Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prediction of Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy to Asymptomatic Obstructive Coronary Artery Disease in Chinese Type 2 Diabetes Individuals: An Exploratory Study

Abstract Background: Patients with type 2 diabetes are prone to the asymptomatic obstructive coronary artery disease (AO-CAD). The association of proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) with AO-CAD is unknown. The aim of the study is to explore the specific relationship of PDR with AO-CAD. Methods: We performed coronary angiography and retinal photographs in 1332 participants with unknown CAD status in a retrospective discovery set and 252 patients with non-CAD enrolled in a prospective validation cohort. Main outcome measures are prediction of PDR to AO-CAD. Results: In the case–control retrospective discovery set, investigation included 211 nondiabetic retinopathy (NDR) and 140 PDR. Individuals with PDR had a 2.16 times higher risk of AO-CAD compared with individuals without diabetic retinopathy (P < 0.01). Relative risk between individuals with PDR and the risk of AO-CAD varied by different adjusted covariates, 2.53 (1.48–4.32) by age and gender; 2.16 (1.10–4.31) by additionally other covariates. In the prospective validation set, after adjustment for covariates, the cumulative risk of AO-CAD was significantly higher in the PDR group compared with NDR group, followed up for a median of 4.3 years (hazard ratio = 3.07, 95% confidence interval 1.81–5.21, P < 0.001). Conclusions: PDR showed superior identification performance over traditional risk factors in screening for AO-CAD. PDR may predict persons at high risk of AO-CAD.
Prognostic and Predictive Values of Metabolic Parameters of 18F-FDG PET/CT in Patients With Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Treated With Chemotherapy

Objectives: Increasing interests have been focused on using artificial intelligence (AI) to extend prognostic value of medical imaging. Feature extraction is a critical step for successful application of AI. The aim of this study was to explore several metabolic parameters measured by 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) as potential AI features in predicting the effectiveness of chemotherapy in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods: A set of metabolic parameters of PET/CT and clinical characteristics were detected from 137 patients with NSCLC treated with at least 1 cycle of chemotherapy. Survival receiver–operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to define the more significant parameters chosen for the following survival analysis. Patient survival was analyzed by Kaplan-Meier method, log-rank test, and Cox regression. Results: Survival ROC showed that maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax), metabolic tumor volume 50% (MTV50), and total lesion glycolysis 50% (TLG50) had larger area under the curve, and the optimal cutoff values were 11.72, 4.04, and 34.55, respectively. Univariate and multivariate analyses synergistically showed that late PET/CT stage and MTV50 >4.04 were independent factors of poor survival in patients with NSCLC who received chemotherapy. Conclusions: Several potential prognostic biomarkers of PET/CT imaging have been extracted for predicting survival and selecting patients with NSCLC who are more likely to benefit from chemotherapy. The identification may accelerate the development of AI methods to improve treatment outcome for NSCLC.
Art facing science: Artistic heuristics for face detection: tracking gaze when looking at faces

Automatic Area Of Interest (AOI) demarcation of facial regions is not yet commonplace in applied eye-tracking research, partially because automatic AOI labeling is prone to error. Most previous eye-tracking studies relied on manual frame-by-frame labeling of facial AOIs. We present a fully automatic approach for facial AOI labeling (i.e., eyes, nose, mouth) and gaze registration within those AOIs, based on modern computer vision techniques combined with heuristics drawn from art. We discuss details in computing gaze analytics, provide proof-of-concept, and a short validation against what we consider ground truth. Relative dwell time over expected AOIs exceeded 98% showing efficacy of the approach.
Five-year prognosis and impact of adolescent knee pain: a prospective population-based cohort study of 504 adolescents in Denmark

