Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cerebral Degeneration in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Revealed by 3-Dimensional Texture Analysis

Introduction: Routine MR images do not consistently reveal pathological changes in the brain in ALS. Texture analysis, a method to quantitate voxel intensities and their patterns and interrelationships, can detect changes in images not apparent to the naked eye. Our objective was to evaluate cerebral degeneration in ALS using 3-dimensional texture analysis of MR images of the brain. Methods: In a case-control design, voxel-based texture analysis was performed on T1-weighted MR images of 20 healthy subjects and 19 patients with ALS. Four texture features, namely, autocorrelation, sum of squares variance, sum average, and sum variance were computed. Texture features were compared between the groups by statistical parametric mapping and correlated with clinical measures of disability and upper motor neuron dysfunction. Results: Texture features were different in ALS in motor regions including the precentral gyrus and corticospinal tracts. To a lesser extent, changes were also found in the thalamus, cingulate gyrus, and temporal lobe. Texture features in the precentral gyrus correlated with disease duration, and in the corticospinal tract they correlated with finger tapping speed. Conclusions: Changes in MR image textures are present in motor and non-motor regions in ALS and correlate with clinical features. Whole brain texture analysis has potential in providing biomarkers of cerebral degeneration in ALS.
Strong Consistency of Set-Valued Frechet Sample Mean in Metric Spaces

The Fréchet mean generalizes the idea of averaging in spaces where pairwise addition is not well-defined. In general metric spaces, however, the Fréchet sample mean is not a consistent estimator of the theoretical Fréchet mean. For non-trivial examples, sequences of Fréchet sample mean sets may fail to converge in a set-analytical sense. Hence, it becomes necessary to consider other types of convergence. We show that a specific type of almost sure (a.s.) convergence for the Fréchet sample mean introduced by Ziezold (1977) is, in fact, equivalent to the consideration of the Kuratowski outer limit of a sequence of Fréchet sample means. Equipped with this outer limit, we prove different laws of large numbers for random variables taking values in separable (pseudo-)metric space with a bounded metric. In this setting, we describe strong laws of large numbers for the Fréchet sample mean. In particular, we demonstrate that all subsequences of Fréchet sample means converge to a subset of the theoretical mean. This result allows us to show that the Fréchet sample mean is metric squared error (MSE) consistent under the condition that their Kuratowski outer limits are non-empty. Convergence in probability and convergence in law of these sample estimators are also derived and the implications between these different modes of convergence are studied.
Enhanced groundwater recharge rates and altered recharge sensitivity to Q : 4 ; 5 ; 6 climate variability through subsurface heterogeneity

Andreas Hartmann, Tom Gleeson, Yoshihide Wada, and Thorsten Wagener Institute of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany; Q:10 Department of Civil Engineering, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom; Q:11 Department of Civil Engineering, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada; School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada; International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, A-2361 Laxenburg, Austria; NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, New York, NY 10025; Center for Climate Systems Research, Columbia University, New York, NY 10025; Department of Physical Geography, Utrecht University, 3584 CS Utrecht, The Netherlands; and Cabot Institute, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
Apoptosis and cancer: mutations within caspase genes

The inactivation of programmed cell death has profound effects not only on the development but also on the overall integrity of multicellular organisms. Beside developmental abnormalities, it may lead to tumorigenesis, autoimmunity, and other serious health problems. Deregulated apoptosis may also be the leading cause of cancer therapy chemoresistance. Caspase family of cysteinyl-proteases plays the key role in the initiation and execution of programmed cell death. This review gives an overview of the role of caspases, their natural modulators like IAPs, FLIPs, and Smac/Diablo in apoptosis and upon inactivation, and also in cancer development. Besides describing the basic mechanisms governing programmed cell death, a large part of this review is dedicated to previous studies that were focused on screening tumours for mutations within caspase genes as well as their regulators. The last part of this review discusses several emerging treatments that involve modulation of caspases and their regulators. Thus, we also highlight caspase cascade modulating experimental anticancer drugs like cFLIP-antagonist CDDO-Me; cIAP1 antagonists OSU-03012 and ME-BS; and XIAP small molecule antagonists 1396–11, 1396–12, 1396–28, triptolide, AEG35156, survivin/Hsp90 antagonist shephedrin, and some of the direct activators of procaspase-3.
Category I Pressure Ulcers How Reliable Is Clinical Assessment?

