Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Clinical and economic impact of a specialty care management program among patients with multiple sclerosis: a cohort study

Background: To evaluate the clinical and economic impact of a specialty care management program among patients with multiple sclerosis. Methods: This retrospective cohort analysis included patients aged ≥18 years with ≥2 claims of multiple sclerosis diagnosis and ≥1 multiple sclerosis medications from 1 January 2004 to 30 April 2008. The outcome metrics included medication adherence and persistence, multiple sclerosis-related hospitalization, and multiple sclerosis-related cost. Multivariate analyses were performed to adjust for demographics and clinical characteristics. Results: Among the 3993 patients identified, 78.3% participated in the program and 21.7% did not. Over 12 months, medication adherence and persistence improved among participants but deteriorated among non-participants (medication possession ratio change: +0.08 vs -0.03, p < 0.001; persistence change: +29.2 days vs -9.2 days, p < 0.001). Multiple sclerosis-related hospitalization decreased from 9.6% to 7.1% for participants, whereas it increased from 10.1% to 12.0% for the non-participant group (p < 0.001). Multiple sclerosis-related medical spending (non-pharmacy) decreased among participants, but it increased among non-participants (mean: -US$264 vs + US$1536, p < 0.001). Total multiple sclerosis-related cost for both groups increased over time (+US$4471 vs +US$4087, p < 0.001). Conclusions: This program was associated with improved medication adherence and persistence, reduced multiple sclerosis-related hospitalization, and decreased multiple sclerosis-related medical costs. Unfortunately, the cost savings in the medical component did not offset the increased pharmacy expenditures during the 12-month follow-up period.
A framework for testing assumptions about foraging scales, body mass, and niche separation using telemetry data

Abstract Ecological theory predicts that if animals with very similar dietary requirements inhabit the same landscape, then they should avoid niche overlap by either exploiting food resources at different times or foraging at different spatial scales. Similarly, it is often assumed that animals that fall in different body mass modes and share the same body plan will use landscapes at different spatial scales. We developed a new methodological framework for understanding the scaling of foraging (i.e. the range and distribution of scales at which animals use their landscapes) by applying a combination of three well‐established methods to satellite telemetry data to quantify foraging patch size distributions: (1) first‐passage time analysis; (2) a movement‐based kernel density estimator; and (3) statistical comparison of resulting histograms and tests for multimodality. We demonstrate our approach using two sympatric, ecologically similar species of African ducks with quite different body masses: Egyptian Geese (actually a shelduck), and Red‐billed Teal. Contrary to theoretical predictions, the two species, which are sympatric throughout the year, foraged at almost identical spatial scales. Our results show how ecologists can use GPS tracking data to explicitly quantify and compare the scales of foraging by different organisms within an animal community. Our analysis demonstrates both a novel approach to foraging data analysis and the need for caution when making assumptions about the relationships among niche separation, diet, and foraging scale.
Smenospongine, a spongean sesquiterpene aminoquinone, induces erythroid differentiation in K562 cells

The differentiation of K562 chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) cells by smenospongine, which is a sesquiterpene aminoquinone isolated from a marine sponge, was examined. Smenospongine increased hemoglobin production in K562 cells at concentrations of 3–15 μM. In addition, flow cytometric analysis of smenospongine-treated K562 cells with FITC-labeled glycophorin A antibody showed an increase of glycophorin A expression, a marker for erythroid differentiation. Cell-cycle analysis showed G1 arrest in K562 cells after treatment with smenospongine for 24 h. The effect on expression of CIP/KIP family cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors was investigated by Western blotting analysis and the result showed increased expression of p21, which is known to play an important role in differentiation. Furthermore, smenospongine was also found to inhibit the phosphorylation of Crkl, a substrate of Bcr–Abl tyrosine kinase, which is known as a causative protein of CML. In conclusion, our investigation indicated that smenospongine induced the differentiation of K562 cells into erythroblasts along with cell-cycle arrest at G1 phase and the mechanism might be attributed to the increased expression of p21.
CD-Based Indices for Link Prediction in Complex Network