Objectives Investigate the prognosis of adolescent knee pain, and evaluate its impact on health, care-seeking and career choices 5 years later. Design Pre-registered, prospective cohort study. Setting Population-based cohort initiated in school setting. Participants From a cohort of 2200 adolescents aged 15–19 years in 2011, 504 reported knee pain on at least a monthly basis, and were followed prospectively in this cohort study, together with 252 controls who did not have knee pain in 2011. Main outcome measures Outcomes included the Pain and Symptoms subscales from the Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS), pain intensity measured with a Numeric Rating Scale, pain frequency, knee-related and health-related quality of life, sports participation, physical activity level, KOOS subscales: Function and Sport/recreation, quality of sleep, healthcare consultations, treatments received for their knee pain, the use of painkillers and impact on choice of job or career. Results At follow-up, 358 (71.0%) from the knee pain group and 182 (72.2%) from the control group responded. Of note, 40.5% (95% CI: 35.4% to 45.6%) from the knee pain group reported knee pain 5 years later which was frequent and intense compared with 13.2% (95% CI: 8.2 to 18.1) of the control group. Those from the knee pain group still suffering from knee pain reported poorer physical health (13 points worse on KOOS Function and 30 points worse on KOOS Sport/recreation), stopped or reduced their sports participation because of knee pain (60%), reported worse sleep quality and worse knee-related and general quality of life. In terms of health behaviours, those still with knee pain reported more healthcare consultations. One-third used pain killers regularly, and 15% (95% CI: 12% to 20%) reported that knee pain influenced their choice of job or career. Conclusion Four out of every 10 adolescents with knee pain still experienced frequent and intense knee pain 5 years later, severe enough to impact health, health behaviours and career choices. Trail registration number NCT02873143.
Serum MiRNA-27a as potential diagnostic nucleic marker for breast cancer

Abstract Background Accumulating evidence reveals that microRNA 27a (miR 27a) is implicated in the pathogenesis of cancer. However, its diagnostic role in breast cancer (BC) still needs investigation. Materials and methods MiR 27a expression was assessed in serum samples from patients with primary BC (n = 100), benign breast lesions (n = 30) and control group served as healthy volunteers (n = 20) using quantitative real-time PCR. Results Both expression and mean rank of miR 27a and tumor markers among BC patients as compared to the other two groups. Clinicopathological characteristics showed significant relation with miRN 27a expression for clinical stage, histological grading, ER receptor and HER-2/neu. The diagnostic efficacy for miR 27a was superior to both tumor markers for early detection of BC especially high-risk BC groups. Conclusion Detection of miR 27a expression may serve as a potential sensitive minimally invasive molecular marker for early detection of primary BC.
Populations are not declining and food webs are not collapsing at the Luquillo Experimental Forest

In PNAS, Lister and Garcia (1) report declines in abundances of understory arthropods and lizards between 1976 and 2012 and claim similar declines in populations of arthropods, frogs, and insectivorous birds based on data from the Luquillo Long-Term Ecological Research project (LUQ). Their conclusion, that increasing temperature has led to a collapse of the food web, has attracted considerable attention from public media, but this conclusion is not corroborated by empirical evidence from LUQ (see Supplementary Materials, https://luq.lter.network/pop-trends-yunque-luquillo). Also, the authors fail to consider the effects of hurricanes and subsequent changes during secondary succession. Lister and Garcia (1) interpret temporal changes in abundance of the walking stick ( Lamponius portoricensis ), canopy arthropods, frogs ( Eleutherodactylus coqui ), and birds at El Verde to be a consequence of increasing annual … [↵][1]1To whom correspondence may be addressed. Email: alugo{at}fs.fed. us. [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1
Variation of Programmed Death Ligand 1 Expression After Platinum-based Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in Lung Cancer