INTRODUCTION: Pressure ulcer prevention is an indicator of quality of care. Reliable identification of category i pressure ulcers is essential in prevalence studies and to prevent further tissue damage. PURPOSE: The primary purpose of this study was to establish interrater reliability between blanching and nonblanching erythema assessed by 2 independent assessors. The secondary purpose was to investigate potential correlations between risk factors and pressure ulcers. METHOD: Ninety-seven patients 65 years or older with hip fractures were consecutively recruited for this prospective, comparative observation study. Seventy-eight patients completed the study. The sacral area of each patient was visually assessed and a finger-press test was administered to each patient by 2 independent assessors. Kappa statistics were used for analysis. FINDINGS: finger-press tests and visual observation alone were not reliable methods to discriminate between blanching and nonblanching erythema. Forty-seven percent of the patients had a risk score 20 or fewer (high risk for pressure ulcers). Forty-four patients (56%) had pressure ulcers at discharge.
Day of surgery cancellation rates in urology: Identification of modifiable factors.

OBJECTIVE Day-of-surgery cancellations have a negative effect on operating room (OR) resources, as well as on patient satisfaction and perception of quality of care. Given increasing wait times in a universal healthcare system and the nature of urological surgery in our aging population, it should be a priority to identify modifiable risks of OR cancellations to assure timely and efficient delivery of care. We explore the rate and reasons for elective surgery cancellations in a Canadian urological practice. METHODS We evaluated the rate and reason of urological surgery cancellation at a single academic institution, prospectively collected in our centre's Operating Room Scheduling Office System (ORSOS) database. Documented reasons for cancellations were divided into 3 components: (1) structural factors (e.g., no hospital bed); (2) patient factors (e.g., patient unwell); and (3) process factors (e.g., scheduling error). Rates and reasons for cancellations were compared to those of General Surgery and Gynecology. The documented reasons for cancellation in the ORSOS database were confirmed or extended by chart review and interviews with a subset of cancelled patients. RESULTS Between 2005 and 2009, 1544 out of 19 141 (8.07 %) elective surgical cases were cancelled within the three surgical specialties (general surgery, gynecology and urology); urology had the highest average rate of 9.53%. Non-oncological cases represented a higher percentage of cancelled cases (15%, p < 0.001) and overall rates varied significantly over time in urology compared to the other surgical specialties. Potentially modifiable, process-related causes were by far the most common reason for cancellation (58.5%) and "standby" cases were a common cause of overall cancellation rates. Patient interviews confirmed the emotional and financial impact of cancellation; there was no overwhelming concern that clinical outcomes were negatively affected. CONCLUSIONS This contemporary exploration of cancelled urological cases is consistent with previous reports, although variable over time and dependent on definitions used. Potentially modifiable, process-related factors appear to be most frequently associated with cancellation, although more thorough and detailed documentation is required to further mitigate inefficient OR use. We suggest that all OR cancellations should be considered to be adverse incidents to be monitored by institutions in a systematic fashion.
An Aggregation Theorem for the Valuation of Equity Under Linear Information Dynamics

