Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Distinct topography of erosion and new bone formation in achilles tendon enthesitis: implications for understanding the link between inflammation and bone formation in spondylarthritis.

OBJECTIVE This study combined ultrasonography of the Achilles tendon enthesis at different stages of spondylarthritis (SpA) with microanatomic studies of normal cadaveric entheses, with the aim of exploring the relationship between bone erosion and new bone formation in enthesitis. METHODS Thirty-seven patients with SpA and Achilles tendon enthesitis (20 with early SpA and 17 with chronic SpA) and 10 normal control subjects underwent ultrasound scanning. The presence of bone erosion and spur formation was recorded at 3 sites: the proximal and distal halves of the enthesis and the adjacent calcaneal superior tuberosity. Parallel histologic analysis was performed on cadaveric Achilles tendon entheses to determine whether regional variations in bone density and trabecular architecture in relation to fibrocartilage distribution are related to disease patterns. RESULTS Bone erosion in patients with early SpA occurred at either the proximal insertion or the superior tuberosity (11 of 20 patients; P < 0.001 versus distal enthesis). Very small spurs, which were present almost exclusively at the distal enthesis, were evident in patients with early SpA and in normal control subjects. However, large spurs were evident distally only in patients with chronic SpA (9 of 17 patients, compared with none of 20 patients with early SpA; P < 0.0001). Histologic studies showed that aged normal individuals had small spurs at the corresponding location. The bone-to-marrow ratio was also significantly lower in the regions prone to erosions (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION Bone erosion in association with Achilles tendon enthesitis in SpA is anatomically uncoupled from bone formation-the 2 processes are topographically and temporally distinct. We thus conclude that disease patterns in SpA are related to normal enthesis structure and biomechanics.
Autologous stem-cell transplantation in patients with HIV-related lymphoma.

PURPOSE Peripheral-blood autologous stem-cell transplantation (ASCT) in patients with HIV-related lymphoma (HIV-Ly) has been reported as a safe and useful procedure. Herein we report the European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation experience on patients with HIV-Ly undergoing ASCT. PATIENTS AND METHODS This was a retrospective, multicentric, registry-based analysis. RESULTS Since 1999, 68 patients from 20 institutions (median age, 41 years; range, 29 to 62 years) were included, diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL; n = 50) or Hodgkin's lymphoma (n = 18). At the time of ASCT, 16 patients were in first complete remission (CR1); 44 patients were in CR more than 1, partial remission, or chemotherapy-sensitive relapse (chemo-S); and eight patients had chemotherapy-resistant disease. The median number of CD34(+) cells infused was 4.5 x 10(6)/kg (range, 1.6 to 21.2 x 10(6)/kg). Median time to neutrophil and platelet engraftment were 11 days (range, 8 to 36 days) and 14 days (range, 6 to 455 days), respectively, with a cumulative incidence (CI) at 1 year of 95.6% and 87%, respectively. CI of nonrelapse mortality (NRM) was 7.5% at 12 months after ASCT, mainly because of bacterial infections. CI of relapse was 30.4% at 24 months, statistically related with not being in CR at ASCT (relative risk [RR] = 3.6), NHL histology other than diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (RR = 3.4), and use of more than two previous treatment lines (RR = 3). At a median follow-up of 32 months (range, 2 to 81 months), progression-free survival (PFS) was 56%. Patients not in CR or with refractory disease at ASCT had poorer PFS (RR = 2.4 and 4.8, respectively). CONCLUSION Similarly to HIV-negative patients with lymphoma, ASCT is a useful treatment for patients with HIV-Ly and is associated with low NRM, mainly when performed in early stages and chemo-S disease.
A trial of folate supplementation in children with homozygous sickle cell disease

