Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Outcomes of surgery for infective endocarditis: a single-centre experience of 801 patients

OBJECTIVES Infective endocarditis (IE) remains a life-threatening disease, despite the improvement in diagnostic and therapeutic measures. We reviewed our outcomes for all adults who underwent surgery for endocarditis at our centre. METHODS Between January 1995 and December 2013, 801 patients [586 men (73%)] underwent surgery for IE. Mean age was 60 ± 14.7 years. Native endocarditis (NE) was present in 372 patients (46%), and 379 (47%) patients had active IE. The mean follow-up period was 4.6 ± 4.75 years (maximum 20 years). RESULTS Single-valve endocarditis was present in 551 (69%) patients (392 aortic and 159 mitral). Multivalve involvement was present in 250 (31%) patients. Preoperative stroke was present in 149 (19%) patients, while 62 (8%) patients were on dialysis prior to surgery. Valve repair was possible in 122 (15%) patients, while 679 (85%) patients underwent valve replacement. Mechanical valves were used in 312 (39%) patients. Aortic homografts were used in 84 (10%) patients. Early mortality occurred in 64 (8%) patients. Overall survival at 5, 10 and 20 years was 68%, 45% and 8.4%, respectively. Postoperative stroke occurred in 16 (2%) patients, while 59 (7%) patients required new dialysis postoperatively. Multivariate analysis revealed active IE (P = 0.002), preoperative dialysis (P = 0.007), previous coronary artery bypass grafting (P = 0.001), root abscess (P = 0.006) and tricuspid valve or multivalve involvement (P = 0.002) to be predictors of early mortality. The need for dialysis (P < 0.001), previous coronary artery bypass grafting (P < 0.001) and mitral valve (P = 0.002) and tricuspid valve/multivalve involvement (P < 0.001) were significant predictors of late mortality. CONCLUSIONS Active IE is associated with high perioperative mortality especially with multivalve and aortic root involvement. Preoperative stroke has no impact on perioperative mortality. Long-term survival for those who survived the immediate postoperative period is satisfactory, and mechanical valves are associated with the best long-term survival.
Quench Protection of the 11 T Nb3Sn Dipole for the High Luminosity LHC

The upgrade of the LHC collimation system requires the installation of 11 T Nb3Sn dipole magnets. Due to the large stored energy density and the low copper stabilizer section, the quench protection of these magnets is particularly challenging. A total of ten coils assembled in five single aperture and one double aperture short model magnets have been tested at CERN with different heater to coil insulation lay outs. This paper reports on the test results of the model program, which are used to validate numerical models and to optimize the quench protection performance. A parametric analysis on the impact of different conductor and operation parameters on the peak temperature is presented. Coil voltage to ground and turn-to-turn voltages are also evaluated under nominal conditions and failure case scenarios.
Atrial function is altered in lone paroxysmal atrial fibrillation in male endurance veteran athletes

Aims Intensive endurance sport practice is associated with an increased risk of atrial fibrillation (AF) in male veteran athletes. Paroxysmal AF (PAF) is the very beginning step of this disease. The description of atrial remodelling occurring at this early stage might enable to depict predictive factors of AF in veteran athletes in order to give them personalized recommendation according to their sport practice. Methods and results Twenty-seven male endurance veteran athletes with documented PAF were retrospectively enrolled and compared with 30 control endurance athletes without documented AF, with similar training level, age, and cardiovascular risk factors. All subjects underwent a resting-electrocardiogram (ECG) to assess the electric remodelling of P-waves as well as an echocardiography, to evaluate the left and right atrial (LA, RA) anatomical and functional (assessed by 2D strain) remodelling. No difference was noted between groups for the ECG P-wave parameters. Atrial function was decreased in the PAF group, particularly the peak atrial longitudinal strain (L-ɛ-Max) of LA (29.3 ± 7.9% vs. 49.1 ± 7.8% respectively in the PAF group and in controls, P < 0.0001) and RA (36.5 ± 7.0% vs. 50.6 ± 10.2%, P < 0.0001). LA and RA volumes were also larger in the PAF group. Receiver operating characteristic analysis demonstrated that L-ɛ-Max of LA [area under curve (AUC): 0.957 ± 0.023] and RA (AUC: 0.901 ± 0.042) had the best ability to identify the athletes with PAF, far better than the anatomical parameters (AUC < 0.75 in all). Conclusion Atrial function analysed by strain in echocardiography is strongly associated with PAF and might enable to identify male endurance veteran athletes at risk to develop AF.
Evidence-Based Nonpharmacological Practices to Address Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia

