Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of Whole-Body Vibration Training Combined With Cyclic Hypoxia on Bone Mineral Density in Elderly People

Prevention and treatment of osteoporosis are an issue of great concern in public health so that the increase/maintenance of whole-body bone mineral density (BMD) is clinically relevant and could reduce the financial burden. Whole-body vibration (WBV) has been recently proposed as a potential alternative to bone stimulation, which combined with therapies, could provide a new treatment for osteoporosis prevention. In this sense, moderate cyclic hypoxia protocols may help to restrain osteoclastic activity and/or stimulate osteoblastic activity, enhance the effects of whole-body vibration alone. So, the present study investigated the effects of cyclic hypoxic exposure combined with WBV training on BMD of the elderly. Healthy elderly persons (n = 30) were randomly assigned to a (1) Hypoxia-Whole Body Vibration group (HWBV; n = 10), (2) Normoxic-Whole Body Vibration group (NWBV; n = 10) or (3) Control group (CON; n = 10). During 18 weeks, HWBV performed WBV treatment under normobaric hypoxic conditions (16.1% FiO2). A vibration session included 4 bouts of 30 s (12.6 Hz–4 mm) with 1 min rest between bouts. NWBV performed the same vibration treatment as HWBV but under normoxic conditions. Whole-body and proximal femur BMD (g⋅cm−2) were measured using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Two-way ANOVA indicated a borderline significant (p = 0.07) time x group interaction for total BMD; post hoc analysis revealed a slight but significant (p = 0.021) increase of BMD after treatment in the HWBV group. In conclusion, 18-week WBV training with hypoxic stimuli has shown positive effects for the participants of the current study. As changes did not differ significantly between groups, future large-scale studies will be necessary to confirm these findings.
Spatiotemporal Characteristics of Air Quality across Weifang from 2014–2018

Air pollution has become a severe threat and challenge in China. Focusing on air quality in a heavily polluted city (Weifang Cty), this study aims to investigate spatial and temporal distribution characteristics of air pollution and identify the influence of weather factors on primary pollutants in Weifang over a long period from 2014–2018. The results indicate the annual Air quality Index (AQI) in Weifang has decreased since 2014 but is still far from the standard for excellent air quality. The primary pollutants are O3 (Ozone), PM10 (Particles with aerodynamic diameter ≤10 µm), and PM2.5 (Particles with aerodynamic diameter ≤10 µm); the annual concentrations of PM10 and PM2.5 show a significant reduction but that of O3 is basically unchanged. Seasonally, PM10 and PM2.5 show a U-shaped pattern, while O3 exhibits inverted U-shaped variations, and different pollutants also present different characteristics daily. Spatially, O3 exhibits a high level in the central region and a low level in the rural areas, while PM10 and PM2.5 are high in the northwest and low in the southeast. Additionally, the concentration of pollutants is greatly affected by meteorological factors, with PM2.5 being negatively correlated with temperature and wind speed, while O3 is positively correlated with the temperature. This research investigated the spatiotemporal characteristics of the air pollution and provided important policy advice based on the findings, which can be used to mitigate air pollution.
Vitamin D Receptor Deficiency Does Not Affect Blood Pressure and Heart Function