Lots of similarity-based algorithms have been designed to deal with the problem of link prediction in the past decade. In order to improve prediction accuracy, a novel cosine similarity index CD based on distance between nodes and cosine value between vectors is proposed in this paper. Firstly, node coordinate matrix can be obtained by node distances which are different from distance matrix and row vectors of the matrix are regarded as coordinates of nodes. Then, cosine value between node coordinates is used as their similarity index. A local community density index LD is also proposed. Then, a series of CD-based indices include CD-LD-k, CD*LD-k, CD-k and CDI are presented and applied in ten real networks. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of CD-based indices. The effects of network clustering coefficient and assortative coefficient on prediction accuracy of indices are analyzed. CD-LD-k and CD*LD-k can improve prediction accuracy without considering the assortative coefficient of network is negative or positive. According to analysis of relative precision of each method on each network, CD-LD-k and CD*LD-k indices have excellent average performance and robustness. CD and CD-k indices perform better on positive assortative networks than on negative assortative networks. For negative assortative networks, we improve and refine CD index, referred as CDI index, combining the advantages of CD index and evolutionary mechanism of the network model BA. Experimental results reveal that CDI index can increase prediction accuracy of CD on negative assortative networks.
Feeling good and bad about the past and future self

Prior research has shown that memories of feeling good about the self often focus on achievement themes, whereas memories of feeling bad about the self often focus on interpersonal themes. This study examined whether a similar relationship would be evident for imagined future events. Young adults in the United States and Denmark provided memories and imagined future events that are associated with positive or negative self-regard. Across cultures, achievement themes were prominently represented in memories of positive self-regard and interpersonal themes were prominently represented in memories of negative self-regard. In contrast, relationships between the emotional valence and thematic content of imagined future events were weak and inconsistent. Our results raise new questions for the theory that imagined future episodes are constructed primarily from recombinations of past episodes.
Inverse Spectral Problems in Rectangular Domains

We consider the Schrödinger operator − Δ + q in domains of the form R = {x ∈ ℝ n : 0 ≤ x i ≤ a i , i = 1,…, n} with either Dirichlet or Neumann boundary conditions on the faces of R, and study the constraints on q imposed by fixing the spectrum of − Δ + q with these boundary conditions. We work in the space of potentials, q, which become real-analytic on ℝ n when they are extended evenly across the coordinate planes and then periodically. Our results have the corollary that there are no continuous isospectral deformations for these operators within that class of potentials. This work is based on new formulas for the trace of the wave group in this setting. In addition to the inverse spectral results these formulas lead to asymptotic expansions for the traces of the wave and heat kernels on rectangular domains.
I-NET®: Interactive neuro-educational technology to accelerate skill learning

The learning of a novel task currently rely heavily on conventional classroom instruction with qualitative assessment and observation. Introduction of individualized tutorials with integrated neuroscience-based evaluation techniques could significantly accelerate skill acquisition and provide quantitative evidence of successful training. We have created a suite of adaptive and interactive neuro-educational technologies (I-NET) to increase the pace and efficiency of skill learning. It covers four major themes: 1) Integration of brain monitoring into paced instructional tutorials, 2) Identifying psychophysiological characteristics of expertise using a model population, 3) Developing sensor-based feedback to accelerate novice-to-expert transition, 4) Identifying neurocognitive factors that are predictive of skill acquisition to allow early triage and interventions. We selected rifle marksmanship training as the field of application. Rifle marksmanship is a core skill for the Army and Marine Corps and it involves a combination of classroom instructional learning and field practice involving instantiation of a well-defined set of sensory, motor and cognitive skills. The instrumentation that incorporates the I-NET technologies is called the Adaptive Peak Performance Trainer (APPT®). Preliminary analysis of pilot study data for performance data from a novice population that used this device revealed an improved learning trajectory.
Predicting prosodic words from lexical words - a first step towards predicting prosody from text

