Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Utility of ultrasound‐guided fine‐needle aspiration in splenic lesions

Indications of fine‐needle aspiration (FNA) of spleen have increased as more splenic lesions are detected because of advanced imaging techniques. A retrospective analysis of cytological material of 36 patients on whom ultrasound‐guided splenic FNA was performed was done. No complications were noted. There were 16 inflammatory lesions, 12 neoplastic and 8 cases were reported as descriptive either because of scant cellularity, blood only, or normal splenic cytology. Inflammatory lesions included nine cases of acute abscess, five cases of tuberculosis, and one case each of leishmaniasis and infarct. Neoplastic lesions included two benign (benign cyst and inflammatory pseudotumor) and 10 malignant lesions. Among malignant lesions, eight were non‐Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), one suspicious of NHL, and one desmoplastic small round cell tumor. FNA proved to be an effective procedure for reaching a microscopic tissue diagnosis and thus a splenectomy could be avoided in cases where it was not required. Diagn. Cytopathol. 2013;41:1038–1042. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Semistructured black-box prediction: proposed approach for asthma admissions in London

Asthma is a global public health problem and the most common chronic disease among children. The factors associated with the condition are diverse, and environmental factors appear to be the leading cause of asthma exacerbation and its worsening disease burden. However, it remains unknown how changes in the environment affect asthma over time, and how temporal or environmental factors predict asthma events. The methodologies for forecasting asthma and other similar chronic conditions are not comprehensively documented anywhere to account for semistructured noncausal forecasting approaches. This paper highlights and discusses practical issues associated with asthma and the environment, and suggests possible approaches for developing decision-making tools in the form of semistructured black-box models, which is relatively new for asthma. Two statistical methods which can potentially be used in predictive modeling and health forecasting for both anticipated and peak events are suggested. Importantly, this paper attempts to bridge the areas of epidemiology, environmental medicine and exposure risks, and health services provision. The ideas discussed herein will support the development and implementation of early warning systems for chronic respiratory conditions in large populations, and ultimately lead to better decision-making tools for improving health service delivery.
Combined effects of exonic polymorphisms in CRHR1 and AVPR1B genes in a case/control study for panic disorder

Accumulating evidence from animal studies suggests that the corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH) and arginine vasopressin (AVP) neuropeptide systems, contribute to anxiety behavior. To investigate whether polymorphisms in the genes regulating these two systems may alter susceptibility to anxiety disorders in humans, we genotyped 71 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in CRH, CRHR1, CRHR2, AVP, AVPR1A, AVPR1B in a German sample from Munich with patients suffering from panic disorder and matched healthy controls (n = 186/n = 299). Significant associations were then replicated in a second German sample with 173 patients with panic disorder and 495 controls. In both samples separately and the combined sample, SNPs within CHRH1 and AVPR1B were nominally associated with panic disorder. We then tested two locus multiplicative and interaction effects of polymorphisms of these two genes on panic disorder. Fifteen SNP pairs showed significant multiplicative effects in both samples. The SNP pair with the most significant association in the combined sample (P = 0.00057), which withstood correction for multiple testing, was rs878886 in CRHR1 and rs28632197 in AVPR1B. Both SNPs are of potential functional relevance as rs878886 is located in the 3′ untranslated region of the CRHR1 and rs28632197 leads to an arginine to histidine amino acid exchange at position 364 of AVPR1B which is located in the intracellular C‐terminal domain of the receptor. These data suggest that polymorphisms in the AVPR1B and the CRHR1 genes alter the susceptibility to panic disorder. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Age and gender as predictors of allied health quality stroke care

Background: Improvement in acute stroke care requires the identification of variables which may influence care quality. The nature and impact of demographic and stroke-related variables on care quality provided by allied health (AH) professionals is unknown. Aims: Our research explores the association of age and gender on an index of acute stroke care quality provided by AH professionals. Methods: A retrospective clinical audit of 300 acute stroke patients extracted data on AH care, patients’ age and gender. AH care quality was determined by the summed compliance with 20 predetermined process indicators. Our analysis explored relationships between this index of quality, age, and gender. Age was considered in different ways (as a continuous variable, and in different categories). It was correlated with care quality, using gender-specific linear and logistic regression models. Gender was then considered as a confounder in an overall model. Results: No significant association was found for any treatment of age and the index of AH care quality. There were no differences in gender-specific models, and gender did not significantly adjust the age association with care quality. Conclusion: Age and gender were not predictors of the quality of care provided to acute stroke patients by AH professionals.
Specific proteolytic cleavage of agrin regulates maturation of the neuromuscular junction

