Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Considerations of Brain Death on a SPECT Cerebral Perfusion Study

Brain death imaging is often a diagnostic challenge. Cerebral angioscintigraphy is extensively used for this analysis, but this test does not allow the perfusion evaluation of the posterior fossa. The authors report a case in which a SPECT study showed persistence of blood frow in infratentorial structures with total absence of cerebral (supratentorial) perfusion. This finding excluded the diagnosis of brain death.
A classification of lesions around interventricular foramen and its clinical value.

OBJECTIVES Lesions around interventricular foramen are difficult to remove for their important adjacent structures. We classify these tumors according their location on Magnetic Resonance Image (MRI) to help us resect these lesions. METHODS Thirty-two tumors around the interventricular foramen were studied according their location and anatomic relations in MRI. RESULTS Tumors around interventricular foramen were classified into three types. The first one mainly locates in lateral ventricle and the second one growth both in lateral ventricle, interventricular foramen and third ventricle, while the third one mainly in third ventricle. Different surgical approaches were adopted according their classification and the patients recovered well. CONCLUSION This classification can help us to chose the surgical approach for these tumors.
Cleavage of the T Cell Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase by the Hepatitis C Virus Nonstructural 3/4A Protease Induces a Th1 to Th2 Shift Reversible by Ribavirin Therapy

Ribavirin has proven to be a key component of hepatitis C therapies both involving IFNs and new direct-acting antivirals. The hepatitis C virus–mediated interference with intrahepatic immunity by cleavage of mitochondrial antiviral signaling protein (MAVS) and T cell protein tyrosine phosphatase (TCPTP) suggests an avenue for compounds that may counteract these effects. We therefore studied the effects of ribavirin, with or without inhibition of the nonstructural (NS)3/4A protease, on intrahepatic immunity. The intrahepatic immunity of wild-type and NS3/4A-transgenic mice was determined by Western blot, ELISA, flow cytometry, and survival analysis. Various MAVS or TCPTP constructs were injected hydrodynamically to study their relevance. Ribavirin pretreatment was performed in mice expressing a functional or inhibited NS3/4A protease to analyze its effect on NS3/4A-mediated changes. Intrahepatic NS3/4A expression made mice resistant to TNF-α–induced liver damage and caused an alteration of the intrahepatic cytokine (IFN-γ and IL-10) and chemokine (CCL3, CCL17, CCL22, CXCL9, and CXCL11) profiles toward an anti-inflammatory state. Consistent with this, the number of intrahepatic Th1 cells and IFN-γ+ T cells in NS3/4A-transgenic mice decreased, whereas the amount of Th2 cells increased. These effects could be reversed by injection of uncleavable TCPTP but not uncleavable MAVS and were absent in a mouse expressing a nonfunctional NS3/4A protease. Importantly, the NS3/4A-mediated effects were reversed by ribavirin treatment. Thus, cleavage of TCPTP by NS3/4A induces a shift of the intrahepatic immune response toward a nonantiviral Th2-dominated immunity. These effects are reversed by ribavirin, supporting that ribavirin complements the effects of direct-acting antivirals as an immunomodulatory compound.
Novel dual polarized graphene based antenna for wireless communications in THz band

A novel dual polarized Graphene based microstrip square patch antenna with high isolation and low cross polarization is proposed in this paper. The main radiation structure comprise of a single Graphene patch of length of the order of a few microns fed by dual ports oriented orthogonally. These dual ports enable both vertical and horizontal polarizations along their respective port directions which acts as wireless transceiver in THz band. A return loss below −14dB is achieved and a good isolation between the two input ports of −40dB is obtained. The cross polar and co-polar radiation patterns are shown.
Improving energy expenditure estimation for physical activity.