Vitamin D is thought to play a role in blood pressure regulation, which in turn can influence cardiovascular risk. Several meta-analyses of cohort studies found low serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D to be associated with increased blood pressure or increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in the general population. Active vitamin D mediates its function via the vitamin D receptor (Vdr), which is a ligand-activated transcription factor. A suitable model to examine the causal role of vitamin D in blood pressure regulation and heart function is the Vdr knockout (Vdr–/–) mouse. To elucidate the role of vitamin D on blood pressure, heart function, and cardiac myocyte size, we conducted a long-term study using Vdr–/– mice and well-defined diets. Group 1 comprised Vdr–/– mice that received a high-calcium, high-phosphorus rescue diet to prevent hypocalcemia and a rickets phenotype. Groups 2 and 3 included Vdr+/+ mice that were fed either the rescue diet or a control diet containing normal amounts of these minerals. As Vdr is a nuclear factor that regulates transcription, we analyzed the renal mRNA expression and serum concentration of renin and found that the Vdr–/– group had an almost 50% higher renin mRNA expression in the kidney compared to both groups of Vdr+/+ mice. Additionally, serum concentration of renin in Vdr–/– mice was significantly higher than that of Vdr+/+ mice that received the rescue or control diet (+ 17%,+ 32%; P < 0.05). In contrast, renin activity was lower in Vdr–/– mice than in both groups of Vdr+/+ mice (P < 0.05). However, blood pressure, heart rate, cardiac myocyte sizes, and the expression of renal renin receptor, hepatic angiotensinogen and angiotensin II receptor, type 1, in kidney, liver and heart, did not differ between the three groups of mice. Additionally, data from transthoracic echocardiography did not indicate the role of Vdr on heart function, as the left ventricular ejection fraction, fractional shortening, and velocity of blood flow were comparable between the three groups. To conclude, the roles of Vdr and therefore most probably of vitamin D, in blood pressure regulation and heart function, were not confirmed by our findings.
Information Theoretic Study of Gaussian Graphical Models and Their Applications

vi Chapter 1: Introduction . 1 1.1 Motivation . 1 1.2 Information Theory . 3 1.3 Summary of Research Work . 4 Chapter 2: Extractable Common Randomness from Gaussian Trees: Topological and Algebraic Perspectives . 9 2.
Thompson Sampling for Online Personalized Assortment Optimization Problems with Multinomial Logit Choice Models

Motivated by online retail applications, we study the online personalized assortment optimization problem. A seller conducts sales by offering assortments of products to a stream of arriving customers. The customers' purchase behavior follows their respective personalized Multinomial Logit choice models, which vary according to their individual attributes. The seller aims to maximize his revenue by offering personalized assortments to the customers, notwithstanding his uncertainty about the customers' choice models. We propose a Thompson Sampling based policy, policy Pao-Ts, where surrogate models for the latent choice models are constructed using samples from a progressively updated posterior distribution. We derive bounds on the revenue loss, namely Bayesian regret, incurred by policy Pao-Ts, in comparison to the optimal policy which is provided with the latent models. The regret bounds hold even when the customers' attributes vary arbitrarily, but not independently and identically distributed.
Neutrophils promote tumor resistance to radiation therapy

Significance Many cancer patients are treated with radiation therapy. For some tumors, addition of radiosensitizing chemotherapy improves local control and survival. Some patients treated with concurrent chemoradiotherapy exhibit a decline in peripheral neutrophils, leading clinicians to delay radiation treatments or administer colony-stimulating factors to promote neutrophil recovery, but the role of neutrophils in mediating radiation response is controversial. Here, we show that elevated neutrophil levels are associated with poor local control and survival in cervical cancer patients treated with definitive chemoradiation. Furthermore, in a genetically engineered mouse model of sarcoma, we demonstrate that genetic and antibody-mediated depletion of neutrophils increases radiosensitivity and decreases a mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) transcriptional program. Our results indicate that neutrophils promote tumor resistance to radiotherapy. Nearly two-thirds of cancer patients are treated with radiation therapy (RT), often with the intent to achieve complete and permanent tumor regression (local control). RT is the primary treatment modality used to achieve local control for many malignancies, including locally advanced cervical cancer, head and neck cancer, and lung cancer. The addition of concurrent platinum-based radiosensitizing chemotherapy improves local control and patient survival. Enhanced outcomes with concurrent chemoradiotherapy may result from increased direct killing of tumor cells and effects on nontumor cell populations. Many patients treated with concurrent chemoradiotherapy exhibit a decline in neutrophil count, but the effects of neutrophils on radiation therapy are controversial. To investigate the clinical significance of neutrophils in the response to RT, we examined patient outcomes and circulating neutrophil counts in cervical cancer patients treated with definitive chemoradiation. Although pretreatment neutrophil count did not correlate with outcome, lower absolute neutrophil count after starting concurrent chemoradiotherapy was associated with higher rates of local control, metastasis-free survival, and overall survival. To define the role of neutrophils in tumor response to RT, we used genetic and pharmacological approaches to deplete neutrophils in an autochthonous mouse model of soft tissue sarcoma. Neutrophil depletion prior to image-guided focal irradiation improved tumor response to RT. Our results indicate that neutrophils promote resistance to radiation therapy. The efficacy of chemoradiotherapy may depend on the impact of treatment on peripheral neutrophil count, which has the potential to serve as an inexpensive and widely available biomarker.
Parity Partition Coding for Sharp Multi-Label Classification

