Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Association of spinal muscle composition and prevalence of hyperkyphosis in healthy community-dwelling older men and women.

BACKGROUND Older adults with hyperkyphosis are at increased risk of falls, fractures, and functional decline. Modifiable risk factors for hyperkyphosis have not been well studied. Our objective was to determine whether spinal muscle area and density are associated with hyperkyphosis, independent of age, race, sex, bone mineral density, and trunk fat. METHODS Using data from the Pittsburgh site of the Health, Aging, and Body Composition study, we performed a baseline cross-sectional analysis. Participants were black and white men and women 70-79 years old (N = 1172), independent in activities of daily living and able to walk ¼ mile and up 10 steps without resting. We measured Cobb's angle of kyphosis from supine lateral scout computed tomography scans, and categorized hyperkyphosis as Cobb's angle >40°. Axial images from lateral scout computed tomography scans assessed spinal extensor muscle cross-sectional area and density (proxy for fat infiltration). RESULTS In our sample, 21% had hyperkyphosis. Prevalence in black men was 11%; in white men, 17%; in black women, 26%; and in white women, 30%. In multivariate analysis, each standard deviation increase in muscle density was associated with a 29% reduction in the odds of hyperkyphosis, independent of covariates. Muscle area was not significantly associated with hyperkyphosis. CONCLUSIONS Lower spinal muscle density is associated with hyperkyphosis in healthy community-dwelling older adults. This potentially modifiable risk factor could be targeted in exercise interventions. Randomized trials are needed to determine whether an exercise program targeting spinal muscle density reduces hyperkyphosis and in turn improves health outcomes.
Malignant Infantile Osteopetrosis.

Two main forms of osteopetrosis are recognized, a severe autosomal recessive form (MIM 259700) with an incidence of approximately 1 in 250,000 births and a mild autosomal dominant form (MIM166600) with an incidence of 1 in 20,000 births. Intrinsic disturbances of osteoclastic function due to mutations in genes encoding osteoclast-specific subunits of the vacuolar proton pump (TCIRG1, CLCN7) are found in most patients with recessive form. Mutations of CLCN7 are observed in dominant form of osteopetrosis . The recessive form of ostreopetrosis, i.e., malignant infantile osteopetrosis (MIOP) presents early in life with extreme sclerosis of the skeleton and reduction of marrow space. Signs/symptoms of MIOP appear as early as neonatal age. As there is defect in bone marrow children present with deficiency of red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. There is extramedullary haemopoiesis, cranial nerve compressions and severe growth failure. The condition also presents with early and late onset neonatal sepsis and is often lethal in the first decade of life due to secondary infections. Treatment is mainly supportive. The only curative treatment is stem cell transplantation. This is a case report of a new-born who was admitted in nursery of Ayub Teaching Hospital initially with complains of neonatal jaundice and sepsis , and a second time with lower respiratory tract infection. Death was eventually due to sepsis. Workup led to diagnosis of Malignant infantile osteopetrosis.
Social ties and risk for cancer – a prospective cohort study

Background. Poor social support and small social networks have been associated with increased risks for conditions such as coronary heart disease as well as with overall mortality. We investigated the association between social ties and risk for cancer. Material and methods. The study sample consisted of 8 548 Danes who had been examined in 1991–1994 within the Copenhagen City Heart Study. The median length of follow-up was 9.3 years (range, 0–11.2 years). Social ties were measured from answers to a questionnaire on social networks. Regression analyses for cancers at the most frequent sites (breast, lung, prostate and colon and rectum) were conducted with the Cox proportional hazards model, with adjustment for a number of well-known risk factors for cancer. Results. While we found no significant association between social ties and risk for cancer in men, women with high social network scores had an increased risk for lung cancer of borderline significance (HR, 2.16; 95% CI, 1.02–4.60). The risks for breast cancer and colorectal cancers were not significantly increased in the same group of women. Discussion. The results of this study do not support the hypothesis that social network size is associated with a decreased risk for cancer
Accuracy of Hopelight ( Mammolight ) Imaging in Detection of Breast Cancer