We state an Aggregation Theorem which shows that the recursion value of equity is functionally proportional to its adaptation value. Since the recursion value of equity is equal to its book value plus the expected present value of its abnormal earnings, it follows that the adaptation value of equity can normally be determined by a process of simple quadrature. We demonstrate the application of the Aggregation Theorem using two stochastic processes. The first uses the linear information dynamics of the Ohlson (1995) model. The second uses linear information dynamics based on the Cox, Ingersoll and Ross (1985)'square root' process. Both these processes lead to closed form expressions for the adaptation and overall market value of equity. There are, however, many other processes which are compatible with the Aggregation Theorem. These all show that the market value of equity will be a highly convex function of its recursion value. The empirical evidence we report for UK companies largely supports the convexity hypothesis. Copyright Blackwell Publishers Ltd, 2003.
Acute coronary syndrome-related mortality audit in a teaching hospital at Port Blair, India

Background: India has a growing trend of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) due to shifting lifestyle. Objective: To study the profile of patients died due to AMI and to find its risk correlates. Methods: A study was conducted on consecutive AMI cases admitted in the teaching hospital at Port Blair from April 2011 to March 2016. During inpatients management, outcomes were followed up from admission till discharge or expiry. Results: Of the total 491 cases, majority (75.99%) had ST-elevated myocardial infarction (STEMI); mean age of 73 deaths was 58.01 ± 13.60, mortality probability among females was less; in the age group 41–50 years the case fatality rate was the lowest (7.58%). Mean age of survival was 56.75 ± 10.47; great majorities were males across all age groups in cases and deaths; highest number of cases were in the age group 51–60 (34.21%); reportedly 83.10% had some physical activities; 6.52% were vegetarian; 34.22% were smokers; 10.39% had family history of AMI, majority (59.06%) were from white collar profession (teacher, clerical, etc.); 52.95% were diabetics; and 47.45% were hypertensives. Lifestyle-related risk factors, physical activity, and vegetarian diet were not protective; family history and addiction to smoking were significantly associated with AMI deaths. Thrombolytic intervention helped the survival of 73.68%, and the odds ratio of survival showed benefit. Conclusions: Acute STEMI had male and middle-age predominance with a common risk factor of family history, smoking, diabetes, and hypertension.
Comparative Analgesic and Mental Effects of Increasing Plasma Concentrations of Dexmedetomidine and Alfentanil in Humans

Background: In animals, systemic and intrathecal administration of the &agr;2 -adrenergic receptor agonist dexmedetomidine results in robust antinociceptive effects in models of heat pain. In humans, systemically administered dexmedetomidine is approved for sedating patients in the intensive care unit. However, whether systemic administration of dexmedetomidine in humans produces significant analgesia at doses causing sedation but not unconsciousness remains controversial. Methods: This study in human volunteers used a placebo-controlled, double-blind, and randomized design to examine whether dexmedetomidine at doses causing mild to severe sedation produces analgesia in experimental models of heat and electrical pain. Results were compared to the effects of the &mgr;-opioid receptor agonist alfentanil. A computer-controlled infusion provided four median step-up plasma concentrations of dexmedetomidine (0.09, 0.24, 0.54, and 1.23 ng/ml) and alfentanil (13.4, 33.8, 67.8, and 126.1 ng/ml). Results: Sedative and cognitive effects of dexmedetomidine were dose-dependent, resulting in a median sedation score of 95 of 100 and slowing of cognitive speed (reaction time, trail-making test) by a factor of about two at the highest plasma concentration. Dexmedetomidine did not attenuate heat or electrical pain. Alfentanil caused severe sedation (median sedation score 88 of 100) and slowed cognitive speed by a factor of approximately 1.4 at the highest plasma concentration. Alfentanil attenuated heat and electrical pain dose dependently. Conclusion: This study documents that systemic dexmedetomidine lacks analgesic efficacy for heat and electrical pain at doses causing mild to severe sedation. These results provide further evidence suggesting that systemic administration of dexmedetomidine lacks broad analgesic activity in models of acute pain at doses not rendering humans unconscious.
Oral Streptococci... Products of Their Environment

