Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Incidence of prolonged length of stay after orthotopic liver transplantation and its influence on outcomes

Orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) is the only effective treatment for end‐stage liver disease. Although most patients do well and are discharged promptly, some require prolonged length of stay (PLOS). The prevalence of PLOS, associated factors, and their impact on survival are not well defined. We reviewed our adult OLT database for patients who survived > 30 days. PLOS was defined as hospitalization > 30 days following OLT. Of 521 OLT recipients, 68 (13%) had PLOS with a median duration of 50 days versus only 10 days for patients discharged within 30 days. Significant differences in pre‐OLT variables between patients with and without PLOS included the mean wait list time (P = 0.001), hospitalization at the time of OLT (P = 0.001), and prior OLT (P = 0.041). Factors independently associated with PLOS included intensive care unit status at the time of OLT [odds ratio (OR), 4; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.6‐10.4], OLT prior to Model for End‐Stage Liver Disease implementation (OR, 2.27; 95% CI, 1.04‐5.26), in‐hospital post‐OLT bacterial infection (OR, 9.34; 95% CI, 4.65‐18.86), gastrointestinal bleeding (OR, 4.34; 95% CI, 1.4‐14.08), renal failure (OR, 10.86; 95% CI, 5.07‐23.25), and allograft rejection (OR, 3.7; 95% CI, 1.23‐11.11). One‐year graft survival and patient survival were significantly less in those with PLOS (for both, P < 0.0001). Among PLOS patients, factors independently associated with increased 1‐year mortality were donor age (OR, 1.07; 95% CI, 1.009‐1.13), primary diagnosis of hepatitis C virus (OR, 6.89; 95% CI, 1.40‐34.48), in‐hospital post‐OLT bacterial infection (OR, 13.3; 95% CI, 2.11‐83.33), and cardiac complications (OR, 20.4; 95% CI, 1.51‐250; c‐statistic for the model, 0.85). In conclusion, PLOS following OLT is associated with a significant decrease in survival despite a marked increase in cost and resource utilization. Efforts to modify those factors that contribute to PLOS may reduce this event, improve survival, and reduce OLT‐associated costs. Liver Transpl 15:273–279, 2009. © 2009 AASLD.
Etanercept 50 mg once weekly is as effective as 25 mg twice weekly in patients with ankylosing spondylitis

Objective: To compare the efficacy, pharmacokinetics and safety of etanercept 50 mg once weekly with 25 mg twice weekly and placebo in patients with ankylosing spondylitis. Methods: A 12-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled study compared the effects of etanercept 50 mg once weekly, etanercept 25 mg twice weekly and placebo in 356 patients with active ankylosing spondylitis (3:3:1 randomisation, respectively). The primary end point was the proportion of patients achieving a response at week 12 based on the Assessment in Ankylosing Spondylitis Working Group criteria (ASAS 20). The pharmacokinetics of etanercept 50 mg once weekly and 25 mg twice weekly were analysed. Results: Baseline characteristics and disease activity were similar among the three groups: etanercept 50 mg once weekly, etanercept 25 mg twice weekly and placebo. The percentage of patients discontinuing therapy was 9.0%, 9.3% and 13.7% for the three respective groups. ASAS 20 response at 12 weeks was achieved by 74.2% of patients with etanercept 50 mg once weekly and 71.3% of those with etanercept 25 mg twice weekly, both significantly higher than the percentage of patients taking placebo (37.3%, p<0.001). Percentages of patients with ASAS 5/6 response (70.3%, 72.0% and 27.5%, respectively; p<0.001) and those with ASAS 40 response (58.1%, 53.3% and 21.6%, respectively; p<0.001) followed a similar pattern. Significant improvement (p<0.05) was seen in measures of disease activity, back pain, morning stiffness and C reactive protein levels as early as 2 weeks. Serum etanercept exposure was similar between the etanercept groups. Incidence of treatment-emergent adverse events, including infections, was similar among all three groups, and no unexpected safety issues were identified. Conclusions: Patients with ankylosing spondylitis can expect a comparable significant improvement in clinical outcomes with similar safety when treated with etanercept 50 mg once weekly or with 25 mg twice weekly.
Prognostic Value of Late Enhanced Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging Derived Texture Features in Dilated Cardiomyopathy Patients With Severely Reduced Ejection Fractions

