Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Role of Interleukin-4 and 13 Gene Polymorphisms in Allergic Rhinitis: A Case Control Study.

Background Allergic Rhinitis (AR) is an IgE-mediated inflammatory disorder with high morbidity rates. The eitiology of this disease is understood to occur from a complex interaction between genetic and environmental factors. T helper type 2 cells have been shown to have a crucial role in atopic disease due to their production of the cytokines, intelukin (IL)-13 and IL-4, involved in inflammation. Research has shown single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) of the IL-13 and IL-4 genes to be associated increased levels of IgE and with allergic diseases such as, allergic rhinitis, asthma, and atopic dermatitis. Specifically, the rs2243250 SNP of IL-4 and the rs20541 SNP of IL-13 have been shown to be associated with AR. Methods A case-control study was designed to investigate the relationship between the two SNPs rs2243250 and rs20541 with the incidence of AR. The SNPs were examined in patients with AR and healthy controls (86 patients and 86 controls). Blood samples were collected and DNA was extracted to evaluate the SNPs by RFLP-PCR. Results Recessive analysis model of the IL-13 gene (GG vs. AA+AG) revealed that the GG genotype was more common in AR patients (P=0.36) )OR=0.8 [81% CI 0.38-1.6]). For the IL-4 gene (TC vs. TT+CC), the TC genotype was more common in AR patients (P = 0.0022)) OR=0.71 [60% CI 1.41-5.02]). Furthermore, in the IL-4 gene, the 590 T>C polymorphism had a significant association with AR. However, no association was found between AR and the IL-13 rs20541 polymorphism. Conclusion Our findings suggest that the IL-13 polymorphism (rs20541, Exo 4, G>A, Arg130Gln) and IL-4 polymorphism (rs2243250= C-590T, promoter, T>C) are co-associated with AR and sensitivity to aeroallergens. However, this study used a cohort of AR patients and healthy controls from the northeast of Iran. Given the influence of ethnicity and environment on genetics, further investigation is needed to elucidate the role of SNPs in IL-4 and IL-13 in AR among different populations.
Robot-assisted distal ureteral reconstruction for benign pathology: Current state

Distal ureteral reconstruction for benign pathologies such as stricture disease or iatrogenic injury has posed a challenge for urologist as endoscopic procedures have poor long-term outcomes, requiring definitive open reconstruction. Over the past decade, there has been an increasing shift towards robot-assisted laparoscopy (RAL) with multiple institutions reporting their outcomes. In this article, we reviewed the current literature on RAL distal ureteral reconstruction, focusing on benign pathologies only. We present peri-operative data and outcomes on the most common technique, ureteral reimplantation, as well as adjunct procedures such as psoas hitch and Boari flap. Additionally, we present alternative techniques reported in the literature with some technical considerations. Lastly, we describe the outcomes of the comparative studies between open, laparoscopy, and RAL. Although the body of literature in this field is limited, RAL reconstruction of the distal ureter appears to be safe, feasible, and with some advantages over the traditional open approach.
Differential Diagnosis and Treatment of Septic Arthritis in the Temporomandibular Joint: A Case Report and Literature Review

Received August 8, 2019 Revised August 30, 2019 Accepted August 30, 2019 Septic arthritis of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) is an uncommon disease caused by microbial pathogens through hematogenous infection, local spread, or iatrogenic infection. As the symptoms have an insidious onset, the early stage of septic arthritis is often confused with other diseases. A 49-year-old man was referred for increasing preauricular pain, swelling, and restricted mouth opening. He had been initially diagnosed as having a conventional temporomandibular joint disorder and trigeminal neuralgia and had been treated for the same. Imaging studies including panoramic view, lateral tomography, computed tomography with contrast enhancement, and magnetic resonance imaging were performed. Erosive bone change with displacement of the involved condyle, diffuse swelling of adjacent soft tissue, and fluid collection in the joint space were noted. Needle aspiration of the joint space and bacterial culture confirmed the diagnosis of septic arthritis of the TMJ and he was treated with antibiotic therapy and surgical drainage. Clinicians should always consider the diagnosis of septic arthritis of the TMJ in patients with preauricular pain or swelling.
The role of myeloid-derived suppressor cells in endometrial cancer displaying systemic inflammatory response: clinical and preclinical investigations