The problem of efficiently training and evaluating image classifiers that can distinguish between a large number of object categories is considered. A novel metric, sharpness, is proposed which is defined as the fraction of object categories that are above a threshold accuracy. To estimate sharpness (along with a confidence value), a technique called fraction-accurate estimation is introduced which samples categories and samples instances from these categories. In addition, a technique called parity partition coding, a special type of error correcting output code, is introduced, increasing sharpness, while reducing the multi-class problem to a multi-label one with exponentially fewer outputs. We demonstrate that this approach outperforms the baseline model for both MultiMNIST and CelebA, while requiring fewer parameters and exceeding state of the art accuracy on individual labels.
Can Replacing Sitting Time with Standing Time Improve Adolescents’ Cardiometabolic Health?

This study aimed to assess the effects of isotemporal replacement of sitting time (SIT) with standing (STA) on cardiometabolic biomarkers. In this cross-sectional study, male adolescents wore the GT3X+ activity monitor for 7 days to measure the SIT and STA. Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) was estimated by a youth-specific cut-off point. An isotemporal substitution approach was used to examine the effects of replacing different periods of SIT (15, 30, 60, and 120 min) with STA on cardiometabolic biomarkers [total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c), non-HDL-c, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c), triglycerides (TG), glucose, insulin, HOMA2-β, HOMA2-S, and HOMA2-IR]. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) with a post-hoc Bonferroni test was used to compare the adjusted means between the four subgroups that were clustered according to SIT and STA amount. Adolescents (n = 84; age, 16.7 ± 0.9 years) wore GT3X+ for 15.2 ± 2.3 h, for 6.7 ± 0.6 days. Isotemporal substitution of SIT with STA was associated with TC, non-HDL-c, LDL-c, and TG. ANCOVA results showed a statistically significant difference for TC, non-HDL-c, and LDL-c. These findings showed that for male adolescents, sitting less and standing more may be an effective alternative to reduce cardiometabolic biomarker levels related to lipid metabolism, regardless of MVPA.
Anaesthetic considerations in nonagenarians and centenarians.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW The ageing population is a global public health issue and we can expect to encounter more and more older patients requiring anaesthetic care. Age itself is no longer the sole reason for declining a patient for anaesthesia and surgery. Undoubtedly, managing patients at the extremities of age is challenging and demanding, not only because of multiple comorbidities, but also the poorer functional status, frailty and decline in general well being that must be managed during the perioperative journey. In this article, we will focus on three important aspects of anaesthetic care for this patient group, namely, comorbidity, frailty and perioperative cognitive dysfunction; and give recommendations on how anaesthetists should tackle these aspects for the 'older old' and the 'oldest old', based on current best evidence. RECENT FINDINGS The 'oldest old' (nonagerians and centenarians) are the fastest-growing geriatric population worldwide. Evidence has demonstrated that an enhanced care programme designed for elderly patients is safe, feasible and could diminish both complications and length of stay after surgery. Studies are emerging on frailty measurement and the association with outcomes of anaesthesia and surgery and have resulted in new recommendations on best practices for postoperative brain health and nomenclature of perioperative neurocognitive disorder. SUMMARY Comorbidity, frailty and perioperative cognitive dysfunction are significant perioperative concerns specific to elderly patients and clearly associated with adverse outcomes after surgery. These anaesthetic concerns should be anticipated and properly managed through the perioperative pathway so that their potential complications can be mitigated.
Utilization of lipopolysaccharide challenge in cynomolgus macaques to assess IL-10 receptor antagonism

