Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Diffusion Tensor Imaging Detects Microstructural Differences of Visual Pathway in Patients With Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma and Ocular Hypertension

Ocular hypertension (OHT), the common situation in adult patients in the outpatients, occurs ∼5% worldwide. However, there are still some practical problems in differentiation of OHT with early primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) using current standard methods. Application of high resolution diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) enables us to the differentiate axonal architecture of visual pathway between POAG and OHT subjects. Among 32 POAG patients recruited (15 OHT and 14 control subjects), 62.5% of glaucoma were in early stage for the current study. All subjects underwent ophthalmological assessments with standard automated perimetry and optical coherence tomography (OCT). DTI was applied to measure fraction anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD) of optic tract (OT), lateral geniculate body (LGN) and optic radiation (OR) using voxel-based analysis. Our data demonstrated that FA values of bilateral OR in POAG were significantly lower in the right or left than that of OHT patients (left OR: 0.51 ± 0.04 vs. 0.54 ± 0.03, p < 0.05; right OR: 0.51 ± 0.05 vs. 0.54 ± 0.03, p < 0.05). In right LGN, MD values were higher in POAG patients compared with OHT subjects (9.81 ± 1.45 vs. 8.23 ± 0.62, p < 0.05). However, no significant difference of all of the DTI parameters was observed between OHT and control subjects. DTI parameters in POAG patients were positively correlated with morphological and functional measurements (p < 0.05). Vertical cup to disc ratio (VCDR) was correlated with ipsilateral FA of OT (p < 0.05), ipsilateral MD of OT (p < 0.05), ipsilateral MD of LGN (p < 0.05), and contralateral MD of OT (p < 0.05). Mean deviation of visual field (MDVF) was correlated with ipsilateral FA of OT (p < 0.05), ipsilateral MD of OT (p < 0.05), and ipsilateral FA of LGN (p < 0.05). Our study demonstrated that DTI can differentiate POAG from OHT subjects in optic pathway, particularly in early POAG, and DTI parameters can quantify the progression of POAG.
Bayesian Multiple Extended Target Tracking Using Labeled Random Finite Sets and Splines

In this paper, we propose a technique for the joint tracking and labeling of multiple extended targets. To achieve multiple extended target tracking using this technique, models for the target measurement rate, kinematic component, and target extension are defined and jointly propagated in time under the generalized labeled multi-Bernoulli filter framework. In particular, we developed a Poisson mixture variational Bayesian model to simultaneously estimate the measurement rate of multiple extended targets and extended target extension was modeled using B-splines. We evaluated our proposed method with various performance metrics. Results demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach.
Development of a Remote‐Controlled Implantable Rat Sacral Nerve Stimulation System

Sacral nerve stimulation (SNS) is a surgical treatment of urinary and fecal incontinence. Despite its clinical efficacy, the mechanisms of action of SNS are still poorly known. This may be related to the use of acute stimulation models. Up to date, no rodent model of chronic SNS implants has been developed. Therefore, the aim of this study was to create a fully implantable and remotely controllable stimulating device to establish an animal model of chronic SNS.
Free Radical, Carbonyl, and Nicotine Levels Produced by Juul Electronic Cigarettes.