ABSTRACT Systemic inflammatory responses including thrombocytosis, leukocytosis, or neutrophilia have gained attention as prognostic indicators in patients with various solid malignancies.current study, we aimed to investigate the clinical implications and underlying biological mechanism of the systemic inflammatory response in endometrial cancer. Clinical data from 900 patients with endometrial cancer were analyzed to investigate the association between pretreatment leukocytosis, thrombocytosis, and treatment outcome. Clinical samples, endometrial cancer cell lines, and a mouse model of endometrial cancer were used to examine the mechanisms responsible for systemic inflammatory response in endometrial cancer, focusing on the role of tumor-derived granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) and MDSCs. Then, we showed that pretreatment concurrent leukocytosis and thrombocytosis is associated with significantly shorter survival and decreased chemosensitivity among patients with endometrial cancer. In vitro and in vivo experiments revealed that tumor-derived G-CSF and G-CSF-mediated IL-6 production from the tumor microenvironment are involved in the development of leukocytosis and thrombocytosis in patients with endometrial cancer. Moreover, increased tumor-infiltrating MDSCs induced by tumor-derived G-CSF, MDSC-mediated T cell suppression, and MDSC-mediated cancer stem cell induction are responsible for progression and chemoresistance in this type of endometrial cancer. MDSC depletion using an anti-Gr-1 neutralizing antibody or inhibition of MDSC activity by celecoxib inhibited tumor growth and enhanced chemosensitivity in endometrial cancer displaying concurrent leukocytosis and thrombocytosis. In conclusion, Pretreatment concurrent leukocytosis and thrombocytosis are associated with significantly shorter survival and decreased chemosensitivity among patients with endometrial cancer. Combining MDSC-targeting treatments with current standard chemotherapies might have therapeutic efficacy for these patients.
Patient outcomes post-pulmonary resection for synchronous bone-metastatic non-small cell lung cancer.

Background The efficacy of curative-intent pulmonary resection for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with certain types of oligometastases, particularly brain and adrenal metastases, has previously been described. We investigated the outcomes of curative-intent pulmonary resection for NSCLC patients with synchronous isolated bone metastases, which have been less clear to date. Methods We retrospectively reviewed the clinical and pathological records of 41 patients with NSCLC and synchronous isolated bone metastases who underwent radical treatments (surgery and/or chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy) for both their primary tumors and bone metastases at the National Hospital Organization, Hokkaido Cancer Center, between 2008 and 2013. Results Nine of the 41 patients underwent pulmonary primary tumor resection; the rate of clinical N0-1 disease among these 9 patients (100%) was significantly higher than that among the 32 patients who did not undergo resection (34.4%). The five-year overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), and disease-free survival (DFS) rates of the nine patients who underwent pulmonary resection were 66.7%, 55.6%, and 44.4%, respectively. On multivariate analysis, the predictors of longer OS among all 41 patients were primary site resection [hazard ratio (HR) =4.18, 95% CI, 1.20-14.6, P=0.025] and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation (HR =3.30, 95% CI, 1.08-10.1, P=0.036). The former was also a predictor of longer PFS (HR =3.75, 95% CI, 1.27-11.0, P=0.016). Conclusions Patients with clinical N0-1 NSCLC and synchronous isolated bone metastases may achieve longer survival rates following primary lung tumor resection.
Bacterial etiology and antimicrobial susceptibility profiles of 7741 urine cultures in outpatients: A 5-year single-center experience in Turkey