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to validate the Intelligent Device for Energy Expenditure and Activity (IDEEA) for estimation of energy expenditure during a variety of activities. An additional aim was to improve the accuracy of the estimation of energy expenditure of physical activity based on second-by-second information of type, onset, and duration of activity. METHODS This study included two tests: a mask calorimetry test with 27 subjects [age = 33.7 +/- 13.8 (mean +/- SD) yr; BMI = 24.8 +/- 4.8 kg x m] and a respiratory chamber calorimetry test with 10 subjects (age = 32.9 +/- 12.4 yr; BMI = 26.1 +/- 5.6 kg x m). In the mask test, the subjects performed activities (sitting, standing, lying down, level treadmill walking, and running at different speeds) for 50-min durations. For the chamber test, subjects lived in the metabolic chamber for 23 h and performed three exercise sessions to compensate for the confined environment. RESULTS The results showed significant correlations (P < 0.0001) between energy expenditure estimated by IDEEA and energy expenditure measured by the calorimeters with an accuracy >95%. After corrections for the decrease in sleeping metabolic rate, the estimation accuracy for the chamber test was increased by 1-96.2%, whereas the estimation accuracy for nighttime activity was significantly improved by 4-99%. CONCLUSION IDEEA provides a suitable method for estimating the energy expenditure of physical activity. It provides both instantaneous and cumulative estimates of energy expenditure over a given period.
Influence of curcumin on pioglitazone metabolism and pk/pd: Diabetes Mellitus

Background: Curcumin is the principal curcuminoid of the popular Indian spice ingredients commonly known as turmeric. Curcumin is reported to inhibit cytochrome P-450 (CYP) enzymes and its isozymes. As turmeric is being consumed every day in Indian spices, it is essential to determine the potential interaction with drugs metabolised by CYP3A4 system. Methods and results: The study was conducted to determine the potential influence of curcumin on pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of pioglitazone in normal and diabetic rat models. In first study, three groups (groups 1, 2 and 3; n=6) of rats were taken as non diabetic (normal) groups. Second study, three other groups: (groups 4, 5 and 6) were selected similarly to test the effects on diabetic group after receiving alloxan monohydrate (120 mg/kg). Group 1 and 2; group 4 and 5 received pioglitazone orally (10 mg/kg) and curcumin (60 mg/kg), respectively. Groups 3 and 6 were tested for single dose and multiple dose interaction effects on non diabetic and diabetic rats with curcumin for single day and for eight days, respectively. By the end of curcumin pre- treatment pioglitazone was given on the eighth day. Blood samples (0.8 ml) were collected via retro orbital plexus, at the time intervals of 0, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 8 and 24 hours and double the volume of sample is replaced with normal saline intra peritoneally to maintain the body fluid in animals and PK and PD parameters were measured. Curcumin significantly increased the area under plasma concentration time curve (AUC) and area under the movement curve (AUMC) of pioglitazone in both normal and diabetic rats. There was a significant decrease in maximum observed plasma concentration (Tmax) in both normal and diabetic rats. Conclusion: Curcumin significantly decreased the metabolism of pioglitazone and, the combination has more beneficial effect in diabetes and warrants dose adjustment of pioglitazone in diabetic models.
#fitspo on Instagram: A mixed-methods approach using Netlytic and photo analysis, uncovering the online discussion and author/image characteristics

The #fitspo ‘tag’ is a recent trend on Instagram, which is used on posts to motivate others towards a healthy lifestyle through exercise/eating habits. This study used a mixed-methods approach consisting of text and network analysis via the Netlytic program (N = 10,000 #fitspo posts), and content analysis of #fitspo images (N = 122) was used to examine author and image characteristics. Results suggest that #fitspo posts may motivate through appearance-mediated themes, as the largest content categories (based on the associated text) were ‘feeling good’ and ‘appearance’. Furthermore, #fitspo posts may create peer influence/support as personal (opposed to non-personal) accounts were associated with higher popularity of images (i.e. number of likes/followers). Finally, most images contained posed individuals with some degree of objectification.
The Most Deeply Conserved Noncoding Sequences in Plants Serve Similar Functions to Those in Vertebrates Despite Large Differences in Evolutionary Rates[W]