Background: hopelight (mammolight device) is a transillumination of breast tissue with low intensity light for detection of breast lesions; however, its value has not been well established. Objectives: to determine the diagnostic accuracy and sensitivity of hopelight in detection of breast cancer with radiologic-pathologic correlation. Patients and methods: a prospective study was performedin Radiology department at the Oncology Teaching Hospital, Medical City Complex in Baghdad (the main tertiary referral public center for breast disease in Iraq). This study enrolled 100 females attending mammography and ultrasound unit for screening, diagnosis or follow up of breast lesions in the period from March 2014 to November 2014. Breast examination was initially performed for each patient by hand-held hopelight device followed by mammography and/or ultrasound study and results were classified from normal to highly suspicious breast lesions according to breast imaging reporting and data system (BIRADS) then fine needle aspiration cytology or biopsy was acquired for BIRADS-IV and BIRADS-V lesions for histopathological review and final diagnosis. Results: demographic, clinical and imaging findings were reported and statistical analysis obtained and sensitivity, specificity and accuracy were 66.66%, 51.06% and 52% respectively with 8% positive predictive value and 96% negative predictive value. False positive results were detected in 46% of the patients whereas false negative outcomes were 2%. Conclusions: hopelight device cannot be safely used for screening of breast cancer and cannot be used alone because of high false positive outcome and low sensitivity, specificity and overall accuracy in detection of breast cancer. Key wards: hopelight, mammolight, breast
A pilot study of sunitinib malate in patients with metastatic uveal melanoma

The prognosis of patients with metastatic uveal melanoma is poor and there are limited therapeutic options. C-kit is expressed in the majority of patients with metastatic uveal melanoma. In this pilot trial, we examined the toxicity and efficacy of sunitinib malate, a multitarget tyrosine kinase inhibitor, in patients with metastatic uveal melanoma. Twenty patients with metastatic uveal melanoma expressing c-kit, 17 of whom failed previous treatments, were included in this study. Patients received sunitinib malate 37.5 mg daily continuously in 4-week cycles. The evaluation of response was carried out every 8 weeks. The overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were evaluated using Kaplan–Meier survival curves and differences in survivals were tested using the log-rank test. There was one partial response and 12 stable disease (SD) after sunitinib treatment. The median OS and PFS were 8.2 and 4.2 months, respectively. Three patients had SD for more than 12 months with sunitinib after failing previous treatments. The most common adverse events were fatigue (90%), diarrhea (60%), hemorrhage (55%), anorexia (45%), hand-foot syndrome (25%), hypothyroidism (25%), and rash (25%). Eleven patients required a dose reduction to 25 mg daily secondary to grade 3 adverse events. The degree of c-kit expression in melanoma cells was not associated with longer PFS or OS. Patients who developed systemic metastases after more than 5 years of their initial diagnosis had better PFS (median PFS: 5.8 vs. 2.6 months, P=0.005). Sunitinib was safely administered and showed potential clinical benefit in patients with metastatic uveal melanoma. The lack of a correlation between c-kit expression and clinical outcomes requires further investigation on the mechanism of sunitinib in metastatic uveal melanoma.
Plant diversity does not buffer drought effects on early‐stage litter mass loss rates and microbial properties