Aim: To determine the epidemiological and antibiotic susceptibility profile of bacterial uropathogens in outpatients. Methods: This study analyzed data taken from outpatients with urinary tract infection (UTI) collected from January 2013 to January 2018 in the laboratory of Maltepe Medical Center in Istanbul. Species of uropathogens were made using routine laboratory methods. Antibiotic resistance profile of uropathogens was determined using disk diffusion method. Results: There were 7741 urine cultures and 1563 of them were positive for bacterial uropathogens. The identified major organisms were Gram-negative bacteria (1376/1563; 88.0%), while Gram-positive bacteria only 5.4% (187/1563) were representing. The patients with positive samples, 84.8% (1326/1563) were female and 15.1% (237/1563) were male. The main isolated uropathogen was E. coli (58.1%), followed by Enterobacter spp (10.1%), P. mirabilis (8.6%), K. pneumoniae (7.8%), Enterococcus (4.7%) and P. aeruginosa (3.1%). E. coli was more prevalent in all age groups. A total of 74.8% of E. coli isolates were resistant to ampicillin and the lowest resistance rate was to imipenem (0.3%). Enterobacter species were found to have higher resistance to ampicillin (87.3%), lower resistance to carbapenem (1.8%) and amikacin (6.9%). Conclusion: Due to the emergence of various antibiotics resistant bacterias, it was concluded that empirical antibiotic treatment should be reviewed periodically according to the regions. Empirical therapy must be based on local epidemiological data, which should be constantly updated. Therefore, the results of our study may help physicians to select an appropriate antimicrobial therapy.
Comparative evaluation of analgesic and anti-inflammatory efficacy of ibuprofen and traumeel after periodontal flap surgery: A randomized triple-blind clinical trial

Background: Pain management after performing flap surgery is of paramount importance. Taking into consideration the side effects of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), and the advantages of homeopathic medication, the analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties of ibuprofen (NSAID) and traumeel (homeopathic AID) following flap surgery were evaluated. Materials and Methods: A randomized, triple-blinded, split-mouth clinical trial, with a sample size of 20 (age range of 20–60 years) was planned. Subjects included patients diagnosed with moderate chronic generalized periodontitis. Two quadrants for each subject were operated on, with an interval of 3 weeks. Random assignment of the operated quadrants to the following medication protocols was carried out by a third person: Ibuprofen, 600 mg and traumeel, 600 mg (up to three tablets) every 8 h for first 24 h and SOS (Si Opus Sit/if needed) thereafter for a period of 1 week as pain medication, respectively. After 1 week, sutures were removed. Primary outcomes were mean postoperative pain (modified visual analog scale) and number of tablets consumed in 1 week. The secondary outcome was postoperative tissue response. Any adverse effects were recorded. Results: Number of tablets consumed and pain perception was lower in traumeel compared to ibuprofen Group (P < 0.001). A better tissue response was shown by the group treated with traumeel as compared to the ibuprofen receiving group (P < 0.05). Three patients reported adverse drug reactions after consumption of ibuprofen. Conclusion: The present study suggested that while managing pain following flap surgery, traumeel was superior as compared to ibuprofen, with minimal or no side effects.
L2 Chinese grammar pedagogy: the case of the ba-construction

in terms of denoting the result of the action. As a matter of fact, the complements of Type 3 and Type 4, namely directional complement and resultative complement, were taught separately as individual grammar points at the beginning level of L2 Chinese teaching because of their importance and difficulty. Type 5 ba-construction is a less
Comparative Study of Intraocular Pressure Measured by Non-Contact and Goldmann Applanation Tonometer and their Correlation with Corneal Thickness in a General Population