Noncoding sequences conserved over long evolutionary distances can be used to identify DNA regions functioning in gene regulation. This report identifies a set of 211 conserved noncoding sequences found throughout eudicots, a subset of which are found in all flowering plants. These deeply conserved sequences are much shorter than their vertebrate counterparts, yet serve similar functions. In vertebrates, conserved noncoding elements (CNEs) are functionally constrained sequences that can show striking conservation over >400 million years of evolutionary distance and frequently are located megabases away from target developmental genes. Conserved noncoding sequences (CNSs) in plants are much shorter, and it has been difficult to detect conservation among distantly related genomes. In this article, we show not only that CNS sequences can be detected throughout the eudicot clade of flowering plants, but also that a subset of 37 CNSs can be found in all flowering plants (diverging ∼170 million years ago). These CNSs are functionally similar to vertebrate CNEs, being highly associated with transcription factor and development genes and enriched in transcription factor binding sites. Some of the most highly conserved sequences occur in genes encoding RNA binding proteins, particularly the RNA splicing–associated SR genes. Differences in sequence conservation between plants and animals are likely to reflect differences in the biology of the organisms, with plants being much more able to tolerate genomic deletions and whole-genome duplication events due, in part, to their far greater fecundity compared with vertebrates.
Vertical-Si-Nanowire-Based Nonvolatile Memory Devices With Improved Performance and Reduced Process Complexity

This paper presents vertical-Si-nanowire (SiNW) gate-all-around nonvolatile memory (NVM) devices of two different kinds: junction based and junctionless (JL). Si nanocrystals (SiNCs) and silicon nitride (SiN) are used as trap layers. The devices are fabricated using complementary-metal-oxide-semiconductor-compatible top-down process technology and compared on the bases of improved performance and reduced process complexity. The junction-based 50-nm vertical-SiNW memory device with a SiNC trap layer shows significant performance improvements on program/erase (P/E) speed and windows (3.5 V in 1-ms P/E at +15/-16 V) over a memory cell with a SiN trap layer (1.3 V in 1-ms P/E at +15/-16 V). On the other hand, the JL device with a SiN trap layer, realized on a highly scaled SiNW channel (down to 20 nm), is found to have comparable memory characteristics (3.2 V in 1-ms P/E at +15/-16 V) to a corresponding 20-nm SiNW junction-based cell (2.7 V in 1-ms P/E at +15/-16 V). Despite of that, the absence of junctions reduces process complexity and makes a vertical SiNW a suitable platform for multilevel stacked ultrahigh density memory applications.
Evaluation of global land cover maps for cropland area estimation in the conterminous United States

Global land cover data could provide continuously updated cropland acreage and distribution information, which is essential to a wide range of applications over large geographical regions. Cropland area estimates were evaluated in the conterminous USA from four recent global land cover products: MODIS land cover (MODISLC) at 500-m resolution in 2010, GlobCover at 300-m resolution in 2009, FROM-GLC and FROM-GLC-agg at 30-m resolution based on Landsat imagery circa 2010 against the US Department of Agriculture survey data. Ratio estimators derived from the 30-m resolution Cropland Data Layer were applied to MODIS and GlobCover land cover products, which greatly improved the estimation accuracy of MODISLC by enhancing the correlation and decreasing mean deviation (MDev) and RMSE, but were less effective on GlobCover product. We found that, in the USA, the CDL adjusted MODISLC was more suitable for applications that concern about the aggregated county cropland acreage, while FROM-GLC-agg gave the least deviation from the survey at the state level. Correlation between land cover map estimates and survey estimates is significant, but stronger at the state level than at the county level. In regions where most mismatches happen at the county level, MODIS tends to underestimate, whereas MERIS and Landsat images incline to overestimate. Those uncertainties should be taken into consideration in relevant applications. Excluding interannual and seasonal effects, R2 of the FROM-GLC regression model increased from 0.1 to 0.4, and the slope is much closer to one. Our analysis shows that images acquired in growing season are most suitable for Landsat-based cropland mapping in the conterminous USA.
Detection of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease from exhaled breath using nanomaterial-based sensors.

AIM To study the feasibility of a novel method in nanomedicine that is based on breath testing for identifying Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD), as representative examples of neurodegenerative conditions. PATIENTS & METHODS Alveolar breath was collected from 57 volunteers (AD patients, PD patients and healthy controls) and analyzed using combinations of nanomaterial-based sensors (organically functionalized carbon nanotubes and gold nanoparticles). Discriminant factor analysis was applied to detect statistically significant differences between study groups and classification success was estimated using cross-validation. The pattern identification was supported by chemical analysis of the breath samples using gas chromatography combined with mass spectrometry. RESULTS The combinations of sensors could clearly distinguish AD from healthy states, PD from healthy states, and AD from PD states, with a classification accuracy of 85, 78 and 84%, respectively. Gas chromatography combined with mass spectrometry analysis showed statistically significant differences in the average abundance of several volatile organic compounds in the breath of AD, PD and healthy subjects, thus supporting the breath prints observed with the sensors. CONCLUSION The breath prints that were identified with combinations of nanomaterial-based sensors have future potential as cost-effective, fast and reliable biomarkers for AD and PD.
Characterization of rotaviruses and subgroup F adenoviruses from acute summer gastroenteritis in South Africa