The effect of chemotherapy on programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression has been previously studied in lung cancer, while the results remain controversial. The aim of this study was to investigate the variation of PD-L1 expression after neoadjuvant chemotherapy and explore the association between chemotherapy response, prognosis and the variation of PD-L1 expression in lung cancer patients. A total of 63 lung cancer patients who received platinum-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy and subsequently underwent surgical resection were selected. PD-L1 expression on tumor cells (TC) and tumor-infiltrating immune cells (IC) was assessed by immunohistochemistry using 22C3 monoclonal antibody in these 63 matched lung cancer specimens before and after neoadjuvant chemotherapy. The positivity of PD-L1 on TC changed from 17.5% to 39.7% after neoadjuvant chemotherapy and the positivity of PD-L1 on IC changed from 19.0% to 71.4% after neoadjuvant chemotherapy. The elevation of PD-L1 expression on TC after neoadjuvant chemotherapy was more frequently observed in patients achieving stable disease or progressive disease than in patients achieving partial response (P=0.026). Patients with elevated PD-L1 expression on TC after neoadjuvant chemotherapy showed a trend to have a shorter progression-free survival than patients without elevated PD-L1 expression on TC, although the difference was not statistically significant in multivariate analysis (hazard ratio=2.38, 95% confidence interval=0.99–5.73, P=0.053). PD-L1 expression can be elevated by chemotherapy in lung cancer. Furthermore, elevation of PD-L1 expression on TC after neoadjuvant chemotherapy was associated with reduced chemotherapy response and inferior progression-free survival in patients with lung cancer.
Enhanced production of 2'-fucosyllactose from fucose by elimination of rhamnose isomerase and arabinose isomerase in engineered Escherichia coli.

2'-Fucosyllactose (2-FL), one of the most abundant oligosaccharides in human milk, has been spotlighted for its neutraceutical and pharmaceutical potentials. Microbial production of 2-FL is promising since it is efficient as compared to other production methods. In 2-FL microbial production via the salvage pathway for biosynthesis of guanosine 5'-diphosphate (GDP)-l-fucose from fucose, the conversion yield from fucose is important because of the high price of fucose. In this study, deletion of the genes (araA and rhaA) coding for arabinose isomerase (AraA) and rhamnose isomerase (RhaA) was attempted in engineered Escherichia coli for improving 2-FL production by using fucose, lactose, and glycerol. The engineered E. coli constructed previously is able to express fucokinase/GDP-l-fucose pyrophosphorylase (Fkp) from Bacteroides fragilis and the α-1,2-fucosyltransferase (FucT2) from Helicobacter pylori and deficient in β-galactosidase (LacZ), fucose isomerase (FucI), and fuculose kinase (FucK). The additional double-deletion of the araA and rhaA genes in the engineered E. coli enhanced the product yield of 2-FL to 0.52 mole 2-FL/mole fucose, and hence the concentration of 2-FL reached to 47.0 g/L, which are 44% and two-fold higher than those (23.1 g/L and 0.36 mole 2-FL/mole fucose) of the control strain in fed-batch fermentation. Elimination of sugar isomerases exhibiting promiscuous activities with fucose might be critical in the microbial production of 2-FL through the salvage pathway of GDP-l-fucose.
Learning Behavioral Memory Representations from Observation

Learning from Observation (LfO) is highly useful for modeling behaviors through nonintrusive observation of some actor’s performance. However, an actor’s performance is often inﬂuenced by unobservable internal inﬂuences, such as emotions, agendas, and memory of past events. Therefore, new techniques are needed to infer the structure of these inﬂuences and their effect on an actor’s decisions. In this paper, we pro-pose a novel approach called Memory Composition Learning (MCL) for capturing one internal inﬂuence: memory of past events. We hypothesize that memory inﬂuences on a behavior can be modeled through parameterized memory features that can be learned from observation of traces of an actor’s behavior; these memory features can then be presented as additional input to a performance modeling application. We demonstrate the efﬁcacy of our approach in a simulated vacuum cleaner domain and show that hidden memory inﬂuences can be detected, modeled, and then used to improve machine learning performance.
Mitochondrial adaptations to high intensity interval training in older females and males