Much remains unsolved in how to predict prosody from text for unlimited Mandarin Chinese TTS. The interactions and the rules between syntactic structure and prosodic structure are still unresolved challenges. By using part-of-speech (POS) tagging, for which text lexical information is required, we aim to find significant patterns of word grouping from analyzing real speech data and such lexical information. The paper reports discrepancies found between lexical words (LW) parsed from text and prosodic words (PW) annotated from speech data, and proposes a statistical model to predict PWs from LWs. In the statistical model, the length of the word and the tagging from POS are two essential features to predict PWs, and the results show approximately 90% of prediction for PWs; however, it does leave more room for extension. We believe that evidence from PW predictions is a first step towards building prosody models from text.
Exploration of natural product ingredients as inhibitors of human HMG-CoA reductase through structure-based virtual screening

Cholesterol plays an important role in living cells. However, a very high level of cholesterol may lead to atherosclerosis. HMG-CoA (3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A) reductase is the key enzyme in the cholesterol biosynthesis pathway, and the statin-like drugs are inhibitors of human HMG-CoA reductase (hHMGR). The present study aimed to virtually screen for potential hHMGR inhibitors from natural product to discover hypolipidemic drug candidates with fewer side effects and lesser toxicities. We used the 3D structure 1HWK from the PDB (Protein Data Bank) database of hHMGR as the target to screen for the strongly bound compounds from the traditional Chinese medicine database. Many interesting molecules including polyphenolic compounds, polisubstituted heterocyclics, and linear lipophilic alcohols were identified and their ADMET (absorption, disrtibution, metabolism, excretion, toxicity) properties were predicted. Finally, four compounds were obtained for the in vitro validation experiments. The results indicated that curcumin and salvianolic acid C can effectively inhibit hHMGR, with IC50 (half maximal inhibitory concentration) values of 4.3 µM and 8 µM, respectively. The present study also demonstrated the feasibility of discovering new drug candidates through structure-based virtual screening.
Using parts and geometry models to initialise Active Appearance Models for automated segmentation of 3D medical images

In recent years, statistical shape models, of which Active Appearance Models (AAMs) are a subset have been increasingly applied to the automatic segmentation of medical images. AAMs are a local search technique requiring good initialisation. In 3D automatic initialisation can be achieved by multiple initialisations, registration, template matching or by application dependent heuristics. The first three can be sub-optimal in certain situations, whilst the last is not generic.
Prevalence of hepatitis B markers in Senegalese HIV‐1‐infected patients

The study aimed to estimate the prevalence of Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and to describe the HBV virological profiles among Senegalese HIV‐1‐infected patients. We conducted a retrospective study between 2006 and 2010 among Senegalese HIV‐1‐infected patients from the antiretroviral therapy cohort. Samples were screened using Determine® HBsAg or MONOLISA® POC test. The HBsAg positivity status was confirmed by Architect® HBsAg. Detection of HBeAg, anti‐HBe Ab, and HBV DNA load were done for the HBsAg‐positive samples. Then, Anti‐HBcAb was tested for the HBsAg‐negative samples. Microsoft Excel was used for data collection and statistical analyses were performed using Epi info 3.5. 1. Overall, 466 HIV‐infected patients were enrolled including 271 women (58.4%), and 193 men (41.6%) with a median age of 39 years (19–74 years). The global prevalence of HIV/HBV coinfection (HBsAg positive) was 8.8% (41/466). For HBsAg positives samples, the prevalence of HBeAg and the anti‐HBeAb were, respectively, 24.4 and 69.2% and the median of HBV DNA viral load, for 27 HBsAg‐positive samples, was 3.75 log10 copies/ml. The virological profiles were the following: 7, 15, and 5 patients infected, respectively, by a replicative virus, an inactive virus and a probably mutant virus. For HBsAg‐negative samples, 83 out of 109 were positive for anti‐HBcAb. This study showed a significant decrease of the prevalence of HBV/HIV coinfection between 2004 and 2014 (P = 0.003), which highlighted the performance of the Senegalese HBV vaccine program. However, implementing a systematic quantification of HBV DNA viral load could improve the monitoring of HBV‐infected patient. J. Med. Virol. 88:461–465, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Sulcus vocalis in laryngeal cancer: A histopathologic study