Six hundred and sixteen specimens were collected from black children hospitalised with acute gastroenteritis during the summer and autumn of 1982–1983 (October to May). Eighty‐five children (13.8%) shed rotavirus and at least 40 (6.5%) shed adenovirus (Ad) type 40 or 41 belonging to subgroup F. The highest monthly prevalence of shedding subgroup F adenoviruses (10.1%) coincided with a peak in admissions in midsummer, whereas the highest monthly prevalence of shedding rotaviruses (41.9%) coincided with a peak in admissions in autumn. There were at least five genome types of rotavirus, at least three genome types of Ad40, and at least five genome types of Ad41 circulating in the Johannesburg‐Soweto area during the study period. The high rate of rotavirus shedding in autumn could not be attributed to an upsurge in infections by any particular rotavirus strain.
Elgamal Encryption using Elliptic Curve Cryptography

The future of cryptography is predicted to be based on Elliptic Curve Cryptography(ECC) since RSA is likely to be unusable in future years with computers getting faster. Increasing RSA key length might not help since it would also make the encryption and decryption process slower. A 256-bit ECC is considered to be equivalent to 3072-bit RSA. Using ECC to encrypt data is known to provide the same security as RSA but much more efficient in implementation than RSA. However, it is slower than symmetric key encryption (e.g AES) and hence rarely used for encrypting actual messages. Elgamal encryption using ECC can be described as analog of the Elgamal cryptosystem and uses Elliptic Curve arithmetic over a finite field. In this project, we visualize some very important aspects of ECC for its use in Cryptography. We explore Elgamal encryption using Elliptic curves and understand its challenges to encrypt data. We also present an approach for fast encryption and compare our results with other popular symmetric and public key cryptosystems. We also implement some basic attack techniques for ECC cryptosystems namely, Naive Linear search O ) and Baby Step Giant step O ).
Ultrasound‐based gestational‐age estimation in late pregnancy

Accurate gestational‐age (GA) estimation, preferably by ultrasound measurement of fetal crown–rump length before 14 weeks' gestation, is an important component of high‐quality antenatal care. The objective of this study was to determine how GA can best be estimated by fetal ultrasound for women who present for the first time late in pregnancy with uncertain or unknown menstrual dates.
Florid papillomatosis of the nipple: immunohistochemical and flow cytometric analysis of two cases.

The immunohistochemical and DNA profiles of two cases of florid papillomatosis of the nipple (FPN) were compared with the immunohistochemical and DNA profiles of mammary intraductal carcinomas (IC) to assess the relationship between these two proliferative neoplasms. Both examples of FPN were circumscribed papillary tumors in the subareolar breast that showed cytologic atypia, intraductal necrosis, and a distinct myoepithelial cell layer. An antibody to muscle-specific actin (MSA) decorated a continuous myoepithelial layer in one case that was confirmed by electron microscopy. MSA showed patchy, discontinuous staining of apparent myoepithelium in the ICs. Flow cytometric analysis showed that both FPN lesions were diploid, rapidly proliferating lesions with S-phase fractions of 10.9% and 34.4%. One IC was aneuploid, and the five diploid neoplasms showed S-phase fractions ranging from 6.4 to 15.8%. In FPN many epithelial cells stained intensely for S-100 protein, but each IC also showed at least focal expression of S-100 protein. One case of FPN was focally positive for gross cystic disease fluid protein 15 (GCDFP-15), but neither stained for tumor-associated glycoprotein-72 (TAG-72) nor for the product of the c-erbB-2 oncogene. In comparison, three ICs expressed focal GCDFP-15, four stained for TAG-72, and one was positive for the c-erbB-2 oncogene product. These preliminary observations suggest that the tandem proliferation of epithelial and myoepithelial cells and the preservation of a normal structural relationship between the two appears to separate FPN from intraductal carcinoma. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Rigorous field experiments are essential to understand the genuine severity of light pollution and to identify possible solutions

