and corroborated in mouse (MLE-12) and rat (RLE-6TN) epithelial cells. The secretion of activated TGF-β1 increased in cells exposed to cigarette smoke, which decreased when the integrin alpha v gene was silenced. These findings suggest that the exposure of alveolar epithelial cells to CSE induces the expression and release of a variety of profibrotic genes, and the activation of TGF-β1, which may explain at least partially, the increased risk of developing IPF in smokers.
Identification of rare DNA variants in mitochondrial disorders with improved array-based sequencing

A common goal in the discovery of rare functional DNA variants via medical resequencing is to incur a relatively lower proportion of false positive base-calls. We developed a novel statistical method for resequencing arrays (SRMA, sequence robust multi-array analysis) to increase the accuracy of detecting rare variants and reduce the costs in subsequent sequence verifications required in medical applications. SRMA includes single and multi-array analysis and accounts for technical variables as well as the possibility of both low- and high-frequency genomic variation. The confidence of each base-call was ranked using two quality measures. In comparison to Sanger capillary sequencing, we achieved a false discovery rate of 2% (false positive rate 1.2 × 10−5, false negative rate 5%), which is similar to automated second-generation sequencing technologies. Applied to the analysis of 39 nuclear candidate genes in disorders of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) maintenance, we confirmed mutations in the DNA polymerase gamma POLG in positive control cases, and identified novel rare variants in previously undiagnosed cases in the mitochondrial topoisomerase TOP1MT, the mismatch repair enzyme MUTYH, and the apurinic-apyrimidinic endonuclease APEX2. Some patients carried rare heterozygous variants in several functionally interacting genes, which could indicate synergistic genetic effects in these clinically similar disorders.
Crash Risk in Currency Returns

We develop an empirical model of bilateral exchange rates. It includes normal shocks with stochastic variance and jumps in an exchange rate and in its variance. The probability of a jump in an exchange rate corresponding to depreciation (appreciation) of the U.S. dollar is increasing in the domestic (foreign) interest rate. The probability of a jump in variance is increasing in the variance only. Jumps in exchange rates are associated with announcements; jumps in variance are not. On average, jumps account for 25% of currency risk. The dollar carry index retains these features. Options suggest that jump risk is priced.