Summary. A double blind controlled trial of supplementation with folic acid has been performed in 117 children with homozygous sickle cell (SS) disease aged 6 months to 4 years over a 1 year period. No megaloblastic change was observed in either group. At the end of the study period the folate supplemented group showed no significant differences in haemoglobin, growth characteristics, or in the proportion of children affected by major or minor infections, acute splenic sequestration, dactylitis or episodes of bone or abdominal pain. However, the folate supplemented group showed a significantly lower mean cell volume and the placebo group contained a significant excess of children experiencing multiple episodes of dactylitis.
Accurate and False Recall in the Deese/Roediger and McDermott Procedure: A Methodological Note on Sex of Participant

Research suggests that individuals may differ in their susceptibility to false memory in the Deese/Roediger and McDermott procedure. Prior studies of differences have focused on the effects of age, personality, personal past history of abuse, and neurological status on false memory susceptibility. This study examined whether sex might also differentially influence false memory. After listening to a series of word lists designed to elicit false recall of nonstudied associates, 50 male and 50 female college students free recalled the lists. Analysis showed no sex difference in accurate recall, false recall, or unrelated intrusions. A robust false memory effect was observed, but sex did not differentiate performance.
Field Monitoring of Avian Influenza Viruses: Whole-Genome Sequencing and Tracking of Neuraminidase Evolution Using 454 Pyrosequencing

ABSTRACT Adaptation of avian influenza viruses (AIVs) from waterfowl to domestic poultry with a deletion in the neuraminidase (NA) stalk has already been reported. The way the virus undergoes this evolution, however, is thus far unclear. We address this question using pyrosequencing of duck and turkey low-pathogenicity AIVs. Ducks and turkeys were sampled at the very beginning of an H6N1 outbreak, and turkeys were swabbed again 8 days later. NA stalk deletions were evidenced in turkeys by Sanger sequencing. To further investigate viral evolution, 454 pyrosequencing was performed: for each set of samples, up to 41,500 reads of ca. 400 bp were generated and aligned. Genetic polymorphisms between duck and turkey viruses were tracked on the whole genome. NA deletion was detected in less than 2% of reads in duck feces but in 100% of reads in turkey tracheal specimens collected at the same time. Further variations in length were observed in NA from turkeys 8 days later. Similarly, minority mutants emerged on the hemagglutinin (HA) gene, with substitutions mostly in the receptor binding site on the globular head. These critical changes suggest a strong evolutionary pressure in turkeys. The increasing performances of next-generation sequencing technologies should enable us to monitor the genomic diversity of avian influenza viruses and early emergence of potentially pathogenic variants within bird flocks. The present study, based on 454 pyrosequencing, suggests that NA deletion, an example of AIV adaptation from waterfowl to domestic poultry, occurs by selection rather than de novo emergence of viral mutants.
The Impact of Long-Term Intake of Phenolic Compounds-Rich Grape Pomace on Rat Gut Microbiota.

The aim of this work is to evaluate the impact on the rat microbiota of long-term feeding with phenolic compounds (PC) rich grape pomace extracts. Thirty, 2-mo-old rats, were divided into 5 groups. Four groups were treated with different concentrations of PC (2.5, 5, 10, and 20 mg/kg/d diluted in 0.1% DMSO), and 1 group received 0.1% Dimethyl Sulfoxide (DMSO) alone (control group). The daily treatment lasted 14 mo. Major phenolic compounds constituents were characterized by the high-performance liquid chromatography and free radical scavenging capacity was measured by means of the DPPH assay. Fecal samples from young rats (2-mo old), and rats daily fed with PC or DMSO were collected at 6 and 14 mo posttreatment. The gut microbiota composition was analyzed by quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Bifidobacterium was significantly higher in the groups PC 2.5 and PC 5 than in control and young rats. Lactobacillus decreased with time in all treated and untreated groups. Bacteroides, Clostridium leptum subgroup (Clostridium cluster IV), and Enterococcus were not significantly changed by PC at any concentration when compared to control; nevertheless, after 14 mo of treatment all concentrations of PC abolished the increase of Clostridium sensu stricto (cluster I) (Clostridium Cluster I) observed in the control group when compared to young rats. PC do modulate selectively rat gut microbiome to a healthier phenotype in long-term feeding rats, and could counteract the adverse outcomes of aging on gut bacterial population. PRACTICAL APPLICATION This research shows that phenolic-rich grape pomace extracts exhibiting a high antioxidant activity, selectively modulate rat gut microbiota to a healthier phenotype within age in a long-term feeding rats.
A profile of alcohol and drug clients in New Zealand: results from the 1998 national telephone survey.