Abstract Introduction: High intensity interval training (HIIT) has shown to be as effective as moderate intensity endurance training to improve metabolic health. However, the current knowledge on the effect of HIIT in older individuals is limited and it is uncertain whether the adaptations are sex specific. The aim was to investigate effects of HIIT on mitochondrial respiratory capacity and mitochondrial content in older females and males. Methods: Twenty-two older sedentary males (n = 11) and females (n = 11) completed 6 weeks of supervised HIIT 3 days per week. The training consisted of 5 × 1 min cycling (124 ± 3% of max power output at session 2–6 and 135 ± 3% of max power output at session 7–20) interspersed by 1½ min recovery. Before the intervention and 72 h after last training session a muscle biopsy was obtained and mitochondrial respiratory capacity, citrate synthase activity and proteins involved in mitochondria metabolism were assessed. Furthermore, body composition and ⩒O2max were measured. Results: ⩒O2max increased and body fat percentage decreased after HIIT in both sexes (p < 0.05). In addition, CS activity and protein content of MnSOD and complex I-V increased in both sexes. Coupled and uncoupled mitochondrial respiratory capacity increased only in males. Mitochondrial respiratory capacity normalised to CS activity (intrinsic mitochondrial respiratory capacity) did not change following HIIT. Conclusion: HIIT induces favourable adaptions in skeletal muscle in older subjects by increasing mitochondrial content, which may help to maintain muscle oxidative capacity and slow down the process of sarcopenia associated with ageing.
Characterization and Efficient Management of Big Data in IoT-Driven Smart City Development

Smart city is an emerging initiative for integrating Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in effective ways to support development of smart cities with enhanced quality of life for its citizens through safe and secure context-aware services. Major technical challenges to realize smart cities include resource use optimization, service delivery without interruption at all times in all aspects, minimization of costs, and reduction of resource consumption. To address these challenges, new techniques and technologies are required for modeling and processing the big data generated and used through the underlying Internet of Things (IoT). To this end, we propose a data-centric approach to IoT in conceptualizing the “things” from a service-oriented perspective and investigate efficient ways to identify, integrate, and manage big data. The data-centric approach is expected to better support efficient management of data with complexities inherent in IoT-generated big data. Furthermore, it supports efficient and scalable query processing and reasoning techniques required in development of smart city applications. This article redresses the literature and contributes to the foundations of smart cities applications.
Naproxen for the treatment of neoplastic fever

Abstract Background: The effect of naproxen on the treatment of neoplastic fever is still unclear. A systematic review and meta-analysis were performed to investigate the effect of naproxen in the treatment of cancer fever or suspicion. Besides, the latest and most convincing evidence was provided for the earlier use of naproxen in treating cancer patients with fever of unknown origin. Methods: A literature review was conducted to identify all published studies on the naproxen for the treatment of neoplastic fever. Electronic databases (eg, PUBMED, EMBASE and the Cochrane Library) were searched until October 2018. Data were extracted, and the risk of bias was assessed by 2 authors independently. Standard meta-analyses on the rate of successful treatment were conducted using a random-effects model, and relative risks were calculated with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results: A total of 15 studies, recruiting 582 participants, were included, which were 1 randomized controlled trial (RCT), 1 non-RCT, 3 cross-sectional studies, and 10 case-series studies. The result of our meta-analysis revealed that the success rate on the treatment of neoplastic fever using naproxen was 94.1% (95% CI: 87.6%–97.3%). The success rate of the suspected neoplastic fever was 79.8%; for fever of unknown origin, it also reached 67.7%. In this meta-analysis, the success rate was 98.1% (95% CI: 95.0%–99.3%) in the dosage of 250 mg twice a day. Besides, a small dose of 125 mg naproxen, 375 mg twice a day and 250 mg 3 times a day were also useful. The result of the subgroup analysis revealed that the difference was not statistically significant in the treatment success rate for solid tumors and hematologic malignant. Conclusions: The result of our meta-analysis suggested that naproxen exhibited a highly successful rate for the treatment of neoplastic fever. Besides, naproxen was also satisfactory in improving symptoms of suspected neoplastic fever and fever of unknown origin. The earlier use of naproxen might be able to mitigate cancer patient's suffering and enhanced their quality of life. These findings, however, rely primarily on observational data and should be interpreted rigorously. Further well-conducted trials are required to assess naproxen for the treatment of neoplastic fever.
The efficacy of mindfulness-based interventions for patients with COPD: a systematic review and meta-analysis protocol