central Aim: To compare the intraocular pressure (IOP) measured by Non-Contact tonometer (NCT), Rebound tonometer (RBT) and Goldmann Applanation tonometer (GAT) and their correlation with central corneal thickness (CCT). Reliability of each tonometer. Methods: 500 random patients aged 18 years and above were taken up for the study. Patients with anterior and posterior segment pathologies like corneal ulcer, leukoma, staphyloma, corneal lacerations, ectatic corneal conditions, corneal dystrophies, oedema, perforations, acute angle closure glaucoma, retinal detachments, vitreous haemorrhage and unwilling patients were excluded from the study. IOP was recorded using NCT, RBT and GAT after assessing the patient's visual acuity. Following IOP measurement, central corneal thickness (CCT) of each patient was measured using pachymetry. All the data were collected and tabulated for statistical analysis to obtain results. Results : The mean CCT in males was 0.5350 mm and in females 0.5340 mm respectively. The mean IOP measured by NCT is 16.43 mm hg whereas the mean IOP measured by GAT is 15.43 mm hg. IOP measured by NCT is significantly higher than the IOP measured by GAT (p<0.001). When NCT and RBT are compared NCT values are significantly higher than that of RBT(p<0.001). Although the mean RBT IOP 15.83 mm hg is higher than the mean GAT IOP of 15.42 mm hg the values are not statistically significant. When correlated with CCT all the tonometers show significant correlation with GAT showing the strongest correlation. NCT overestimates IOP in normal, thin and thicker corneas when compared to GAT and are statistically significant. RBT also overestimates in the normal and thick corneas when compared to GAT but their values are much closer to GAT values in thinner corneas. Conclusion: From the present study we can conclude that IOP measured by NCT and RBT is higher than GAT. NCT values are significantly higher than GAT values in thin and normal corneas whereas it overestimates more in thicker corneas. RBT values are significantly higher than that of GAT in normal and thick corneas. All the tonometers show significant correlation with CCT with GAT showing the strongest correlation. So, it is always advisable to measure the corrected IOP for each and every patient after taking into account the CCT.
Checkpoint inhibitors plus chemotherapy for first-line treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Background: We conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate the efficacy and safety of upfront add-on immunotherapy for advanced non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC). Methods: We performed a literature search on first-line chemotherapy ± immunotherapy in NSCLC. We utilized Revman version 5.3 to calculate the estimated pooled hazard ratio for overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) and pooled risk ratio for objective response rate (ORR), all-grade and high-grade adverse events with 95% CI. Results: We analyzed 4322 patients. The pooled hazard ratios for OS, PFS and ORR were 0.74 (95% CI: 0.62–0.88; p = 0.0007), 0.62 (95% CI: 0.57–0.68; p = 0.00001) and 1.51 (95% CI: 1.3–1.74; p = 0.00001), respectively. The pooled risk ratios for all-grade and high-grade adverse events were 1.01 (95% CI: 0.99–1.03; p = 0.27) and 1.17 (95% CI: 1.07–1.28; p = 0.0006), respectively. Conclusion: Add-on immunotherapy significantly improves PFS, OS and ORR for the first-line treatment of advanced NSCLC with a reasonable safety profile.
People Tracking and Re-Identification from Multiple Cameras

In many surveillance or monitoring applications, one or more cameras view several people that move in an environment. Multi-person tracking amounts to using the videos from these cameras to determine who is where at all times. The problem is very challenging both computationally and conceptually. On one hand the amount of video to process is enormous while near real-time performance is desired. On the other hand people's varying appearance due to lighting, occlusions, viewpoint changes, and unpredictable motion in blind spots make person re-identification challenging. This dissertation makes several contributions to person re-identification and multi-person tracking from multiple cameras. We present a weighted triplet loss for learning appearance descriptors which addresses both problems uniformly, doesn't suffer from the imbalance between positive and negative examples, and remains robust to outliers. We introduce the largest tracking benchmark to date, DukeMTMC, and adequate performance measures that emphasize correct person identification. A correlation clustering formulation for associating person observations is then introduced which maximizes agreements on the evidence graph. We assemble a tracker called DeepCC that combines an existing person detector, hierarchical and online reasoning, our appearance features and correlation clustering association. DeepCC achieves increased performance on two challenging sequences from the DukeMTMC benchmark, and ablation experiments demonstrate the merits of individual components.
The Literature Review of the Evaluation of Blended Learning