AIMS To describe the profile of clients seen across the broad spectrum of dedicated alcohol and drug treatment services in New Zealand. METHODS 217 randomly selected alcohol and drug treatment workers in New Zealand were interviewed by telephone, yielding a randomly selected sample of 291 clients. Workers were asked to identify the age, gender, ethnicity, main substance use problem and geographical location of clients. RESULTS 60% of clients were male, 28% were Maori, the mean age was 31 years and the largest group of clients were seen for alcohol related issues (45%), followed by cannabis (27%) and opioids (17%). None of these variables differed significantly across residential/non-residential services. Significant trends to emerge were: that Maori clients were more likely to live rurally and to be in treatment for cannabis use, women were more likely to be in treatment for benzodiazepine use and less likely for cannabis use, opioid users were more likely to be seen at Crown Health Enterprise funded services, and cannabis users were (on average) younger than other clients, while alcohol users were older. CONCLUSIONS Alcohol and drug treatment services are dominated by clients seeking assistance with alcohol and cannabis use problems. Women are not under-represented in this population. Maori are over-represented. This contrasts with the absence of Asian clients and an under-representation of Pacific Island clients. There are some significant variations in the types of drugs used by different demographic treatment seeking populations. In contrast, client differences across treatment settings are minimal.
Extending the Technology Acceptance Model in Healthcare: Identifying the Role of Trust and Shared Information

We propose extensions to the TAM for the adoption of integrated electronic health records that are shared by multiple health care providers. In particular, we propose a conceptual model in which we incorporate two new factors, trust and access to shared information, into the TAM. Preliminary results confirm the statistically significant and positive impact of perceived usefulness on behavioral intent to use integrated electronic health records and a significant and positive impact of perceived ease of use on perceived usefulness. We also find a statistically significant effect of shared information on behavioral intent to use integrated health records. We expect that further analyses of additional data we are collecting will offer improved insights into the effects of these factors on intention to use integrated electronic health records.
Dapoxetine for premature ejaculation

Importance of the field: Premature ejaculation (PE) is a common male sexual disorder which is associated with substantial personal and interpersonal negative psychological factors. Drug treatment of PE with an off-label antidepressant selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) drug is common. The lack of an approved drug and total reliance on off-label treatment represents a substantial unmet treatment need. Areas covered in this review: Medline and the proceedings of major international and regional scientific meetings during the period 1994 – 2010 were searched for publications or abstracts using the word ‘dapoxetine’ in the title, abstract or keywords. This search was then manually cross-referenced for all papers. This review encompasses studies of dapoxetine pharmacokinetics, animal studies, human phase I, II and III efficacy and safety studies and drug-interaction studies. Dapoxetine is a potent SSRI, which is administered on demand 1 – 3 h before planned sexual contact. Dapoxetine is rapidly absorbed and eliminated, resulting in minimal accumulation and has dose-proportional pharmacokinetics, which are unaffected by multiple dosing. Dapoxetine 30 and 60 mg has been evaluated in five randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies in 6,081 men aged ≥ 18 years. Outcome measures included stopwatch-measured intravaginal ejaculatory latency time (IELT), Premature Ejaculation Profile (PEP) items, clinical global impression of change (CGIC) in PE, and adverse events. Mean IELT, all PEP items and CGIC improved significantly with both doses of dapoxetine versus placebo (p < 0.001 for all). The most common adverse events included nausea, dizziness and headache, and evaluation of validated rated scales demonstrated no SSRI class-related effects with dapoxetine use. What the reader will gain: Readers will gain insight into the epidemiology, pathophysiology and contemporary drug treatment of premature ejaculation. Take home message: Dapoxetine, as the first drug developed for PE, is an effective and safe treatment for PE and represents a major advance in sexual medicine.
Effect of Acute Systemic Inflammatory Response and Cytokines on the Transcription of the Genes Encoding Cyclooxygenase Enzymes (COX‐1 and COX‐2) in the Rat Brain