During the initial stage of neuromuscular junction (NMJ) formation, nerve-derived agrin cooperates with muscle-autonomous mechanisms in the organization and stabilization of a plaque-like postsynaptic specialization at the site of nerve–muscle contact. Subsequent NMJ maturation to the characteristic pretzel-like appearance requires extensive structural reorganization. We found that the progress of plaque-to-pretzel maturation is regulated by agrin. Excessive cleavage of agrin via transgenic overexpression of an agrin-cleaving protease, neurotrypsin, in motoneurons resulted in excessive reorganizational activity of the NMJs, leading to rapid dispersal of the synaptic specialization. By contrast, expression of cleavage-resistant agrin in motoneurons slowed down NMJ remodeling and delayed NMJ maturation. Neurotrypsin, which is the sole agrin-cleaving protease in the CNS, was excluded as the physiological agrin-cleaving protease at the NMJ, because NMJ maturation was normal in neurotrypsin-deficient mice. Together, our analyses characterize agrin cleavage at its proteolytic α- and β-sites by an as-yet-unspecified protease as a regulatory access for relieving the agrin-dependent constraint on endplate reorganization during NMJ maturation.
Neural Face Editing with Intrinsic Image Disentangling

Traditional face editing methods often require a number of sophisticated and task specific algorithms to be applied one after the other &#x2014; a process that is tedious, fragile, and computationally intensive. In this paper, we propose an end-to-end generative adversarial network that infers a face-specific disentangled representation of intrinsic face properties, including shape (i.e. normals), albedo, and lighting, and an alpha matte. We show that this network can be trained on in-the-wild images by incorporating an in-network physically-based image formation module and appropriate loss functions. Our disentangling latent representation allows for semantically relevant edits, where one aspect of facial appearance can be manipulated while keeping orthogonal properties fixed, and we demonstrate its use for a number of facial editing applications.
Intravascular large B cell lymphoma presenting in the lung: the diagnostic value of transbronchial cryobiopsy.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE intravascular large B-cell lymphoma is a distinct subtype of mature B-cell neoplasms, with uncommon primary presentation in the lungs. Diagnosis could be very difficult due to the lack of detectable tumor masses and it is usually made by surgical lung biopsy or autopsy examination. METHODS two patients occurred primarily with interstitial lung disease and underwent a pulmonary biopsy using cryoprobes. RESULTS the pathological analysis of the lung biopsies revealed in both cases a conclusive diagnosis of intravascular large B-cell lymphoma with primary lung involvement and patients have been safely diagnosed using transbronchial cryobiopsy for the first time in the literature. CONCLUSIONS transbronchial cryobiopsy could be used as valid surrogate for surgical lung biopsy in lymphoprolipherative lung disorders (including intravascular lymphomas), as allows larger samples of tissue, greater diagnostic yield, no crush artifacts and much less complications than surgical biopsy.
Strengthening Health Systems at Facility-Level: Feasibility of Integrating Antiretroviral Therapy into Primary Health Care Services in Lusaka, Zambia