The incidental finding of sulcus vocalis in surgical specimens of patients with laryngeal cancer prompted this review. Sulcus deformities were histologically identified in 28 (48%) of 58 whole‐mount coronal serial‐sectioned laryngeal specimens procured from laryngeal cancer patients. The lesions were analyzed, described, and graded. A control group of 20 larynges, obtained from autopsies of patients without known laryngeal pathology, were similarly processed, and whole‐mount histologic sections were studied. Four of these specimens (20%) also demonstrated sulcus deformities. In the control group, the shape and location of the sulci were similar, but the lesions were smaller than in the cancer group. The sulcus lesions revealed chronic inflammation of the subepithelial tissues with vascular ingrowth and fibrosis of the superficial lamina propria (Reinke's space); in the cancer group the sulcus was usually on the opposite vocal fold, where irritation from the tumor might be anticipated. Although the etiology of the sulci remains controversial, these findings suggest that irritation and inflammation might play a role in the pathogenesis of sulcus vocalis.
Bmc Microbiology Motility Is Required for the Competitive Fitness of Entomopathogenic Photorhabdus Luminescens during Insect Infection

Background: Photorhabdus are motile members of the family Enterobactericeae that are pathogenic to insect larvae whilst also maintaining a mutualistic interaction with entomophagous nematodes of the family Heterorhabditiae. The interactions between Photorhabdus and its hosts are thought to be an obligate part of the bacteria's life-cycle in the environment. Motility often plays a key role in mediating bacteria-host interactions and, in this study, we were interested in characterising the role of motility in the Photorhabdus-nematode-insect tripartite association.
Age-related and Genetic Modulation of Frontal Cortex Efficiency

The dorsolateral pFC (DLPFC) is a key region for working memory. It has been proposed that the DLPFC is dynamically recruited depending on task demands. By this view, high DLPFC recruitment for low-demanding tasks along with weak DLPFC upregulation at higher task demands reflects low efficiency. Here, the fMRI BOLD signal during working memory maintenance and manipulation was examined in relation to aging and catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) Val158Met status in a large representative sample (n = 287). The efficiency hypothesis predicts a weaker DLPFC response during manipulation, along with a stronger response during maintenance for older adults and COMT Val carriers compared with younger adults and COMT Met carriers. Consistent with the hypothesis, younger adults and met carriers showed maximal DLPFC BOLD response during manipulation, whereas older adults and val carriers displayed elevated DLPFC responses during the less demanding maintenance condition. The observed inverted relations support a link between dopamine and DLPFC efficiency.
The quality of life perceptions of people with intellectual disability and their proxies†

ABSTRACT Background The quality of life (QOL) perceptions reported by adults with intellectual disability (ID) might not reflect their QOL as assessed by support staff or family members. The main purpose of this research was to examine the consistency and agreement between self-report and report-of-others ratings and to analyse if there are predictors for the differences between these respondents. Method For each person with an ID who completed a self-report measure (n = 69), a report-of-others section was conducted by interviewing one key institutional worker and one family member. QOL was assessed by the Escala Pessoal de Resultados, the Portuguese version of the Personal Outcomes Scale. Results The findings highlighted a sizeable agreement among people with ID, support staff, and family members, although significant differences were found between the respondents. Among other determinants, the health status of the people with ID was the factor that most significantly contributed to the disagreement among the participants. Conclusions The results indicated that the QOL scores among respondents did not seem to be interchangeable, and different perspectives should be included in QOL assessments.
Towards global music digital libraries: A cross-cultural comparison on the mood of Chinese music