Human activities are decreasing biodiversity and changing the climate worldwide. Both global change drivers have been shown to affect ecosystem functioning, but they may also act in concert in a non‐additive way. We studied early‐stage litter mass loss rates and soil microbial properties (basal respiration and microbial biomass) during the summer season in response to plant species richness and summer drought in a large grassland biodiversity experiment, the Jena Experiment, Germany. In line with our expectations, decreasing plant diversity and summer drought decreased litter mass loss rates and soil microbial properties. In contrast to our hypotheses, however, this was only true for mass loss of standard litter (wheat straw) used in all plots, and not for plant community‐specific litter mass loss. We found no interactive effects between global change drivers, that is, drought reduced litter mass loss rates and soil microbial properties irrespective of plant diversity. High mass loss rates of plant community‐specific litter and low responsiveness to drought relative to the standard litter indicate that soil microbial communities were adapted to decomposing community‐specific plant litter material including lower susceptibility to dry conditions during summer months. Moreover, higher microbial enzymatic diversity at high plant diversity may have caused elevated mass loss of standard litter. Our results indicate that plant diversity loss and summer drought independently impede soil processes. However, soil decomposer communities may be highly adapted to decomposing plant community‐specific litter material, even in situations of environmental stress. Results of standard litter mass loss moreover suggest that decomposer communities under diverse plant communities are able to cope with a greater variety of plant inputs possibly making them less responsive to biotic changes.
A behavioral genetic study of trait emotional intelligence.

Numerous models of emotional intelligence (EI) have proposed the existence of hitherto undiscovered mental abilities, competencies, and skills. The theory of trait emotional intelligence suggests that the content domains of these models invariably contain permutations of personality traits. The two studies in this article examine the heritability of trait EI scores with a view to demonstrating empirically that the construct has a similar level of genetic influence as other personality traits. Study 1 was a family design of 133 high-school students and their parents. Regressions of offspring on midparent scores suggested median upper-limit heritability estimates of . 18 at facet level, . 25 at factor level, and . 32 at the global trait EI level. Study 2 was a twin design (213 pairs of monozygotic [MZ] twins and 103 pairs of dizygotic [DZ] twins). It yielded median heritabilities of . 42 for the facets, . 44 for the factors, and . 42 for global trait EI. Overall, our findings are in accordance with studies of the major personality dimensions and provide further empirical support for the conceptualization of EI as a personality trait.
Correlation between intuitionistic fuzzy sets: Some conceptual and numerical extensions

This paper is a continuation and extension of our previous works on a correlation coefficient of Atanassov's intuitionistic fuzzy sets (A-IFSs). The correlation coefficient, an extension of Pearson's r which is one of the most frequently used tools in statistics, we have proposed provides the strength of the relationship between the A-IFSs and also shows if the considered sets are positively or negatively correlated. Moreover, the proposed correlation coefficient takes into account not only the amount of information related to the A-IFS data (expressed by the membership and non-membership values) but also the reliability of the data expressed by a so-called hesitation margin. This concept is further dealt with. Moreover, what has not been done so far in the literature, an extended numerical analysis on the well known benchmarks of Pima and Iris data is provided.
Towards a Green Ranking for Programming Languages

While in the past the primary goal to optimize software was the run time optimization, nowadays there is a growing awareness of the need to reduce energy consumption. Additionally, a growing number of developers wish to become more energy-aware when programming and feel a lack of tools and the knowledge to do so. In this paper we define a ranking of energy efficiency in programming languages. We consider a set of computing problems implemented in ten well-known programming languages, and monitored the energy consumed when executing each language. Our preliminary results show that although the fastest languages tend to be the lowest consuming ones, there are other interesting cases where slower languages are more energy efficient than faster ones.
Managerial perceptions of the competitive environment and dynamic capabilities generation