Microbial biofilms form on oral surfaces. These biofilms usually exist in dynamic equilibria with host defenses and are compatible with maintenance of the integrity of the target tissues. Disease occurs when the composition and the metabolic activities of complex communities in biofilms are perturbed. These ecologically driven changes in oral biofilms result in increases in the proportions of pathogenic micro-organisms, which possess enzymatic and structural determinants that may render them more virulent than organisms associated with oral health. This brief review focuses on key environmental influences, and genetic and physiologic aspects of bacteria associated with the formation of dental caries, and attempts to identify some areas of oral microbiology in which interdisciplinary efforts will be essential for dissection of the molecular events controlling the development and persistence of pathogenic plaques. The focus is on strategies to enhance fundamental knowledge of oral biofilm composition, structure, and activities, with the rationale that broadly effective therapeutic strategies targeted at plaque physiology, or at biofilm development and persistence, can arise from such knowledge.
Optimization of the Weck-Cel Collection Method for Quantitation of Cytokines in Mucosal Secretions

ABSTRACT Measurement of immune components in mucosal secretions is important for the evaluation of local immunity at the mucosal surfaces. The Weck-Cel ophthalmic sponge provides a method for the collection of these secretions. The sponge absorbs a relatively large volume of material, therefore allowing for quantitation of multiple immune components. Additionally, it provides a method in which the same device may be used to collect specimens from different mucosal sites, such as the genital tract and oral cavity. This sampling technique has successfully been applied for collection and measurement of antibody in oral and genital tract secretions. The purpose of this work was to optimize the extraction of protein from the sponge matrix. Of particular interest was the recovery of cytokines from the sponge. Satisfactory recovery of the cytokines interleukin 1β (IL-1β), IL-2, IL-5, IL-12, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor was obtained. However, IL-4 and gamma interferon recovery rates remained low. Using an alteration of the published extraction method, cytokine concentrations were measured in cervical secretions from women using oral contraceptives. The data revealed detectable concentrations of IL-6, IL-10, IL-8, and IL-12 on cycle days 9 and 20. The proposed technique provides an easy, practical, and consistent method for collection of nonconventional body fluids, such as cervicovaginal fluids and saliva, for the assay of immunoglobulins and several cytokines.
Valence, Arousal, and Cognitive Control: A Voluntary Task-Switching Study

The present study focused on the interplay between arousal, valence, and cognitive control. To this end, we investigated how arousal and valence associated with affective stimuli influenced cognitive flexibility when switching between tasks voluntarily. Three hypotheses were tested. First, a valence hypothesis that states that the positive valence of affective stimuli will facilitate both global and task-switching performance because of increased cognitive flexibility. Second, an arousal hypothesis that states that arousal, and not valence, will specifically impair task-switching performance by strengthening the previously executed task-set. Third, an attention hypothesis that states that both cognitive and emotional control ask for limited attentional resources, and predicts that arousal will impair both global and task-switching performance. The results showed that arousal affected task-switching but not global performance, possibly by phasic modulations of the noradrenergic system that reinforces the previously executed task. In addition, positive valence only affected global performance but not task-switching performance, possibly by phasic modulations of dopamine that stimulates the general ability to perform in a multitasking environment.
Dual Modality Imaging of a Novel Rat Model of Ovarian Carcinogenesis

Ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer death in women, in part because of the limited knowledge about early stage disease. We develop a novel rat model of ovarian cancer and perform a pilot study to examine the harvested ovaries with complementary optical imaging modalities. Rats are exposed to repeated daily dosing ͑20 days͒ with 4-vinylcyclohexene diepoxide ͑VCD͒ to cause early ovarian failure ͑model for postmenopause͒, and ovaries are directly exposed to 7,12-dimethylbenz͑a͒anthracene ͑DMBA͒ to cause abnormal ovarian proliferation and neoplasia. Harvested ovaries are examined with optical coherence tomography ͑OCT͒ and light-induced fluorescence ͑LIF͒ at one, three, and five months post-DMBA treatment. VCD causes complete ovarian follicle depletion within 8 months after onset of dosing. DMBA induces abnormal size, cysts, and neoplastic changes. OCT successfully visualizes normal and abnormal structures ͑e.g., cysts, bursa, follicular remnant degeneration͒ and the LIF spectra show statistically significant changes in the ratio of average emission intensity at 390:450 nm between VCD-treated ovaries and both normal cycling and neoplastic DMBA-treated ovaries. Overall, this pilot study demonstrates the feasibility of both the novel animal model for ovarian cancer and the ability of optical imaging techniques to visualize ovarian function and health.
The outcome of child psychoanalysis from the patient's point of view: a qualitative analysis of a long-term follow-up study.