Background: Late enhanced cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) images of the left ventricular myocardium contain an enormous amount of information that could provide prognostic value beyond that of late gadolinium enhancements (LGEs). With computational postprocessing and analysis, the heterogeneities and variations of myocardial signal intensities can be interpreted and measured as texture features. This study aimed to evaluate the value of texture features extracted from late enhanced CMR images of the myocardium to predict adverse outcomes in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) and severe systolic dysfunction. Methods: This single-center study retrospectively enrolled patients with DCM with severely reduced left ventricular ejection fractions (LVEFs < 35%). Texture features were extracted from enhanced late scanning images, and the presence and extent of LGEs were also measured. Patients were followed-up for clinical endpoints composed of all-cause deaths and cardiac transplantation. Cox proportional hazard regression and Kaplan–Meier analyses were used to evaluate the prognostic value of texture features and conventional CMR parameters with event-free survival. Results: A total of 114 patients (37 women, median age 47.5 years old) with severely impaired systolic function (median LVEF, 14.0%) were followed-up for a median of 504.5 days. Twenty-nine patients experienced endpoint events, 12 died, and 17 underwent cardiac transplantations. Three texture features from a gray-level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM) (GLCM_contrast, GLCM_difference average, and GLCM_difference entropy) showed good prognostic value for adverse events when analyzed using univariable Cox hazard ratio regression (p = 0.007, p = 0.011, and p = 0.007, retrospectively). When each of the three features was analyzed using a multivariable Cox regression model that included the clinical parameter (systolic blood pressure) and LGE extent, they were found to be independently associated with adverse outcomes. Conclusion: Texture features related LGE heterogeneities and variations (GLCM_contrast, GLCM_difference average, and GLCM_difference entropy) are novel markers for risk stratification toward adverse events in DCM patients with severe systolic dysfunction.
Circadian Feeding and Locomotor Rhythms in Pigeons and House Sparrows

Feeding and locomotor activities were measured simultaneously in homing pigeons (Columba livia) and house sparrows (Passer domesticus). Feeding, as well as locomotor activity, was found to be regulated by a circadian clock in both of these species. Implantation of melatonin-filled capsules or exposure to constant light abolished feeding and locomotor rhythms in both species. Removal of the pineal gland from pigeons did not abolish either rhythm, whereas pinealectomy abolished both feeding and locomotor rhythms in house sparrows. Although feeding rhythms were generally more robust than locomotor rhythms in both of these species, different feeding and locomotor free-running periods were not observed within any individual pigeon or house sparrow. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that each of these species has a single pacemaker that regulates the timing of feeding and locomotor activity, but they do not rule out the possibility that separate clocks regulate these behaviors.
Effects of thrombopoietin on the proliferation and differentiation of primitive and mature haemopoietic progenitor cells in cord blood

Thrombopoietin (TPO) is considered to be the primary growth factor for regulating megakaryopoiesis and thrombopoiesis. In this study we investigated the in vitro effect of TPO on relatively immature and mature CD34+ progenitor cells in cord blood. Cells were cultured in both liquid and semi‐solid cultures containing 50 ng/ml TPO. The CD34+/CD45RA− and CD34+/CD38− subfractions in cord blood were both enriched for megakaryocyte progenitors as determined in a semisolid CFU‐meg assay. Progenitor cells derived from the CD34+/CD45RA− and CD34+/CD38− subfractions showed high proliferative capacity in liquid cultures. We observed a mean 19‐fold expansion of the total CD34+ cell fraction, whereas in the CD34+/CD45RA− and CD34+/CD38− subfractions the mean expansion was 23‐ and 50‐fold respectively. The expansion of the immature progenitor cell subfractions resulted in a highly purified megakaryocyte suspension containing > 80% megakaryocytes after 14 d in culture. However, these expanded megakaryocytes remained in a diploid (2N) and tetraploid (4N) state. Maturation could not be further induced by low concentration of TPO (0.1 ng/ml). The majority of the cells were 2N (80%) and 4N (15%) and only 5% of the cells had a ploidy of more than 4N. These results indicate that megakaryocyte progenitor cells in cord blood residing in the immature stem cell fraction exhibit a high proliferative capacity when cultured in the presence of TPO as the single growth factor, without maturation to hyperploid megakaryocytes.
Lack of association between peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma-2 gene variants and the occurrence of coronary heart disease in patients with diabetes mellitus.