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to study empirically the influence of managerial perceptions of the environment on dynamic capabilities (DC) generation. It seeks to identify three dimensions of competitive environment (dynamism, complexity, and munificence) and then use the theoretical model developed by Zollo and Winter to explain DC creation.Design/methodology/approach – The authors use data collected from 200 Spanish firms through a questionnaire to perform multiple and simple regression analyses that examine the relationship between managerial perceptions and DC generation.Findings – It is found that managerial perception of munificence in the environment is related positively and significantly to the processes of DC creation; only when managers perceive the environment as highly dynamic and complex do they promote processes for developing DC.Practical implications – The findings suggest that managerial cognition plays an important role in DC processes. Thus, managers should evaluate their mental m.
Immunocompetent cells in oral candidiasis of HIV-infected patients: an immunohistochemical and electron microscopical study.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to elucidate the pathogenesis of oral candidiasis, a common cause of discomfort and social impairment among HIV-infected individuals. STUDY DESIGN, MATERIALS AND METHODS The oral mucosal immune system cells were analysed by immunohistochemistry and electron microscopy in biopsies from five erythematous and four pseudomembranous candidiasis cases and were compared with those from seven HIV-positive and 10 HIV-negative controls without candidiasis. RESULTS The superficial lamina propria and basal epithelial layer was populated by CD1a+ Langerhans cells with infiltration of CD8+ lymphocytes. Within the submucosa are CD36+ dendritic macrophages and lymphocytes, although CD4+ subsets were absent from the infiltrate. The expression of human leukocyte antigen system, DR locus (HLA-DR) and leukocyte specific adhesion molecules was low in erythematous, yet more marked in pseudomembranous candidiasis. In the pseudomembranous form, CD14+ leukocytes were found in the basal epithelial layer. Langerhans cells were significantly more numerous and were richer in dendrites and Birbeck granules in erythematous than in pseudomembranous candidiasis. CONCLUSIONS Candidiasis is associated with alterations in the number and differentiation of lymphocytes and dendritic cells, being more severe in the pseudomembranous than erythematous form. We propose that these alterations play a role in the pathogenesis and evolution of the disease.
Endocytosed SPA and surfactant lipids are sorted to different organelles in rat type II pneumocytes

Wissel, Heide, Andrea Lehfeldt, Petra Klein, Torsten Müller, and Paul A. Stevens. Endocytosed SP-A and surfactant lipids are sorted to different organelles in rat type II pneumocytes. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol 281: L345–L360, 2001. —Intracellular transport of endocytosed surfactant protein A (SP-A) and lipid was investigated in isolated rat type II cells. After internalization, SP-A and lipid are taken up via the coated-pit pathway and reside in a common compartment, positive for the early endosomal marker EEA1 but negative for the lamellar body marker 3C9. SP-A then recycles rapidly to the cell surface via Rab4associated recycling vesicles. Internalized lipid is transported toward a Rab7-, CD63-, 3C9-positive compartment, i.e., lamellar bodies. Inhibition of calmodulin led to inhibition of uptake and transport out of the EEA1-positive endosome and thus of resecretion of both components. Inhibition of intravesicular acidification (bafilomycin A1) led to decreased uptake of both surfactant components. It inhibited transport out of early endosomes for lipid only, not for SP-A. We conclude that in type II cells, endocytosed SP-A and lipid are transported toward a common early endosomal compartment. Thereafter, both components dissociate. SP-A is rapidly recycled to the cell surface and does not enter classic lamellar bodies. Lipid is transported toward lamellar bodies.
Depression and anxiety in age-related macular degeneration

Dear editor We read with great interest the article titled “Treatment satisfaction of patients undergoing ranibizumab therapy for neovascular age-related macular degeneration in a real-life setting” by Gohil et al.1 We are in agreement with their findings. We congratulate the authors for their well-organized study and would like to contribute to their findings. Anxiety and depression that affect the state of physical, mental, and social well-being completely account for a patient’s quality of life. Severe depression has been revealed to have worse effect on the prognosis of diseases such as breast cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes,2–4 whereas concurrent supportive management of depression may improve the treatment outcome in these diseases. According to the recent report from Mathew et al,5 vision impairment and consequent functional disability caused by age-related macular degeneration (AMD) may cause high levels of clinical depression in patients, which has direct or indirect adverse effects on their quality of life. Indeed, anxiety and depression affect the quality of life in AMD patients and can bring patients to address different satisfaction to their treatment outcome. In addition, it is convinced to have an influence on maintaining the life-long treatment, which is the key to a treatment success. Therefore, it is highly recommended to assess and support the mental health problems, including neuropsychiatric evaluation when necessary, of AMD patients undergoing anti-VEGF treatment, which may be helpful in maximizing the patient’s treatment satisfaction.
Therapeutic hypothermia in infants with hypoxic–ischemic encephalopathy and reversible persistent pulmonary hypertension: short-term hospital outcomes