Blended learning is a hybrid teaching method which combines the advantages of both online learning and traditional face-to-face learning, which also gives a balance between classroom and online learning environment. The evaluation of blended learning effectiveness is becoming an increasingly important research theme. However, few studies has been done for its systematical evaluation. In order to provide a wider and more standard evaluation method, we performed a systematic review. This paper divided the evaluation dimensions into four parts adapted from the SCOPe evaluation framework, hoping to give references for the further researches on the evaluation of blended learning.
Oromandibular reconstruction with free fibula osteocutaneous flap after oncologic resection: retrospective analysis of surgical experience and operative outcome of 56 cases

Background: Reconstruction of post oncologic resection oromandibular defect is challenging and it provides the base for subsequent radiotherapy and oromaxillary rehabilitation for functional and aesthetic outcome. Multiple reconstructive options including different free flaps exist in the present time of greater awareness, facility and expertise in the field of free tissue transfer surgery. But free fibula osteocutaneous flap (FFOCF) has been the state of art in this area. FFOCF is technically difficult but believed to be reliable even to start with and has a progressively comprehensive surgical technique and learning curve. We are presenting here our experience of FFOCF reconstruction of 56 cases over the last 3 years.Methods: 56 patients operated between 2015 to 2018 were assessed retrospectively for operative and surgical outcome.Results: Flap was successful in 54 (96.43%) cases. Re-exploration was done in 4 cases and was successful in 2 cases. Jaw shape and contour was satisfactory in 70.37% and solid food tolerance was noted in 80.35% cases. Recurrence was seen in 5 cases.Conclusions: FFOCF is a reliable reconstructive option for complex oromandibular defect with a predictable outcome. Flap harvest is reliable and contouring is comprehensive. It gives good functional and aesthetic results with high success rate. Thus this flap is truly the preferred reconstructive option for all type of oncologic oromandibular defect with micro vascular surgery facilities.
Anomaly Detection Using Local Kernel Density Estimation and Context-Based Regression

Current local density-based anomaly detection methods are limited in that the local density estimation and the neighborhood density estimation are not accurate enough for complex and large databases, and the detection performance depends on the size parameter of the neighborhood. In this paper, we propose a new kernel function to estimate samples’ local densities and propose a weighted neighborhood density estimation to increase the robustness to changes in the neighborhood size. We further propose a local kernel regression estimator and a hierarchical strategy for combining information from the multiple scale neighborhoods to refine anomaly factors of samples. We apply our general anomaly detection method to image saliency detection by regarding salient pixels in objects as anomalies to the background regions. Local density estimation in the visual feature space and kernel-based saliency score propagation in the image enable the assignment of similar saliency values to homogenous object regions. Experimental results on several benchmark datasets demonstrate that our anomaly detection methods overall outperform several state-of-art anomaly detection methods. The effectiveness of our image saliency detection method is validated by comparison with several state-of-art saliency detection methods.
Bench, bed and beyond: Communication and responsibility in decentralised tuberculosis care

Background South Africa faces one of the world’s worst drug-resistant tuberculosis epidemics. Implementing successful care in this context has proven challenging for a number of reasons. Communication is an essential yet neglected feature of care and research in the field of tuberculosis. Aim The primary aim of this qualitative study was to explore communication facilitators and barriers at several tuberculosis care sites. In this article, we focus on communication practices across the chain of diagnosis, treatment, discharge and follow-up in decentralised care approaches and present evidence of gaps in communication. Setting The study was conducted at three tuberculosis care sites in two South African provinces. Methods Participants included healthcare workers, patients, community members and home-based carers. Data included 79 interviews, 4 video-recorded interactions between patients and healthcare workers, and ethnographic observations at each site. We analysed the data using thematic analysis and a qualitative sociolinguistic framework. Results Communication in decentralised care contexts is complex because of multiple sites and role players. Responsibility for communication seems to be unduly placed on patients, treatment guidelines are not implemented consistently across sites and assumptions are made about the role of others in the chain. Patient and healthcare worker reports suggest confusion and frustration. Conclusion Communication in the South African tuberculosis care context appears fragile and current mechanisms for detecting flaws in the care chain are not sensitive to communication issues. We make recommendations for strengthening home-based care resources, providing team training and focusing on communication processes in monitoring and evaluating systems.