OBJECTIVE Recent evidence indicates that peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma (PPARgamma) is expressed at high levels in foam cells of atherosclerotic lesions, that PPARgamma agonists may directly modulate vessel wall function and that mutations in the PPARgamma-2 gene are associated with a reduced risk of coronary artery disease. METHODS We investigated whether known variants in the PPARgamma-2 gene are associated with the occurrence of coronary heart disease (CHD) in 365 patients with type 2 diabetes, prospectively characterised for the presence or absence of CHD. The Pro115Gln, Pro12Ala, Pro467Leu, Val290Met mutations and two polymorphisms C478T and C161T of the PPARgamma-2 gene were examined using PCR, denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and direct sequencing. RESULTS The distribution of the Pro12Ala, Ala12Ala, C161T and T161T variants was not significantly different between patients with and without CHD, independent of the gender. The Pro12Ala (P=0.011) and the Ala12Ala (P=0.006) variant were associated with a higher body mass index (BMI) compared with the Pro12Pro genotype. A multiple logistic regression analysis introducing the typical risk factors for CHD (age, sex, hypertension, smoking, BMI >26 kg/m2, elevated low density lipoprotein cholesterol and haemoglobin A1c >7%) identified age >60, male gender, hypertension and a higher BMI, but not the PPARgamma-2 variants, as significant risk factors for CHD in our study groups. CONCLUSION The PPARgamma-2 genotype was not associated with an increased or reduced risk of the occurrence of CHD and can therefore not be regarded as an independent risk factor for CHD in patients with diabetes mellitus.
Deletion of a Subgroup of Ribosome‐related Genes Minimizes Hypoxia‐induced Changes and Confers Hypoxia Tolerance in Saccharomyces Cerevisiae

Hypoxia is a widely occurring condition experienced by diverse organisms under numerous physiological and disease conditions. Here, to probe the molecular mechanisms underlying hypoxia responses and tolerance, we performed a genome‐wide screen to identify mutants with enhanced hypoxia tolerance in yeast. We identified five genes whose deletion significantly enhanced hypoxia tolerance. They are RAI1, NSR1, BUD21, RPL20A, and RSM22, all of which encode functions involved in ribosome biogenesis. Further analysis of the deletion mutants showed that they minimized hypoxia‐induced changes in polyribosome profiles and protein synthesis. Strikingly, proteomic analysis using the iTRAQ profiling technology showed that hypoxia induced changes in a substantially fewer number of proteins in the deletion mutants. Computational analysis of the iTRAQ data indicated that the activities of a group of regulators were regulated by hypoxia in the wild type parent cells, but such regulation appeared to be diminished in deletion strains. These results show that deletion of one of the genes involved in ribosome biogenesis leads to the reversal of hypoxia‐induced changes in gene expression and related regulators. They suggest that modifying ribosomal function is an effective mechanism to minimize hypoxia‐induced specific protein changes and to confer hypoxia tolerance.
Interaction Between Arousals and Ventilation During Cheyne-Stokes Respiration in Heart Failure Patients: Insights From Breath-by-Breath Analysis

Study Objectives: Arousals from sleep during the hyperpneic phases of Cheyne-Stokes respiration with central sleep apnea (CSR-CSA) in patients with heart failure are thought to cause ventilatory overshoot and a consequent longer apnea, thereby sustaining and exacerbating ventilatory instability. However, data supporting this model are lacking. We investigated the relationship between arousals, hyperpnea and post-hyperpnea apnea length during CSR-CSA. Methods: Breath-by-breath changes in ventilation associated with the occurrence of arousal were evaluated in 18 heart failure patients with CSR-CSA, apnea-hypopnea index ≥15/h and central apnea index ≥5/h. The change in apnea length associated with the presence of arousal during the previous hyperpnea was also evaluated. Potential confounding variables (chemical drive, sleep stage) were controlled for. Results: Arousals were associated with a large increase in ventilation at the beginning of the hyperpnea (+76 ± 35%, p < 0.0001), that rapidly declined during its crescendo phase. Around peak hyperpnea, the change in ventilation was −8 ± 26% (p = 0.14). The presence of arousal during the hyperpnea was associated with a median increase in the length of the subsequent apnea of +4.6% (Q1, Q2: −0.7%, 20.5%; range: −8.5%, 36.2%) (p = 0.021). The incidence of arousals occurring at the beginning of hyperpnea and mean ventilation in the region around its peak were independent predictors of the change in apnea length (p = 0.004 and p = 0.015, respectively; R2 = 0.78). Conclusions: Arousals from sleep during CSR-CSA in heart failure patients are associated with a rapidly decreasing ventilatory overshoot at the beginning of the hyperpnea, followed by a tendency toward a slight ventilatory undershoot around its peak. On average, arousals are also associated with a modest increase in post-hyperpnea apnea length; however, large increases in apnea length (>20%) occur in about a quarter of the patients.
M L ] 2 J un 2 01 8 Autoencoders Learn Generative Linear Models