Background and Objectives To draw from systematic and other literature reviews to identify, describe, and critique nonpharmacological practices to address behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSDs) and provide evidence-based recommendations for dementia care especially useful for potential adopters. Research Design and Methods A search of systematic and other literature reviews published from January 2010 through January 2017. Nonpharmacological practices were summarized to describe the overall conceptual basis related to effectiveness, the practice itself, and the size and main conclusions of the evidence base. Each practice was also critically reviewed to determine acceptability, harmful effects, elements of effectiveness, and level of investment required, based on time needed for training/implementation, specialized care provider requirements, and equipment/capital requirements. Results Nonpharmacological practices to address BPSDs include sensory practices (aromatherapy, massage, multi-sensory stimulation, bright light therapy), psychosocial practices (validation therapy, reminiscence therapy, music therapy, pet therapy, meaningful activities), and structured care protocols (bathing, mouth care). Most practices are acceptable, have no harmful effects, and require minimal to moderate investment. Discussion and Implications Nonpharmacological practices are person-centered, and their selection can be informed by considering the cause and meaning of the individual's behavioral and psychological symptoms. Family caregivers and paid care providers can implement evidence-based practices in home or residential care settings, although some practices require the development of more specific protocols if they are to become widely used in an efficacious manner.
Comparison of Ranibizumab and Bevacizumab for Macular Edema Associated with Branch Retinal Vein Occlusion

Purpose To assess the effectiveness and safety of intravitreal ranibizumab compared with bevacizumab for the treatment of macular edema associated with branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO). Methods This was a retrospective study of 80 eyes with macular edema associated with BRVO. Patients received either 0.5 mg of ranibizumab (n = 24) or 1.25 mg of bevacizumab (n = 56) intravitreally. Both groups received three initial monthly injections followed by as-needed injections. The best-corrected visual acuity, central subfield thickness, mean number of injections, and retreatment rate were evaluated monthly for 6 months after the initial injection. Results The best-corrected visual acuity significantly improved from logarithm of the minimal angle of resolution (logMAR) 0.55 ± 0.26 at baseline to 0.24 ± 0.26 at 6 months in the ranibizumab group (p < 0.001) and from logMAR 0.58 ± 0.21 at baseline to 0.29 ± 0.25 at 6 months in the bevacizumab group (p < 0.001), which is not a statistically significant difference (p = 0.770). The mean reduction in central subfield thickness at 6 months was 236 ± 164 µm in the ranibizumab group (p < 0.001) and 219 ± 161 µm in the bevacizumab group (p < 0.001), which is not also a statistically significant difference (p = 0.698). The mean numbers of ranibizumab and bevacizumab injections were 3.25 ± 0.53 and 3.30 ± 0.53, respectively (p = 0.602). In addition, after the three initial monthly injections, the retreatment rates for ranibizumab and bevacizumab injections were 20.8% and 26.7%, respectively (p = 0.573). Conclusions Both ranibizumab and bevacizumab were effective for the treatment of BRVO and produced similar visual and anatomic outcomes. In addition, the mean number of injections and the retreatment rates were not significantly different between the groups.
Comparison of the Acute Effect of Radial Shock Wave Therapy and Ultrasound Therapy in the Treatment of Plantar Fasciitis: A Randomized Controlled Study