Abstract Aim: Neonatal hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) patients are at times accompanied by persistent pulmonary hypertension (PPHN), which is by itself another risk factor of adverse outcomes. We aimed to assess the outcome of therapeutic hypothermia (TH) in these patients whom we managed to reverse the shunt flow, as they are expected to be at much higher risk of adverse neurodevelopmental outcome. Methods: We reviewed the medical records of 116 HIE infants (13 with PPHN and 103 without PPHN) who underwent TH between 2012 and 2016. We analyzed the short-term hospital outcomes and brain study results (electroencephalogram and magnetic resonance imaging) of TH in these patients. Results: While infants with PPHN were significantly more likely to be outborn or have meconium aspiration syndrome, and required a longer duration of inotrope and intensive care support, electroencephalographic and brain magnetic resonance findings did not significantly differ according to PPHN status. Conclusion: Based on our study, the hospital outcomes of infants with HIE accompanied by reversible PPHN who underwent TH were in general not significantly graver than those not accompanied by PPHN. Our results suggest that undergoing TH may be more beneficial in HIE infants with PPHN and the risks for possible adverse effects may not be as so high.
Evolution of bite force in Darwin's finches: a key role for head width

Studies of Darwin's finches of the Galápagos Islands have provided pivotal insights into the interplay of ecological variation, natural selection, and morphological evolution. Here we document, across nine Darwin's finch species, correlations between morphological variation and bite force capacity. We find that bite force correlates strongly with beak depth and width but only weakly or not at all with beak length, a result that is consistent with prior demonstrations of natural selection on finch beak morphology. We also find that bite force is predicted even more strongly by head width, which exceeds all beak dimensions in predictive strength. To explain this result we suggest that head width determines the maximum size, and thus maximum force generation capacity of finch jaw adductor muscles. We suggest that head width is functionally relevant and may be a previously unrecognized locus of natural selection in these birds, because of its close relationship to bite force capacity.
Losartan reduces myocardial interstitial fibrosis in diabetic cardiomyopathy rats by inhibiting JAK/STAT signaling pathway.

PURPOSE This study was designed to investigate the effect of losartan on the myocardial interstitial fibrosis in diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM) rats. METHODS In this study, a total of 48 male Wister rats (3 groups of 16 animals each) were examined, including the control group, DCM group and losartan-treated (DCM + L) group. Control group was fed with standard diet (14 KJ/g); DCM group and losartan-treated (DCM + L) group were both fed with high glucose and fat diet (20 KJ/g). Diabetes was induced by streptozotocin (STZ) intraperitoneal injuction (IP, 30 mg/kg body weight). Rats of DCM + L group were treated with losartan (30 mg/kg body weight) daily by oral gavage for 16 weeks. Biochemical, hemodynamic, histological and western blotting analyses were performed. RESULTS Compared with DCM rats, the quantity of p-JAK2 and p-STAT3 in myocardium of rats treated with losartan was lower, the expression of TGF-β1 was down-regulate, the content of collagen in myocardium decreased, LVSP and ± dp/dt increased, LVEDP decreased, the level of myocardial fibrosis reduced, and heart function improved evidently. CONCLUSION Losartan has a protective effect on heart function against myocardial interstitial fibrosis of DCM by inhibiting JAK/STAT signaling pathway and lowering the expression of TGF-β1.
Exploring the Critical Success Factors for Mobile Commerce

The main purpose of this paper is to explore and identify the key factors for successfully implementing mobile commerce in businesses. We first provide an end-user perspective of mobile commerce and then a value-add-based acceptance model is proposed based on the analysis. A set of factors, which is deemed to positively affect the success, was identified, and a theoretical framework of CSF is presented.