Abstract: The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of the acute‐phase response and the proinflammatory cytokines on the transcription of the genes encoding the limiting enzymes for the production of prostaglandins, cyclooxygenase (COX)‐1 and COX‐2, in the rat brain. The bacterial endotoxin lipopolysaccharide (intravenous and intraperitoneal) and turpentine (intramuscular) were used as different models of inflammation in adult male rats. Animals were also killed at various times after intravenous administration of interleukin‐1β, tumor necrosis factor‐α, and interleukin‐6, and mRNAs encoding COX‐1 and COX‐2 were assayed by in situ hybridization histochemistry. A profound transcriptional activation of the gene encoding COX‐2 was detected over blood vessels of the entire brain microvasculature, choroid plexus, and leptomeninges of lipopolysaccharide‐challenged rats. Injection of the endotoxin intravenously also increased COX‐2 gene expression within parvocellular division of the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus. It is interesting that intramuscular turpentine injection stimulated transcription of COX‐2 along endothelium of brain capillaries, and the signal of this transcript paralleled the inflammation of the left hind limb. A robust COX‐2 mRNA signal was detected rapidly in the brain microvessels of interleukin‐1β‐injected rats, whereas tumor necrosis factor‐α administration caused a modest but significant induction of this transcript. In contrast, intravenous injection of interleukin‐6 did not alter genetic expression of COX‐2, and none of the above described models affected the synthesis of COX‐1 gene in the rat brain. These results indicate that specific cell populations, in particular vascular‐ and/or perivascular‐associated cells, are responsible for the central production of prostaglandins during systemic inflammation, and circulating interleukin‐1β is likely to be a potent mediator of this response.
Improving Arctic Sea Ice Prediction Using PIOMAS Initial Sea Ice Thickness in a Coupled Ocean–Atmosphere Model

AbstractBecause sea ice thickness is known to influence future patterns of sea ice concentration, it is likely that an improved initialization of sea ice thickness in a coupled ocean–atmosphere model would improve Arctic sea ice cover forecasts. Here, two sea ice thickness datasets as possible candidates for forecast initialization were investigated: the Climate Forecast System Reanalysis (CFSR) and the Pan-Arctic Ice Ocean Modeling and Assimilation System (PIOMAS). Using Ice, Cloud, and Land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) data, it was shown that the PIOMAS dataset had a more realistic representation of sea ice thickness than CFSR. Subsequently, both March CFSR and PIOMAS sea ice thicknesses were used to initialize hindcasts using the Climate Forecast System, version 2 (CFSv2), model. A second set of model runs was also done in which the original model physics were modified to more physically reasonable settings—namely, increasing the number of marine stratus clouds in the Arctic region and enabling realist.
The metabolism of 3-indolylalkanecarboxylic acids, and their amides, nitriles and methyl esters in plant tissues