Introduction HIV care and treatment services are primarily delivered in vertical antiretroviral (ART) clinics in sub-Saharan Africa but there have been concerns over the impact on existing primary health care services. This paper presents results from a feasibility study of a fully integrated model of HIV and non-HIV outpatient services in two urban Lusaka clinics. Methods Integration involved three key modifications: i) amalgamation of space and patient flow; ii) standardization of medical records and iii) introduction of routine provider initiated testing and counseling (PITC). Assessment of feasibility included monitoring rates of HIV case-finding and referral to care, measuring median waiting and consultation times and assessing adherence to clinical care protocols for HIV and non-HIV outpatients. Qualitative data on patient/provider perceptions was also collected. Findings Provider and patient interviews at both sites indicated broad acceptability of the model and highlighted a perceived reduction in stigma associated with integrated HIV services. Over six months in Clinic 1, PITC was provided to 2760 patients; 1485 (53%) accepted testing, 192 (13%) were HIV positive and 80 (42%) enrolled. Median OPD patient-provider contact time increased 55% (6.9 vs. 10.7 minutes; p<0.001) and decreased 1% for ART patients (27.9 vs. 27.7 minutes; p = 0.94). Median waiting times increased by 36 (p<0.001) and 23 minutes (p<0.001) for ART and OPD patients respectively. In Clinic 2, PITC was offered to 1510 patients, with 882 (58%) accepting testing, 208 (24%) HIV positive and 121 (58%) enrolled. Median OPD patient-provider contact time increased 110% (6.1 vs. 12.8 minutes; p<0.001) and decreased for ART patients by 23% (23 vs. 17.7 minutes; p<0.001). Median waiting times increased by 47 (p<0.001) and 34 minutes (p<0.001) for ART and OPD patients, respectively. Conclusions Integrating vertical ART and OPD services is feasible in the low-resource and high HIV-prevalence setting of Lusaka, Zambia. Integration enabled shared use of space and staffing that resulted in increased HIV case finding, a reduction in stigma associated with vertical ART services but resulted in an overall increase in patient waiting times. Further research is urgently required to assess long-term clinical outcomes and cost effectiveness in order to evaluate scalability and generalizability.
Optical and electrochromic properties of heated and annealed MoO_3 thin films

Heating and annealing effects on the optical properties of slightly blue substoichiometric molybdenum trioxide thin films are reported partially. During heating and annealing, different levels of coloration seem to be generated by simultaneous reduction and proton injection into thin films, which cause the formation of hydrogen molybdenum bronzes of different concentrations. The optical band gap, E _o, of MoO_3 thin film when annealed in between 313 and 473 K is decreased to 2.82 eV, and this reduction in E _o has been explained with a view to phonon and polaron species. Moreover, temperature-dependent change in the optical band gap has also been interpreted in terms of band gap slope, B, and the real part of the refractive index, n. Urbach slope, σ, also goes down to 0.67 eV^−1 due to annealing treatment. Using the oscillator model, a phonon energy, h ν_o, of about 0.08 eV was found for the reported MoO_3 thin film which is very close to the characteristic phonon energy of MoO_3. Over and above, the intensity for the blue absorption band, over the photon energy range 0.4–3.0 eV, also reaches a maximum as MoO_3 thin film is annealed at 473 K for 1 h and then decreases by 32% after annealing at the same temperature for 2 h. This phenomenon is due to polaronic band intensity which rises and falls during annealing. Half-width of the blue band, as found by fitting polaron model, is changed only by 3% on annealing the MoO_3 thin film at 473 K as compared to its value at room temperature.
U.S. veterans’ experience with Rebetron in a nonstudy environment: success or failure?

OBJECTIVE:The aim of this study is to report the clinical response observed in a U.S. veteran population with hepatitis C to combination therapy with Rebetron (interferon/ribavirin) outside of a controlled study environment.METHODS:Ninety-nine consecutive patients with hepatitis C who met the approved guidelines for treatment were offered treatment with Rebetron. Ninety-four patients initiated therapy. All patients received formal instruction on the use of the drug, as well as the side effects and were instructed to report any side effects. Follow-up was scheduled twice a month for the first month, then monthly unless adverse events were observed.RESULTS:Ninety-four of 99 patients initiated therapy. Thirty-two patients were lost to follow-up or did not tolerate therapy. Ethnic distribution comprised 56 whites, 42 African Americans, one Hispanic. Of the 56 whites who started therapy, 39 completed treatment. Sustained viral response (SVR) for all genotypes was observed in 10 of 39 (26%). In the African American patients, 22 of 42 (52%) completed therapy, but a SVR was noted in none. The only Hispanic patient did not respond to therapy. In the veteran population, favorable factors associated with achieving SVR included having genotype other than 1, absence of cirrhosis, and ethnicity. Factors contributing to the low response rates were difficulty in adhering to therapy as well as a predominance of genotype 1.CONCLUSIONS:Using an intention-to-treat analysis, only 10% of veterans achieved SVR. These findings highlight the need to develop a multidisciplinary team to address the complexity of treating the veteran patient with hepatitis C.
Cardiac Catheterization and Postoperative Acute Kidney Failure in Congenital Heart Pediatric Patients