Objective This study compared the effectiveness of radial extracorporeal shock wave therapy (r-ESWT) with ultrasound (US) therapy in the treatment of plantar fasciitis (PF). Study Design Level II, randomized controlled study. Design A total of 54 female patients with unilateral PF were randomly assigned to two study groups and one control group. All groups performed home exercises. In addition, the first study group received three sessions of r-ESWT treatment and the second study group received seven sessions of US treatment. The Foot Function Index (FFI) and the American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Association (AOFAS) hind foot score were determined. Static and dynamic equilibrium were evaluated with the single leg standing test and the functional reach test. Ankle proprioception sense was determined with the Biodex III isokinetic device. Patients were evaluated before and four weeks after the first treatment. Results According to the evaluation results, there was a decrease in FFI values in all groups and these decreases were more prominent in the US group than the other groups (P < 0.05). It was observed that the hind foot AOFAS scores increased in all groups, but this increase was less in the control group (P < 0.05). Static and dynamic balance increased in all groups (P < 0.05). Ankle proprioception sense increased only in the r-ESWT group (P <0.05). Conclusions All groups and particularly the r-ESWT and US groups' symptoms were decreased after treatment. However; FFI parameters were reduced more in the US groups than the other two groups, the ankle proprioception sense increased in the r-ESWT group, and there was no change in the other groups.
Functional Conservation of Asxl2, a Murine Homolog for the Drosophila Enhancer of Trithorax and Polycomb Group Gene Asx

Background Polycomb-group (PcG) and trithorax-group (trxG) proteins regulate histone methylation to establish repressive and active chromatin configurations at target loci, respectively. These chromatin configurations are passed on from mother to daughter cells, thereby causing heritable changes in gene expression. The activities of PcG and trxG proteins are regulated by a special class of proteins known as Enhancers of trithorax and Polycomb (ETP). The Drosophila gene Additional sex combs (Asx) encodes an ETP protein and mutations in Asx enhance both PcG and trxG mutant phenotypes. The mouse and human genomes each contain three Asx homologues, Asx-like 1, 2, and 3. In order to understand the functions of mammalian Asx-like (Asxl) proteins, we generated an Asxl2 mutant mouse from a gene-trap ES cell line. Methodology/Principal Findings We show that the Asxl2 gene trap is expressed at high levels in specific tissues including the heart, the axial skeleton, the neocortex, the retina, spermatogonia and developing oocytes. The gene trap mutation is partially embryonic lethal and approximately half of homozygous animals die before birth. Homozygotes that survive embryogenesis are significantly smaller than controls and have a shortened life span. Asxl2−/− mice display both posterior transformations and anterior transformation in the axial skeleton, suggesting that the loss of Asxl2 disrupts the activities of both PcG and trxG proteins. The PcG-associated histone modification, trimethylation of histone H3 lysine 27, is reduced in Asxl2−/− heart. Necropsy and histological analysis show that mutant mice have enlarged hearts and may have impaired heart function. Conclusions/Significance Our results suggest that murine Asxl2 has conserved ETP function and plays dual roles in the promotion of PcG and trxG activity. We have also revealed an unexpected role for Asxl2 in the heart, suggesting that the PcG/trxG system may be involved in the regulation of cardiac function.
Arbovirus-Derived piRNAs Exhibit a Ping-Pong Signature in Mosquito Cells

The siRNA pathway is an essential antiviral mechanism in insects. Whether other RNA interference pathways are involved in antiviral defense remains unclear. Here, we report in cells derived from the two main vectors for arboviruses, Aedes albopictus and Aedes aegypti, the production of viral small RNAs that exhibit the hallmarks of ping-pong derived piwi-associated RNAs (piRNAs) after infection with positive or negative sense RNA viruses. Furthermore, these cells produce endogenous piRNAs that mapped to transposable elements. Our results show that these mosquito cells can initiate de novo piRNA production and recapitulate the ping-pong dependent piRNA pathway upon viral infection. The mechanism of viral-piRNA production is discussed.
Tumor origin detection with tissue‐specific miRNA and DNA methylation markers