Introduction Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common chronic respiratory disease. It has adverse effects on patients’ physical health, mental well-being and quality of life. The purpose of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) is to raise non-judgemental awareness and attention to current internal and external experiences. This means the attention is shifted from perceived and involuntary inner activities to current experience, keeping more curious, open and accepting attitudes towards current experience. Although some studies on the intervention effect of MBIs in patients with COPD have been conducted, the results are controversial, especially on dyspnoea, level of mindfulness and quality of life. Therefore, a systematic review of MBIs in patients with COPD is required to provide available evidence for further study. Methods and analysis In this study, different studies from various databases will be involved. Randomised controlled trials(RCTs)/quantitative studies, qualitative studies and case studies on the effect of MBIs in patients with COPD aged over 18 years will be included. We will search the literature in the databases of PubMed, Excepta Medica Base (EMBASE), Web of Science, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), the Cochrane Library, PsycINFO and China National Knowledge Infrastructure(CNKI). The primary outcomes will include efficacy of MBIs for patients with COPD in terms of dyspnoea, depression and anxiety. The secondary outcomes will include efficacy of MBIs in terms of quality of life, mindful awareness, 6-minute walk test(6MWT) and nutritional risk index. Data extraction will be conducted by two researchers independently, and risk of bias of the meta-analysis will be evaluated based on the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions. All data analysis will be conducted by data statistics software Review Manager V.5. 3. and Stata V.12. 0. Ethics and dissemination Since this study is a systematic review, the findings are based on the published evidence. Therefore, examination and agreement by the ethics committee are not required in this study. We intend to publish the study results in a journal or conference presentations. PROSPERO registration number CRD42018102323.
Association Between Type of Educational System and Prevalence and Severity of Myopia Among Male Adolescents in Israel.

Importance A substantial portion of the public is diagnosed with myopia, which increases the risk of potential sight-threatening complications. The association between study style and the development of myopia is unclear. Objective To analyze the association between studying in different educational systems and the prevalence and severity of myopia among Jewish male adolescents in Israel. Design, Setting, and Participants A nationwide, population-based study was conducted of 22 823 male candidates for military service in Israel aged 17 to 18 years attending the military draft board in 2013 who underwent a medical examination and a visual acuity assessment. Statistical analysis was performed from January 1 to March 31, 2018. Exposures The participants studied in 1 of 3 Israeli educational systems: secular, Orthodox, or ultra-Orthodox. The ultra-Orthodox system and, to a lesser extent, the Orthodox system involve intensive reading starting in early childhood compared with the secular system. Main Outcomes and Measures The odds ratio (OR) for the association between educational system and the prevalence and severity of myopia. Results Among the 22 823 participants (mean [SD] age, 17.7 [0.6] years), there was a higher proportion of adolescents in the ultra-Orthodox educational system with myopia (1871 of 2276 [82.2%]) compared with adolescents in the Orthodox educational system (1604 of 3189 [50.3%]) and those in the secular educational system (5155 of 17 358 [29.7%]). Compared with adolescents in the secular educational system, those in the Orthodox educational system were more likely to have myopia (OR, 2.3; 95% CI, 2.1-2.5; P < .001), as were those in the ultra-Orthodox educational system (OR, 9.3; 95% CI, 8.2-10.7; P < .001), after adjustment for age, country of origin, socioeconomic status, years of education, and body mass index. The multivariable adjusted OR for high myopia (refractive error of at least -6.0 diopters) was 4.6 (95% CI, 3.8-5.5; P < .001) for adolescents in the Orthodox educational system and 38.5 (95% CI, 30.7-48.2; P < .001) for adolescents in the ultra-Orthodox educational system compared with adolescents in the secular educational system. Conclusions and Relevance This study provides evidence of the independent association between educational systems and the prevalence and severity of myopia. Male adolescents in the ultra-Orthodox educational system have higher odds of having myopia and high myopia. These findings suggest that study styles that involve intensive reading and other near-work activities (those done at a short working distance) play a role in the development of myopia and warrant consideration of prevention strategies.