Ouyang et al. (2017; hereafter O2017) claim to have offered evidence that light pollution affects the health of free-living great tits (Parus major). Since 2012, they illuminated forests with either white, green, red or no artificial light at night (ALAN; Figure 1). Individuals in the white light treatment showed an increase in nightly activity in March 2014, which was linked to changes in health and physiology from March to May 2014. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Chronic Microcystin Exposure Induces Hepatocyte Proliferation with Increased Expression of Mitotic and Cyclin-associated Genes in P53-deficient Mice

Homozygous p53 deficient knockout mice were used to assess the role of p53 in tumor promotion by the protein phosphatase inhibitor and hepatic tumor promoter microcystin-LR (MCLR). More than 50% of human cancers bear mutations in the p53 gene, and in particular, p53 tumor suppressor gene mutations have been shown to play a major role in hepatocarcinogenesis. Trp53 homozygous (inactivated p53) and age-matched wild-type control mice were assigned to vehicle or MCLR-treated groups. MCLR or saline was administered daily for up to 28 days. RNA from the 28-day study was hybridized onto Mouse Genome GeneChip arrays. Selected RNA from 28 days and earlier time points was also processed for quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Livers from the 28-day, Trp53-deficient, MCLR group displayed greater hyperplastic and dysplastic changes morphologically and increases in Ki-67 and phosphohistone H3 (mitotic marker) immunoreactivity. Gene-expression analysis revealed significant increases in expression of cell-cycle regulation and cellular proliferation genes in the MCLR-treated, p53-deficient mutant mice compared to controls. These data suggest that regulation of the cell cycle by p53 is important in preventing the proliferative response associated with chronic, sublethal microcystin exposure, and therefore, conclude that p53 plays an important role in MCLR-induced tumor promotion.
Moderate patient-prosthesis mismatch after valve replacement for severe aortic stenosis has no impact on short-term and long-term mortality

Background: The importance of moderate patient-prosthesis mismatch (PPM) for the prognosis of patients who undergo aortic valve replacement is unclear. Methods: The presence of PPM was assessed in 361 consecutive patients undergoing valve replacement for isolated severe aortic stenosis and related to perioperative and postoperative mortality. Indexed effective orifice areas (EOAi) were estimated for each type and size of prosthesis. Results: Using the previously proposed cut-off of EOAi ⩽0.8 cm2/m2, PPM was present in 54% of patients. Patients were followed for 4.1 (2.0) years. Survival tended to be slightly, but insignificantly, worse in the group with PPM (1-year, 3-year and 5-year survival 89%, 86% and 76% vs 92%, 88% and 82%; p = 0.21). However, patients with PPM were also older (p<0.0001), more often female (p<0.0001), more symptomatic (p = 0.001), more often had coronary artery disease (p = 0.04), triple vessel disease (p = 0.03) and hypertension (p = 0.01) and presented with a higher EuroSCORE (p<0.0001). By multivariate analysis only EuroSCORE and diabetes but not PPM were independent predictors of survival. Conclusions: Moderate PPM is a frequent finding after aortic valve replacement. In our patient population it had no impact on short-term and long-term survival. It may therefore not be justified to recommend complex surgical interventions to avoid moderate PPM in patients undergoing aortic valve replacement for isolated severe aortic stenosis.
Long-term course of Menière's disease revisited

Conclusions: The investigated studies disclose a large variability of the many symptoms appearing in the course of Menière's disease. Objectives: To analyze the data of 46 mostly retrospective studies (with a total of 7852 patients). Methods: We present a short overview of the literature on the long-term course of Menière's disease. Special emphasis is placed on the most relevant and distressing symptoms of these patients, such as vertigo attacks, vestibular and hearing function, drop attacks, and the probability of transition from unilateral to bilateral involvement. Results: The frequency of vertigo attacks diminishes within 5–10 years. Hearing loss (of about 50–60 dB) and vestibular function decrement (of about 35–50%) take place mainly in the first 5–10 years of disease. Drop attacks may occur early or late in the course of the disease, and remission is spontaneous in cmost cases. Bilaterality of the condition increases with increasing duration of the disease (up to 35% within 10 years, up to 47% within 20 years).