Motivation A clear identification of the primary site of tumor is of great importance to the next targeted site‐specific treatments and could efficiently improve patient‘s overall survival. Even though many classifiers based on gene expression had been proposed to predict the tumor primary, only a few studies focus on using DNA methylation (DNAm) profiles to develop classifiers, and none of them compares the performance of classifiers based on different profiles. Results We introduced novel selection strategies to identify highly tissue‐specific CpG sites and then used the random forest approach to construct the classifiers to predict the origin of tumors. We also compared the prediction performance by applying similar strategy on miRNA expression profiles. Our analysis indicated that these classifiers had an accuracy of 96.05% (Maximum‐Relevance‐Maximum‐Distance: 90.02‐99.99%) or 95.31% (principal component analysis: 79.82‐99.91%) on independent DNAm datasets, and an overall accuracy of 91.30% (range 79.33‐98.74%) on independent miRNA test sets for predicting tumor origin. This suggests that our feature selection methods are very effective to identify tissue‐specific biomarkers and the classifiers we developed can efficiently predict the origin of tumors. We also developed a user‐friendly webserver that helps users to predict the tumor origin by uploading miRNA expression or DNAm profile of their interests. Availability and implementation The webserver, and relative data, code are accessible at http://server.malab. cn/MMCOP/.
Has the Digital Health Divide Widened? Trends of Health-Related Internet Use Among Older Adults From 2003 to 2011

Objectives To examine the trend of health-related Internet use (HRIU) among older adults. Methods We analyzed data from the 2003, 2005, and 2011-2012 iterations of the National Cancer Institute (NCI)-sponsored Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS). HRIU was measured by 4 online behaviors: seeking health information, buying medicine, connecting with people with similar health problems, and communicating with doctors. Results Internet use and HRIU among older adults increased substantially from 2003 to 2011 with more significant increases in seeking health information and communicating with doctors online. Overall, the digital health divide between different demographic groups has narrowed, especially in terms of gender, racial/ethnic group, rural/urban residence, and various health statuses; however, age, education, and household income remain persistent predictors of the digital divide. Those in the oldest group (75 or older), those with less than a high school education, and those with very low income (<$25,000/year) continuously lagged behind their counterparts in all aspects of HRIU. Conclusions Despite an overall increase in HRIU and a narrowed digital divide, significant variations in HRIU in different demographic groups persisted; therefore, we call for more senior-friendly online resources and culturally appropriate interventions to bridge the digital health divide for vulnerable older adults.
Other journals in brief

It would appear that toothpastes containing arginine and calcium carbonate (for example Colgate® Sensitive Pro-ReliefTM) are particularly effective at managing tooth sensitivity. It is stated in this narrative review, that tooth sensitivity is experienced by up to one third of the population, it occurs mainly in females and affects canine and premolar teeth because of their position within the arches. But many of the studies reporting these findings are riddled with bias. The authors state the obvious in that management should be focussed on addressing the aetiology. Invasive interventions, such as placing restorations, should only be carried out if less invasive approaches do not resolve the symptoms. When the authors described the causes of tooth sensitivity, again little is new. But, they do refer to the Relative Dentin Abrasivity (RDA) score for measuring this property in toothpastes. Several websites give the RDA for a range of different toothpastes (for example see www.williamsonperio.com/wp./07/Toothpaste-Abrasiveness-Ranked-by-RDA. pdf). Most of the regular toothpastes demonstrate low abrasion, whereas the whitening and some tartar control toothpastes are categorised as ‘harmful’. When considering home oral care, a study has shown that teeth covered with plaque are less sensitive. However, this should be qualified in that gingival recession, induced by plaque, is associated with tooth sensitivity. Contrary to anecdote, scaling and root planing would not seem to exacerbate tooth sensitivity. The following ingredients have been added to toothpastes which purportedly manage tooth sensitivity: potassium nitrate, strontium (acetate and chloride), arginine and calcium carbonate, calcium sodium phosphosilicate and high fluoride concentration toothpastes. When considering potassium nitrate [SENSODYNE® PRONAMEL® and Toms of Maine strength® SENSITIVE maximum (parent company Colgate-Palmolive)] it is suggested that this agent depolarises the nerves within the dentinal tubules. The efficacy of potassium nitrate, however, is disputed. Strontium (Sensodyne® 24/7 Protection* Original) facilitates the occlusion of dentinal tubules with strontium acetate but only to the depth of 5 μm. The combination of arginine and calcium carbonate (for example Colgate® Sensitive Pro-ReliefTM from a stable of toothpastes containing these ingredients) also occlude the dentinal tubules by forming a positive complex with the negatively charged dentinal surface. It has been reported that toothpastes containing arginine and calcium carbonate are more effective than those containing strontium salts. Despite the title of this paper, the authors describe the placement of cervical restorations and even root canal treatment in order to manage tooth sensitivity.
CRISPR/Cas9 cleavages in budding yeast reveal templated insertions and strand-specific insertion/deletion profiles