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to compare music mood perceptions of people with diverse cultural backgrounds when they interact with Chinese music. It also discusses how the results can inform the design of global music digital libraries (MDL). Design/methodology/approach An online survey was designed based on the Music Information Retrieval Evaluation eXchange (MIREX) five-cluster mood model, to solicit mood perceptions of listeners in Hong Kong and the USA on a diverse set of Chinese music. Statistical analysis was applied to compare responses from the two user groups, with consideration of different music types and characteristics of listeners. Listeners’ textual responses were also analyzed with content coding. Findings Listeners from the two cultural groups made different mood judgments on all but one type of Chinese music. Hong Kong listeners reached higher levels of agreement on mood judgments than their US counterparts. Gender, age and familiarity with the songs were related to listeners’ mood judgment to some extent. Practical implications The MIREX five-cluster model may not be sufficient for representing the mood of Chinese music. Refinements are suggested. MDL are recommended to differentiate tags given by users from different cultural groups, and to differentiate music types when classifying or recommending Chinese music by mood. Originality/value It is the first study on cross-cultural access to Chinese music in MDL. Methods and the refined mood model can be applied to cross-cultural access to other music types and information objects.
Testing Age-Paced Parenting Newsletters Up to Age 3: Greater Impact on First-Time Parents

An age-paced newsletter for parents of toddlers was evaluated. Mothers reported the newsletters were as useful as information from doctors or nurses and more useful than other sources of information. We hypothesized and found that first-time mothers reported the newsletters more useful than experienced mothers—reading more of the newsletters and sharing them more often with their social networks. More first-time mothers also reported making positive changes in their behaviors as a result of reading the newsletters. Two strategies were employed to increase the validity of the self-report data. Implications for parent education are discussed.
Gliotactin and Discs large are co-regulated to maintain epithelial integrity

Summary Establishment and maintenance of permeability barriers is one of the most important functions of epithelial cells. Tricellular junctions (TCJs) maintain the permeability barriers at the contact site of three epithelial cells. Gliotactin, a member of the Neuroligin family, is the only known Drosophila protein exclusively localized to the TCJ and is necessary for maintenance of the permeability barrier. Overexpression triggers the spread of Gliotactin away from the TCJ and causes epithelial cells to delaminate, migrate and die. Furthermore, excess Gliotactin at the cell membrane results in an extensive downregulation of Discs large (Dlg) at the septate junctions. The intracellular domain of Gliotactin contains two highly conserved tyrosine residues and a PDZ binding motif. We previously found that phosphorylation of the tyrosine residues is necessary to control the level of Gliotactin at the TCJ. In this study we demonstrate that the phenotypes associated with excess Gliotactin are due to a functional interaction between Gliotactin and Dlg that is dependent on both tyrosine phosphorylation as well as the PDZ binding motif. We further show that elevated levels of Dlg strongly enhance Gliotactin overexpression phenotypes to the point where tissue over-growth is observed. The exhibition of these phenotypes require phosphorylation of Dlg on serine 797, a known Par1 phosphorylation target. Blocking this phosphorylation completely suppresses the cell invasiveness and apoptotic phenotypes associated with Gliotactin overexpression. Additionally, we show that Drosophila JNK acts downstream of Gliotactin and Dlg to mediate the overgrowth and apoptosis caused by the functional interaction of Gliotactin and Dlg.
Application of the Stephan et al. Chest Radiograph Comparison Method to Decomposed Human Remains

This manuscript describes the use of comparative radiography of the chest to facilitate positive identification of human remains in advanced stages of decomposition. The method reported by Stephan et al. for positive identification of dry, disarticulated skeletal elements was used on semifleshed, decomposing remains. Positive identification was established through multiple points of concordance observed in radiographs of the left and right clavicles and the C5‐T1 vertebrae. This case study demonstrates the applicability of the Stephan et al.'s method in cases involving decomposing remains.