In the classical Japanese tale of Rashomon (made into a well-known film by Akira Kurosawa), the story of a robbery and murder is told three times, from the different perspectives of three participants. As we watch the same event being retold in subtly different ways, the story disturbs and disrupts our sense of the reality of what happened, and allows us to see how different meanings can be attributed to apparently identical ‘facts’. Such a process, it has been suggested, can also happen when the patient’s account of psychotherapy is added to the more traditional accounts of therapy by therapists themselves, or to seemingly ‘objective’ measures of therapy process and outcome as developed by researchers. Such a ‘triangulating’ of different approaches can offer us, as researchers and therapists, a ‘Rashomon experience’ (Mintz, Auerbach, Luborsky, & Johnson, 1973), one that can potentially challenge our perception of the ‘reality’ of the clinical encounter and the meaning or outcome that it has had. However, for a long time (and perhaps even today) the patient’s own view of therapy is often seen as unimportant in psychotherapy research, either because – from the behaviourist’s point of view – it is not a suitably objective measure, or – from the psychoanalyst’s point of view – it is too ‘superficial’ (Franks, 1969: xii). It was Strupp, Fox, and Lessler (1969) who first attempted to respond to these doubts, making the case (with great passion) for listening to the patient’s view of therapy:
Fat, weather, and date affect migratory songbirds’ departure decisions, routes, and time it takes to cross the Gulf of Mexico

Significance Bird migration has captivated the attention of scientists and lay people for centuries, but many unanswered questions remain about how birds negotiate large geographic features during migration. We tracked songbirds across the Gulf of Mexico to investigate the factors associated with birds’ departure decisions, arrival at the Yucatan Peninsula (YP), and crossing times. Our findings suggest that a bird’s fat reserves and low humidity, indicative of favorable synoptic weather patterns, shape departure decisions. Fat, date, and wind conditions predict birds’ detection in the YP. This study highlights the complex decision-making process involved in crossing the Gulf and its effects on migratory routes and speeds. A better understanding of the factors influencing migration across these features will inform conservation of migratory animals. Approximately two thirds of migratory songbirds in eastern North America negotiate the Gulf of Mexico (GOM), where inclement weather coupled with no refueling or resting opportunities can be lethal. However, decisions made when navigating such features and their consequences remain largely unknown due to technological limitations of tracking small animals over large areas. We used automated radio telemetry to track three songbird species (Red-eyed Vireo, Swainson’s Thrush, Wood Thrush) from coastal Alabama to the northern Yucatan Peninsula (YP) during fall migration. Detecting songbirds after crossing ∼1,000 km of open water allowed us to examine intrinsic (age, wing length, fat) and extrinsic (weather, date) variables shaping departure decisions, arrival at the YP, and crossing times. Large fat reserves and low humidity, indicative of beneficial synoptic weather patterns, favored southward departure across the Gulf. Individuals detected in the YP departed with large fat reserves and later in the fall with profitable winds, and flight durations (mean = 22.4 h) were positively related to wind profit. Age was not related to departure behavior, arrival, or travel time. However, vireos negotiated the GOM differently than thrushes, including different departure decisions, lower probability of detection in the YP, and longer crossing times. Defense of winter territories by thrushes but not vireos and species-specific foraging habits may explain the divergent migratory behaviors. Fat reserves appear extremely important to departure decisions and arrival in the YP. As habitat along the GOM is degraded, birds may be limited in their ability to acquire fat to cross the Gulf.