Introduction Free radicals and carbonyls produced by electronic cigarettes (e-cigs) have the potential to inflict oxidative stress. Recently, Juul e-cigs have risen drastically in popularity; however, there is no data on nicotine and oxidant yields from this new e-cig design. Methods Aerosol generated from four different Juul flavors was analyzed for carbonyls, nicotine, and free radicals. The e-liquids were analyzed for propylene glycol (PG) and glycerol (GLY) concentrations. To determine the effects of e-liquid on oxidant production, Juul pods were refilled with nicotine-free 30:70 or 60:40 PG:GLY with or without citral. Results No significant differences were found in nicotine (164 ± 41 µg/puff), free radical (5.85 ± 1.20 pmol/puff), formaldehyde (0.20 ± 0.10 µg/puff), and acetone (0.20 ± 0.05 µg/puff) levels between flavors. The PG:GLY ratio in e-liquids was ~30:70 across all flavors with GLY being slightly higher in tobacco and mint flavors. In general, when Juul e-liquids were replaced with nicotine-free 60:40 PG:GLY, oxidant production increased up to 190% and, with addition of citral, increased even further. Conclusions Juul devices produce free radicals and carbonyls, albeit, at levels substantially lower than those observed in other e-cig products, an effect only partially due to a low PG:GLY ratio. Nicotine delivery by these devices was as high as or higher than the levels previously reported from cigarettes. Implications These findings suggest that oxidative stress/damage resulting from Juul use may be lower than that from cigarettes or other e-cig devices; however, the high nicotine levels are suggestive of a greater addiction potential.
Clinical course in Crohn’s disease: factors associated with behaviour change and surgery

Abstract Background: Crohn’s disease (CD) is a chronic and progressive disease that changes its behaviour over time. Transmural inflammation in CD leads to stricturing and/or penetrating complications. Aim: To evaluate the frequency of long-term progression of CD phenotypes, the need of abdominal surgery, and the main factors associated with these outcomes. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted with a prospective follow-up. Montreal classification was assessed at the moment of the diagnosis and at the end of the follow-up period. Results: Two hundred and ninety patients were included, with mean follow-up duration of nine years. A change in behaviour was observed in 46 patients (15.9%). Ileocolic location (60.9% vs. 45.1%; p = .049), age at diagnosis <16 years (8.7% vs. 2.0%; p = .017), the use of steroids at diagnosis (43.2% vs. 27.0%; p = .031) and shorter exposure time to biological therapy (15.9 months vs 41.3 months; p < .001) were identified as risk factors for phenotype change. Regarding surgery, 70 patients (24.1%) were submitted to abdominal surgery. Smoking habits (41.3% vs. 26.9%; p = .048), stricturing behaviour (50% vs. 18.4%; p < .001), penetrating behaviour 34.8% vs. 7.8%; p < . 001), hospitalisations in the first year of diagnosis (52.3% vs. 12.4%; p < .001), and use of steroids at diagnosis (61.4% vs. 23.6%; p < .001) were more frequently seen in patients subjected to surgery. Patients subjected to surgery were less frequently treated with biological therapy (8.7% vs. 23.4%; p < .025). Conclusions: A behaviour progression was observed in about one-sixth of the patients. Progression to a stricturing pattern was the most frequent change in behaviour. Stricturing and penetrating behaviour, higher number of hospitalisations in the first year of diagnosis, use of steroids at diagnosis, smoking status, age at diagnosis <16 years and ileocolic disease location were associated with an unfavourable clinical evolution.
[Parkinson's disease and glutamate excitotoxicity].

AIM To measure the concentration of glutamate in the serum of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and determine its association with clinical variants of disease course. MATERIAL AND METHODS One hundred and ten patients with PD and 90 healthy people were examined. Glutamate concentration in the blood serum was determined with a spectrophotometric method. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION Patients with Parkinson's disease had significantly higher levels of serum glutamate compared with healthy subjects (p<0,0001). Patients with a tremor-dominant subtype had significantly higher levels of serum glutamate compared to those in patients with akinetic-rigid and mixed subtypes. The results obtained allow us to expand our understanding of the pathogenesis of this disease. Changes in the concentration of glutamate may reflect neurodegenerative process in PD.
Pharmacokinetic‐Pharmacodynamic Model of Neutropenia in Patients With Myeloma Receiving High‐Dose Melphalan for Autologous Stem Cell Transplant