BACKGROUND: Acute renal failure (ARF) is a severe complication of cardiac operations in pediatric patients. Angiography with the exposure to contrast media is a risk factor for ARF. In the present study, we explored the association between timing of angiography, dose of contrast media, and the incidence of ARF after cardiac operations in pediatric patients. METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data. Angiographic data and other covariates were collected in 277 patients aged ⩽12 years receiving angiography and cardiac operations during the same hospital stay. Renal outcome was assessed according to the pediatric Risk, Injury, Failure, Loss of function, End stage score (pRIFLE). RESULTS: One hundred seventy-seven (64%) patients suffered some degree of postoperative renal dysfunction, and 55 (20%) had ARF (pRIFLE stage Failure). Patients with ARF received a significantly (P < 0.001) larger dose of iodine contrast media (4.6 ± 2.6 g/kg) with respect to the other patients (2.8 ± 2.2 g/kg), with a relative risk increase for ARF of 31% per each incremental iodine dose of 1 g/kg at the univariate analysis. A multivariable risk model demonstrated that the risk for ARF is 20 times higher in patients aged younger than 2 years and 3 times higher in case of postoperative low cardiac output. Within this model, the iodine dose on angiography is confirmed as an independent risk factor for ARF, with a relative risk increase for ARF of 16% per each incremental iodine dose of 1 g/kg. CONCLUSIONS: Angiography before cardiac surgery is an important risk factor for ARF in pediatric patients. Being a modifiable risk factor, the contrast media dose should be limited to the lowest possible value, avoiding large doses of iodine which, together with other factors (age and postoperative low cardiac output), concur in the determinism of postoperative ARF.
Sequential Induction of Effector Function, Tissue Migration and Cell Death during Polyclonal Activation of Mouse Regulatory T-Cells

The ability of CD4+Foxp3+ regulatory T-cells (Treg) to produce interleukin (IL)-10 is important for the limitation of inflammation at environmental interfaces like colon or lung. Under steady state conditions, however, few Tregs produce IL-10 ex vivo. To investigate the origin and fate of IL-10 producing Tregs we used a superagonistic mouse anti-mouse CD28 mAb (CD28SA) for polyclonal in vivo stimulation of Tregs, which not only led to their numeric expansion but also to a dramatic increase in IL-10 production. IL-10 secreting Tregs strongly upregulated surface receptors associated with suppressive function as compared to non-producing Tregs. Furthermore, polyclonally expanding Tregs shifted their migration receptor pattern after activation from a CCR7+CCR5− lymph node-seeking to a CCR7−CCR5+ inflammation-seeking phenotype, explaining the preferential recruitment of IL-10 producers to sites of ongoing immune responses. Finally, we observed that IL-10 producing Tregs from CD28SA stimulated mice were more apoptosis-prone in vitro than their IL-10 negative counterparts. These findings support a model where prolonged activation of Tregs results in terminal differentiation towards an IL-10 producing effector phenotype associated with a limited lifespan, implicating built-in termination of immunosuppression.
Diurnal changes and levels of fibrin generation are not altered by continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) in obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA)