Plant growth-regulating activity in homologous series of ω-(3-indolyl)alkanecarboxylic acids, their methyl esters, amides and nitriles has been assessed in the wheat-cylinder, pea-curvature and pea-segment tests. In wheat tissue all homologues were active except 3-indolecarboxylic acid and its corresponding ester, amide and nitrile. These compounds, together with the propio-, butyro-, valero- and capro-nitriles, were inactive in the pea tests. The breakdown of all the compounds when metabolized in wheat coleoptile and pea-stem tissues was investigated using paper chromatography, identification of metabolites being made by chromogenic tests and bio-assay. Strong evidence was obtained that β-(3-indolyl)propionic acid is itself a plant growth hormone and not a hormone precursor, and that β-oxidation of this compound within plant tissue to 3-indolecarboxylic acid, is hindered. The formation of either 3-indolylacetic or β-(3-indolyl)propionic acids from alternate homologues in the acid series is fully consistent with degradation of the side-chain by β-oxidation. All esters and amides except 3-indoleamide were readily converted within the test tissues to the corresponding acids and their activity is explicable on this basis. With the nitriles in wheat tissue, the results indicated that the terminal -CN is hydrolyzed to -COOH with all homologues except 3-indolenitrile. In pea tissue, however, only 3-mdolylacetonitrile was hydrolyzed in this way. Evidence for α-oxidation was obtained in wheat with all homologues except 3-indolenitrile. In pea tissue, however, only 3-indolylacetomtrile and ξ-(3-indolyl)heptanonitrile were so degraded. The mechanisms underlying oxidative breakdown of the side-chain of these indole homologues are discussed. The results are shown to provide further evidence for β-oxidation of acids and α-oxidation of nitriles within plant tissues and, in addition, it is suggested that with longer chain lengths, nitriles may also be subject to ω-oxidation.
Learning Intrinsic Sparse Structures within Long Short-term Memory

Model compression is significant for the wide adoption of Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs) in both user devices possessing limited resources and business clusters requiring quick responses to large-scale service requests. This work aims to learn structurally-sparse Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) by reducing the sizes of basic structures within LSTM units, including input updates, gates, hidden states, cell states and outputs. Independently reducing the sizes of basic structures can result in inconsistent dimensions among them, and consequently, end up with invalid LSTM units. To overcome the problem, we propose Intrinsic Sparse Structures (ISS) in LSTMs. Removing a component of ISS will simultaneously decrease the sizes of all basic structures by one and thereby always maintain the dimension consistency. By learning ISS within LSTM units, the obtained LSTMs remain regular while having much smaller basic structures. Based on group Lasso regularization, our method achieves 10.59x speedup without losing any perplexity of a language modeling of Penn TreeBank dataset. It is also successfully evaluated through a compact model with only 2.69M weights for machine Question Answering of SQuAD dataset. Our approach is successfully extended to non- LSTM RNNs, like Recurrent Highway Networks (RHNs). Our source code is publicly available at this https URL
Evaluation of anomaly detection for in-vehicle networks through information-theoretic algorithms

This paper evaluates the effectiveness of information-theoretic anomaly detection algorithms applied to networks included in modern vehicles. In particular, we focus on providing an experimental evaluation of anomaly detectors based on entropy. Attacks to in-vehicle networks were simulated by injecting different classes of forged CAN messages in traces captured from a modern licensed vehicle. Experimental results show that if entropy-based anomaly detection is applied to all CAN messages it is only possible to detect attacks that comprise a high volume of forged CAN messages. On the other hand, attacks characterized by the injection of few forged CAN messages attacks can be detected only by applying several independent instances of the entropy based anomaly detector, one for each class of CAN messages.
Systematic calibration procedure of process parameters for electromagnetic field analysis of millimeter-wave CMOS devices

This work proposed the systematic calibration method of process parameters for electromagnetic analysis of CMOS back-end devices in millimeter-wave and THz frequencies. It uses the propagation constants of transmission lines in all the measurement frequency and the RLGC model parameters in low frequency as the objective variables of the parameter fitting. It was showed that the EM simulation results using calibrated process parameters were in good agreement with the measurement results up to 330 GHz.
Spatial preference heterogeneity in forest recreation SPATIAL PREFERENCE HETEROGENEITY IN FOREST RECREATION

Heterogeneity in household preferences for recreational use of forests may lead to spatial sorting, i.e., households choose their residential location in accordance with their preference for forest recreation. In this study, we analyze the preferences for recreational use of forests in Lorraine (Northeastern France), applying stated preference data. Our approach allows us to estimate individual-specific preferences for recreational use of different forest types. These estimates are used in a second stage of the analysis where we test whether preferences depend on access to recreation sites. A correlation between access to forests and preferences may indicate spatial sorting determined by spatial heterogeneity in the access to forest recreation. Spatial sorting has implications for the estimation procedures in valuation studies but may also have policy implications.