High‐dose melphalan (HDM) is part of the conditioning regimen in patients with multiple myeloma (MM) receiving autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT). However, individual sensitivity to melphalan varies, and many patients experience severe toxicities. Prolonged severe neutropenia is one of the most severe toxicities and contributes to potentially life‐threatening infections and failure of ASCT. Granulocyte‐colony stimulating factor (G‐CSF) is given to stimulate neutrophil proliferation after melphalan administration. The aim of this study was to develop a population pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) model capable of predicting neutrophil kinetics in individual patients with MM undergoing ASCT with high‐dose melphalan and G‐CSF administration. The extended PK/PD model incorporated several covariates, including G‐CSF regimen, stem cell dose, hematocrit, sex, creatinine clearance, p53 fold change, and race. The resulting model explained portions of interindividual variability in melphalan exposure, therapeutic effect, and feedback regulation of G‐CSF on neutrophils, thus enabling simulation of various doses and prediction of neutropenia duration.
Effects of anodal tDCS on motor and cognitive function in a patient with multiple system atrophy

Abstract Purpose: Multiple system atrophy (MSA) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease characterized by postural instability, autonomic failure, cerebellar ataxia, and cognitive deficits. There is currently no effective cure. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), offers promise in amendment of motor, and cognitive performance in advanced Parkinson’s disease. Case description: We estimated the effect of anodal tDCS on motor and cognitive function in a 66-year-old woman with moderate MSA. For the evaluation of the motor function, we used the Unified MSA Rating Scale II, the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale Part III (UPDRS III), and the Timed Up and Go test (TUG). The battery of neuropsychological tests included the Rey’s Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT) and the Digit Symbol Substitution Test-Wechsler Adult Intelligence (DSST-WAIS-III), the Trail Making Test (TMT-A). tDCS was applied in 10 sessions. Clinical evaluations were performed at baseline, day 11, day 30, and at day 90. Results: Anodal stimulation was associated with improvement in UPDRS III and the TUG test. A positive effect was also seen in RAVLT the DSST-WAIS-III and the TMT-A. Conclusions: Our results suggest that tDCS has a beneficial effect mainly on motor performance in MSA, which lasts beyond the duration of the treatment. Implications for rehabilitation Multiple system atrophy is a progressive neurodegenerative disease characterized by postural instability, motor, and cognitive deficits. Transcranial direct current stimulation offers promise in amendment of motor and cognitive performance in advanced Parkinson’s disease. Stimulation was associated with significant improvement in Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale Part III and the Timed Up and Go test. A positive effect was also seen in auditory-verbal memory and learning in working memory and in visuomotor activity and processing speed. Transcranial direct current stimulation has a beneficial effect mainly on motor performance, which lasts beyond the duration of the treatment.
Incubation of Immune Cell Grafts With MAX.16H5 IgG1 Anti-Human CD4 Antibody Prolonged Survival After Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation in a Mouse Model for Fms Like Tyrosine Kinase 3 Positive Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Despite the constant development of innovative therapeutic options for hematological malignancies, the gold-standard therapy regimen for curative treatment often includes allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). The graft-vs.-leukemia effect (GVL) is one of the main therapeutic goals that arises from HSCT. On the other hand, graft-vs.-host disease (GVHD) is still one of the main and most serious complications following allogeneic HSCT. In acute myeloid leukemia (AML), HSCT together with high-dose chemotherapy is used as a treatment option. An aggressive progression of the disease, a decreased response to treatment, and a poor prognosis are connected to internal tandem duplication (ITD) mutations in the Fms like tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT3) gene, which affects around 30% of AML patients. In this study, C3H/HeN mice received an allogeneic graft together with 32D-FLT3ITD AML cells to induce acute GVHD and GVL. It was examined if pre-incubation of the graft with the anti-human cluster of differentiation (CD) 4 antibody MAX.16H5 IgG1 prevented the development of GVHD and whether the graft function was impaired. Animals receiving grafts pre-incubated with the antibody together with FLT3ITD AML cells survived significantly longer than mice receiving untreated grafts. The observed prolonged survival due to MAX.16H5 incubation of immune cell grafts prior to transplantation may allow an extended application of additional targeted strategies in the treatment of AML.
Classification of Gait Patterns in Patients with Neurodegenerative Disease Using Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System