Significance Using budding yeast, we address how Cas9 protein and its guide RNA (gRNA) create double-strand chromosome breaks (DSBs), and explore whether binding of Cas9::gRNA influences subsequent DSB repair by nonhomologous end-joining. We created pairs of gRNAs that are complementary to opposite DNA strands but direct cleavage at the same chromosomal location. The resulting repair profiles (insertion/deletions) are different for the two ostensibly identical DSBs. Most notably, there are frequent +1 insertions that are templated after cleavage creates a 1-nt 5′ overhang that is filled in before ends are ligated. DNA polymerase 4 is required for most +1 insertions and for longer (+2 and +3) insertions. We found similar templating of +1 insertions in published studies of mammalian DSBs created by Cas9. Harnessing CRISPR-Cas9 technology provides an unprecedented ability to modify genomic loci via DNA double-strand break (DSB) induction and repair. We analyzed nonhomologous end-joining (NHEJ) repair induced by Cas9 in budding yeast and found that the orientation of binding of Cas9 and its guide RNA (gRNA) profoundly influences the pattern of insertion/deletions (indels) at the site of cleavage. A common indel created by Cas9 is a 1-bp (+1) insertion that appears to result from Cas9 creating a 1-nt 5′ overhang that is filled in by a DNA polymerase and ligated. The origin of +1 insertions was investigated by using two gRNAs with PAM sequences located on opposite DNA strands but designed to cleave the same sequence. These templated +1 insertions are dependent on the X-family DNA polymerase, Pol4. Deleting Pol4 also eliminated +2 and +3 insertions, which are biased toward homonucleotide insertions. Using inverted PAM sequences, we also found significant differences in overall NHEJ efficiency and repair profiles, suggesting that the binding of the Cas9:gRNA complex influences subsequent NHEJ processing. As with events induced by the site-specific HO endonuclease, CRISPR-Cas9–mediated NHEJ repair depends on the Ku heterodimer and DNA ligase 4. Cas9 events are highly dependent on the Mre11-Rad50-Xrs2 complex, independent of Mre11’s nuclease activity. Inspection of the outcomes of a large number of Cas9 cleavage events in mammalian cells reveals a similar templated origin of +1 insertions in human cells, but also a significant frequency of similarly templated +2 insertions.
Convex Relaxation for Combinatorial Penalties

In this paper, we propose an unifying view of several recently proposed structured sparsity-inducing norms. We consider the situation of a model simultaneously (a) penalized by a set- function de ned on the support of the unknown parameter vector which represents prior knowledge on supports, and (b) regularized in Lp-norm. We show that the natural combinatorial optimization problems obtained may be relaxed into convex optimization problems and introduce a notion, the lower combinatorial envelope of a set-function, that characterizes the tightness of our relaxations. We moreover establish links with norms based on latent representations including the latent group Lasso and block-coding, and with norms obtained from submodular functions.
An original approach to positioning with cellular fingerprints based on decision tree ensembles

ABSTRACT In addition to being a fundamental infrastructure for communication, cellular networks are increasingly employed for outdoor positioning through signal fingerprinting. In this respect, the choice of the specific strategy used to obtain a position estimation from fingerprints plays a major role in determining the overall accuracy. In this paper, we propose a novel fingerprint comparison method, to be used in dynamic and large-scale contexts, such as the outdoor one, based on a machine learning approach. We explore two possible machine learning solutions, that make use of decision tree ensembles and support vector machines, respectively, and carefully contrast and evaluate them against a set of well-known, state-of-the-art fingerprint comparison functions from the literature. Tests are carried out with different tracking devices and environmental settings. It turns out that the machine learning approach, especially when implemented using decision tree ensembles, provides consistently better estimations than all the other considered strategies.