Summary Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is associated with increased cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. In the general population, CVD events peak at 9:00–10:00 AM, associated with diurnal changes in thrombotic potential. However in OSA, these CVD events occur frequently at night. Measuring thrombotic potential across the sleep-wake cycle may provide insight into the temporal association of OSA with CVD. This study aimed to determine diurnal changes in fibrin generation in OSA and whether treatment of OSA with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) alters fibrin generation across the sleep-wake cycle. In a randomised placebo-controlled crossover trial, patients with OSA were assigned to two months each of therapeutic CPAP and placebo. After each treatment period, fibrin generation was determined by overall haemostatic potential assay at seven time points over 24 hours (h). Twenty-eight patients (25 men, 3 women) with severe OSA (Apnoea Hypopnoea Index = 37.9 ± 23.9/h, Oxygen Desaturation Index 31.3 ± 22.4/h) completed the study. All parameters, except lag time to fibrin generation, showed significant diurnal changes, both on CPAP and placebo. Compared to 9:00 AM, fibrin generation parameters were significantly lower at midnight and 3:00 AM for overall coagulation potential (OCP), overall haemostasis potential (OHP), maximum optical density, and maximum slope (all p≤0.001). CPAP produced no change in fibrin generation parameters compared to placebo. In severe OSA patients, fibrin generation peaked at 6:00 AM and 9:00 AM rather than during the sleep period (midnight and 3:00 AM). These findings suggest a prothrombotic shift in the morning similar to individuals without OSA. There was no difference between CPAP and placebo on fibrin generation.
T2* mapping of ovine intervertebral discs: Normative data for cervical and lumbar spine

To obtain T2* values in histologically evaluated healthy ovine intervertebral discs of the cervical and lumbar spine. Intervertebral discs of nine sheep and nine lambs underwent histological assessment with the modified Boos score for grading of disc degeneration. Discs with a score <10 points (maximum = 40 points) underwent T2* mapping (n = 64). Mid‐sagittal T2* values were obtained in five regions: Anterior annulus fibrosus, anterior nucleus pulposus, central nucleus pulposus, posterior nucleus pulposus, and posterior annulus fibrosus. We noted a zonal T2* distribution with high values in the central nucleus and low T2* values in the anterior and posterior annulus fibrosus. The T2* values were higher in lamb than in sheep IVDs for both cervical and lumbar spine (p < 0.001). The T2* values were also higher in the cervical than in the lumbar spine (p = 0.029 for sheep and p < 0.001 for lamb IVDs). The T2* values obtained in these ovine intervertebral discs can serve as baseline values for future T2* measurements both in health and disease. © 2015 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 34:717–724, 2016.
Catch-and-Release Mortality of Spotted Seatrout in Texas

Abstract Catch and release is becoming more common as a management tool in marine recreational fisheries. Clearly, a critical factor in determining different management scenarios that use this strategy is postcapture survival. We investigated the mortality associated with catch and release in the fishery for spotted seatrout Cynoscion nebulosus in south Texas. Specifically, this study investigated the mortality for hook-and-line-captured spotted seatrout as a function of bait type, hook type, angler skill level, and fish size. Using a variety of angling techniques, we captured 448 spotted seatrout ranging from 250 to 760 mm total length (TL) and assessed mortality in replicate field enclosures. The overall short-term mortality for all treatments was relatively low (11%); the majority of fish survived. The exception was angler skill level. Angling by novices produced a significantly higher mortality rate than angling by skilled anglers; however, mortality averaged only 18% even for inexperienced anglers. T.
The COSMOS Survey: Hubble Space Telescope Advanced Camera for Surveys Observations and Data Processing

We describe the details of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) Wide Field Channel (WFC) observations of the COSMOS field, including the data calibration and processing procedures. We obtained a total of 583 orbits of HST ACS/WFC imaging in the F814W filter, covering a field that is 1.64 deg2 in area, the largest contiguous field ever imaged with HST. The median exposure depth across the field is 2028 s (one HST orbit), achieving a limiting point-source depth AB(F814W) = 27.2 (5 σ). We also present details of the astrometric image registration and distortion removal and image combination using MultiDrizzle, motivating the choice of our final pixel scale (30 mas pixel-1), based on the requirements for weak-lensing science. The final set of images are publicly available through the archive sites at IPAC and STScI, along with further documentation on how they were produced.
Management of patients with cirrhosis awaiting liver transplantation

The demand for OLT continues to be on the rise with patients spending a long time on the waiting list; this not only increases the risk of developing further decompensation but also mortality. The complications discussed above may not only lead to removal from the waiting list in some cases but also a poorer outcome following transplantation. Therefore the appropriate prevention, recognition and treatment of the above-mentioned complications of cirrhosis will have a positive impact on the outcome before and after liver transplantation.