A common feature that is typical of the patients with neurodegenerative (ND) disease is the impairment of motor function, which can interrupt the pathway from cerebrum to the muscle and thus cause movement disorders. For patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis disease (ALS), the impairment is caused by the loss of motor neurons. While for patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and Huntington's disease (HD), it is related to the basal ganglia dysfunction. Previously studies have demonstrated the usage of gait analysis in characterizing the ND patients for the purpose of disease management. However, most studies focus on extracting characteristic features that can differentiate ND gait from normal gait. Few studies have demonstrated the feasibility of modelling the nonlinear gait dynamics in characterizing the ND gait. Therefore, in this study, a novel approach based on an adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) is presented for identification of the gait of patients with ND disease. The proposed ANFIS model combines neural network adaptive capabilities and the fuzzy logic qualitative approach. Gait dynamics such as stride intervals, stance intervals, and double support intervals were used as the input variables to the model. The particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm was utilized to learn the parameters of the ANFIS model. The performance of the system was evaluated in terms of sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy using the leave-one-out cross-validation method. The competitive classification results on a dataset of 13 ALS patients, 15 PD patients, 20 HD patients, and 16 healthy control subjects indicated the effectiveness of our approach in representing the gait characteristics of ND patients.
Radiation-Associated Chronic Dysphagia Assessment by Flexible Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing (FEES) in Head and Neck Cancer Patients: Swallowing-Related Structures and Radiation Dose-Volume Effect

Purpose We aimed to restore dose-volume parameters of swallowing-related structures (SRSs) by evaluating long-term swallowing dysfunctions after radiotherapy (RT) in head and neck cancer patients (HNCPs). Materials and Methods Head and neck cancer patients whose pharyngeal region was involved in RT portal and treated with definitive RT/chemoradiotherapy (CRT) were included in the analyses. Patients underwent objective swallowing assessment by flexible endoscopic evaluation of swallowing (FEES). Volumes of SRSs that received 55 Gy (V55) (mean dose [Dmean]) were evaluated according to the dose-volume histograms of each patient. For every SRS, optimal dose-volume cut-off values were determined by receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. Results Fifty-five patients at a median 20 months (range, 12-26 months) after their treatments were evaluated. There was a strong negative correlation between FEES scores and dose-volume parameters of SRS (r ⩽ –0.5, P < .0001). According to our results, middle pharyngeal constrictor (MPC) and inferior pharyngeal constrictor (IPC) had a Dmean > 57 Gy, base of tongue (BOT) Dmean > 50 Gy, supraglottic larynx (SGL) and glottic larynx (GL) Dmean > 55 Gy, and cervical esophagus (CE) Dmean > 45 Gy. MPC V55 > 70%, IPC V55 > 50%, BOT V55 > 65%, CE V55 > 40%, and SGL and GL V55 > 50% were significant predictors for dysphagia. Conclusion It was found that dysphagia correlates strongly with dose-volume parameters of SRSs. IPC, SGL, and CE were found to be structures significantly associated with dysphagia.
Burkholderia cepacia Complex Causing Pneumonia in an Immunocompetent Non-Cystic Fibrosis Patient: Case Report and Review of Literature.

BACKGROUND Burkholderia cepacia complex is widespread in the environment and has been recognized as a cause of opportunistic pulmonary infections, particularly in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). The natural ecology of the bacteria as part of plant growth-promoting rhizosphere provides stark contrast to its infectious potential. Its preponderance as a nosocomial pathogen may be due to its ability to survive in antiseptic solutions, contaminate equipments, and intrinsic antimicrobial resistance. CASE REPORT An elderly, diabetic male was evaluated for hemoptysis, fever and cough. Chest computed tomography showed thick walled cavity in left lung and hilar lymphadenopathy. Sputum examination showed Gram negative bacilli and no acid fast bacilli. Sputum culture yielded growth of non-fermentative Gram negative bacilli on two occasions, but blood culture was sterile. The isolate was identified as B. cepacia by Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization-Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). The patient's general condition remained poor and in spite of initiation of antibiotics, the patient expired after an episode of massive hemoptysis. CONCLUSION This report raises concerns regarding the spread and severity of B. cepacia infection in non-compromised patients in the community and the need to suspect and identify it. Since the organism is inherently resistant to antipseudomonal penicillins, aminoglycosides and polymyxin B, differentiation from Pseudomonas spp. and determining antimicrobial susceptibility is paramount for treatment .
Monitoring CPS at Runtime - A Case Study in the UAV Domain