Abstract The current era of drug discovery has been marked by a significant increase in the development of immune modulating agents to address a range of diseases such as cancer, chronic inflammation, and other conditions of dysregulated immunity. Non-clinical evaluation of these agents in animal models can be challenging, as the presence of an active immune state is often required in order to detect the effects of the test agent. Modulation of interleukin (IL)-10 signaling represents this type of situation in that altering IL-10 action in vivo can be difficult to appreciate in the absence of an ongoing immune response. The study presented here reports on the use of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) challenge in cynomolgus macaques to induce predictable inflammatory cytokine responses. The results showed that IL-10 receptor (IL-10R) blockade with an antagonist monoclonal antibody (mAb) dramatically enhanced the LPS-induced cytokine response, thus demonstrating in vivo pharmacologic activity of this immunomodulatory antibody. We submit that this approach could be applied to other cases where the intent of a candidate therapeutic is to modulate components of inflammatory cytokine responses.
Chinese Herbal Medicine Versus Placebo for the Treatment Of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Abstract Background: Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) has been shown to be effective in the treatment of stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) by published meta-analyses. However, disease outcomes were inconsistent and heterogeneity was observed attributed to placebo-controlled studies. We present a protocol for a systematic review aiming to evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of CHM comparing to placebo in the treatment of stable COPD, to provide robust evidence for the use of CHM in COPD. Methods: We will comprehensively search the following 9 databases from inception to March 2019: Web of Science, PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), WANFANG Database, Chinese Scientific and Technological Periodical Database (VIP) and Chinese Biomedical Database (CBM), and the Cochrane Library database. All clinical randomized controlled trials comparing CHM to placebo for the treatment of stable COPD in English or Chinese will be included. The primary outcome will be quality of life, symptom score and exacerbation frequency, and the secondary outcomes include traditional Chinese medicine syndrome score and effective rate, lung function, 6-minute walk distance, and adverse events. Data extraction and quality assessment will be performed independently by 2 reviewers. Data synthesis and risk of bias will be assessed using the Review Manager software. This protocol will be conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Item for Systematic Review and Meta-analysis Protocols (PRISMA-P) guidance. Results: This systematic review and meta-analysis will provide a high-quality comprehensive evaluation of the efficacy and safety based on current literature evidence of CHM intervention for stable COPD. Conclusion: The conclusion of this study will present the evidence of whether CHM is an effective and safe intervention for stable COPD patients.
Modelling High Frequency Transactions Data in Financial Economics: A Comparative Study Based on Simulations.

This paper considers the modelling of high frequency financial duration data using the class of Autoregressive Conditional Duration (ACD) models. We consider the use of Generalized Gamma innovations and the theory of optimal Estimating functions (EF) as they are very useful in applied financial economics. A simulation study is carried out to compare the performance of the EF estimates with corresponding Maximum likelihood (ML) and Quasi maximum likelihood (QML) estimates. The properties of the optimal EF estimates are investigated. Our results show that the EF and ML estimates are comparable and are very useful in financial economic modeling that are related to duration data.
Clinical profile and visual outcome of ocular injuries presenting at a tertiary care hospital in Goa

Context: The study was undertaken to describe the clinical profile and visual outcome of ocular injuries in Goa, as there were no prior systematic data describing the same. Aims and Objectives: The aim is to study the clinical profile of ocular injuries at a tertiary care hospital, to describe pattern of ocular injuries, and identify at-risk groups and to study visual outcomes among such patients. Settings and Design: This was a prospective case series tertiary hospital-based study. Materials and Methods: Five hundred consecutive patients presenting with ocular injuries to the tertiary hospital between September 2014 and August 2015 were studied. Details of history, examination, investigations, and plan of action were noted. Statistical Analysis Used: Proportions and percentages were used for statistical analysis. Results: The most common victims were in the age group of 21–40 years (45%). Injuries among males were more common (88.8%) than females (11.2%). It was noted that 26.8% patients were under the influence of alcohol at the time of injury. The most common etiology was motor vehicle accidents (62.4%), followed by domestic accidents, occupational accidents, assault, and sports injuries. Most patients (77%) presented within 6 h of injury. Isolated anterior segment injuries were seen in 96.4%, 1.4% involved the posterior segment, whereas 2.2% involved both the segments. The final visual acuity of 87.4% patients was better than 6/12.
Endobronchial and endoscopic ultrasound: it only takes an echobronchoscope to tango

Endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) is indispensable when it comes to evaluation of mediastinal lesion and staging of lung cancer. The incorporation of endoscopic ultrasound using an echobronchoscope (EUS‐B) further extends this capability to the paraoesophageal and subdiaphragmatic structures. When combined, EBUS with EUS‐B increases the diagnostic yield. Both procedures can be done in a single session and by a single operator; this translates into an overall reduction in the healthcare cost.
Induction of autophagy through CLEC4E in combination with TLR4: an innovative strategy to restrict the survival of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

ABSTRACT Host-directed therapies are gaining considerable impetus because of the emergence of drug-resistant strains of pathogens due to antibiotic therapy. Therefore, there is an urgent need to exploit alternative and novel strategies directed at host molecules to successfully restrict infections. The C-type lectin receptor CLEC4E and Toll-like receptor TLR4 expressed by host cells are among the first line of defense in encountering pathogens. Therefore, we exploited signaling of macrophages through CLEC4E in association with TLR4 agonists (C4.T4) to control the growth of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). We observed significant improvement in host immunity and reduced bacterial load in the lungs of Mtb-infected mice and guinea pigs treated with C4.T4 agonists. Further, intracellular killing of Mtb was achieved with a 10-fold lower dose of isoniazid or rifampicin in conjunction with C4.T4 than the drugs alone. C4.T4 activated MYD88, PtdIns3K, STAT1 and RELA/NFKB, increased lysosome biogenesis, decreased Il10 and Il4 gene expression and enhanced macroautophagy/autophagy. Macrophages from autophagy-deficient (atg5 knockout or Becn1 knockdown) mice showed elevated survival of Mtb. The present findings also unveiled the novel role of CLEC4E in inducing autophagy through MYD88, which is required for control of Mtb growth. This study suggests a unique immunotherapeutic approach involving CLEC4E in conjunction with TLR4 to restrict the survival of Mtb through autophagy. Abbreviations 3MA: 3 methyladenine; AO: acridine orange; Atg5: autophagy related 5; AVOs: acidic vesicular organelles; BECN1: beclin 1, autophagy related; BMDMs: bone marrow derived macrophages; bw: body weight; C4.T4: agonists of CLEC4E (C4/TDB) and TLR4 (T4/ultra-pure-LPS); CFU: colony forming unit; CLEC4E/Mincle: C-type lectin domain family 4, member e; CLR: c-type lectin receptor; INH: isoniazid; LAMP1: lysosomal-associated membrane protein 1; MφC4.T4: Mtb-infected C4.T4 stimulated macrophages; MAP1LC3/LC3: microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3; MDC: monodansylcadaverine; MTOR: mechanistic target of rapamycin kinase; MYD88: myeloid differentiation primary response 88; NFKB: nuclear factor of kappa light polypeptide gene enhance in B cells; NLR: NOD (nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain)-like receptors; PFA: paraformaldehyde; PPD: purified protein derivative; PtdIns3K: class III phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase; RELA: v-rel reticuloendotheliosis viral oncogene homolog A (avian); RIF: rifampicin; RLR: retinoic acid-inducible gene-I-like receptors; TDB: trehalose-6,6´-dibehenate; TLR4: toll-like receptor 4; Ultra-pure-LPS: ultra-pure lipopolysaccharide-EK; V-ATPase: vacuolar-type H+ ATPase.