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are becoming increasingly pervasive in everyday life, supporting diverse use cases such as aerial photography, delivery of goods, or disaster reconnaissance and management. UAVs are cyber-physical systems (CPS): they integrate computation (embedded software and control systems) with physical components (the UAVs flying in the physical world). UAVs in particular and CPS in general require monitoring capabilities to detect and possibly mitigate erroneous and safety-critical behavior at runtime. Existing monitoring approaches mostly do not adequately address UAV CPS characteristics such as the high number of dynamically instantiated components, the tight int elements, and the massive amounts of data that need to be processed. In this paper we report results of a case study on monitoring in UAVs. We discuss CPS-specific monitoring challenges and present a prototype we implemented by extending \reminds, a framework for software monitoring so far mainly used in the domain of metallurgical plants. Additionally, we demonstrate the applicability and scalability of our approach by monitoring a real control and management system for UAVs in simulations with up to 30 drones flying in an urban area.
Comparison of Sampling Voltage Measurements of Multi-Tone Signals

This paper describes results of a comparison of voltage amplitude measurements of complex waveform signals. A stable arbitrary waveform generator was used as a transfer standard and sent between four institutes in a round loop. Participants used different digitizers, different sampling configurations and algorithms to measure the signal voltage and to calculate the amplitudes of harmonic components.
Interaction-Aware Watching Duration Prediction on Live Streaming Platforms

Recently, live streaming, as a primary social media trend, has become more and more commonplace in businesses’ social media marketing. For live streaming platforms, how to keep viewers stay is always the central issue. To better predict viewer’s behaviors, we study a watching duration prediction problem in this paper. Different from prior literature, we take interactions between viewers and anchors into consideration and develop an integrated modeling framework for the prediction task. The proposed interaction-aware model combines probabilistic matrix factorization model with deep learning model to extract useful features from interactions for collaborative prediction. To the best of our knowledge, our study is the first one to analyze interactive behaviors for video watching prediction. Comprehensive experiments have been conducted on a real-world dataset to evaluate our predictive model. Experimental results demonstrate that our new model significantly outperforms baselines in watching duration prediction.
Genotyping of Aspergillus fumigatus in Formalin-Fixed Paraffin-Embedded Tissues and Serum Samples From Patients With Invasive Aspergillosis

Invasive aspergillosis (IA) is a deep tissue infection with a high mortality occurring mostly in immunocompromised patients. To investigate the pathology of patients with IA it may be important to determine the genotype of the invasive isolate of Aspergillus, however available tissues for study are often formalin fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE). Although DNA has been successfully isolated from such tissues for species identification, genotyping of Aspergillus species on such tissues has not yet been performed. In this study we aimed to determine the genotype of Aspergillus fumigatus in FFPE tissue and serum samples from five patients with invasive aspergillosis using nine highly polymorphic short tandem repeat (STRAf) loci. FFPE lung and bronchial biopsies from all patients were successfully typed. By comparing the latter result with non-FFPE materials from non-sterile samples such as sputum, bronchoalveolar lavage and lung abscess, we found identical genotypes within three patients, while the two other patients had a dominant genotype shared among all sample types. Genotyping of serum samples was successful in two serum samples with galactomannan ratios of 4 and 5.6, but failed in serum samples with galactomannan levels <0.5. In addition, testing a subset of these materials with the AsperGenius multiplex qPCR assay, we did not find azole resistance mutations. With this STRAf assay, A. fumigatus from FFPE tissue and serum was successfully genotyped, allowing retrospective examination of A. fumigatus in culture negative patients with IA.