Recent progress in learning theory has led to the emergence of provable algorithms for training certain families of neural networks. Under the assumption that the training data is sampled from a suitable generative model, the weights of the trained networks obtained by these algorithms recover (either exactly or approximately) the generative model parameters. However, the large majority of these results are only applicable to supervised learning architectures. In this paper, we complement this line of work by providing a series of results for unsupervised learning with neural networks. Specifically, we study the familiar setting of shallow autoencoder architectures with shared weights. We focus on three generative models for the data: (i) the mixture-of-gaussians model, (ii) the sparse coding model, and (iii) the non-negative sparsity model. All three models are widely studied in the machine learning literature. For each of these models, we rigorously prove that under suitable choices of hyperparameters, architectures, and initialization, the autoencoder weights learned by gradient descent can successfully recover the parameters of the corresponding model. To our knowledge, this is the first result that rigorously studies the dynamics of gradient descent for weight-sharing autoencoders. Our analysis can be viewed as theoretical evidence that shallow autoencoder modules indeed can be used as unsupervised feature training mechanisms for a wide range of datasets, and may shed insight on how to train larger stacked architectures with autoencoders as basic building blocks.
Elevated rates of schizophrenia in a familial sample with mental illness and intellectual disability.

BACKGROUND It is unknown whether intellectual disability (ID) is more familially related to psychotic mood disorders or schizophrenia. L. S. Penrose's large sample of families with two or more members admitted to psychiatric hospitals provided a unique opportunity to investigate the familial relationship between mild ID, schizophrenia and psychotic affective disorders. METHOD There were 183 affected relative pairs comprising probands with mild ID (95 male, 88 female) and their first or second degree relatives with schizophrenia or psychotic affective disorder. RESULTS There were nearly twice as many relatives with a diagnosis of schizophrenia (n = 121) as relatives with affective disorders (n = 62) among the intellectually impaired probands. This excess of schizophrenia was statistically significant, even after accounting for the increased risk of hospitalization for schizophrenia (P = 0.005), and was fairly constant across the different relative types. First-degree relatives with either mental illness were more likely to be parents (n = 77) than siblings (n = 51) or children (n = 3), but there was no excess of mother-son pairs. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest a stronger familial relationship of ID with schizophrenia than psychotic affective disorder, and lend some support to the neurodevelopmental hypothesis of schizophrenia.
Phase teachers ’ professional identities in selected Western Cape primary schools , South Africa

The aim of this article is to report on the Foundation Phase (FP) teachers’ professional identities in two primary schools in the Western Cape. This is meant to serve as a basis for understanding teachers’ identities with regard to their teaching experience, qualifications, specialised knowledge base, and ongoing professional development. The article is based on data collected by means of a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews with the FP teachers in two township schools where isiXhosa is used as the medium of instruction in the Foundation Phase (Grades R to Three). We argue that while teacher identity research has received attention across the globe in the past four decades, little is known about the implications of teacher professional identity for literacy teaching in South African classrooms, especially where an African language is used as a language of learning and teaching. Our findings reveal the pluricentric nature of the FP teachers’ qualifications and backgrounds. We conclude that FP teachers’ professional identity (TPI) cannot be conceptualised in a simplistic and unidimensional way, but can be viewed as an intersectional construct that impacts on literacy instructional practices.
Fat Mass Is Positively Associated with Estimated Hip Bone Strength among Chinese Men Aged 50 Years and above with Low Levels of Lean Mass

This study investigated the relationships of fat mass (FM) and lean mass (LM) with estimated hip bone strength in Chinese men aged 50–80 years (median value: 62.0 years). A cross-sectional study including 889 men was conducted in Guangzhou, China. Body composition and hip bone parameters were generated by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). The relationships of the LM index (LMI) and the FM index (FMI) with bone phenotypes were detected by generalised additive models and multiple linear regression. The associations between the FMI and the bone variables in LMI tertiles were further analysed. The FMI possessed a linear relationship with greater estimated hip bone strength after adjustment for the potential confounders (p < 0.05). Linear relationships were also observed for the LMI with most bone phenotypes, except for the cross-sectional area (p < 0.05). The contribution of the LMI (4.0%–12.8%) was greater than that of the FMI (2.0%–5.7%). The associations between the FMI and bone phenotypes became weaker after controlling for LMI. Further analyses showed that estimated bone strength ascended with FMI in the lowest LMI tertile (p < 0.05), but not in the subgroups with a higher LMI. This study suggested that LM played a critical role in bone health in middle-aged and elderly Chinese men, and that the maintenance of adequate FM could help to promote bone acquisition in relatively thin men.
Accumulation and clearance of α‐synuclein aggregates demonstrated by time‐lapse imaging

Aggregates of α‐synuclein are the pathological hallmark of sporadic Parkinson’s disease (PD), and mutations in the α‐synuclein gene underlie familial forms of the disease. To characterize the formation of α‐synuclein aggregates in living cells, we developed a new strategy to visualize α‐synuclein by fluorescence microscopy: α‐synuclein was tagged with a six amino acid PDZ binding motif and co‐expressed with the corresponding PDZ domain fused to enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP). In contrast to the traditional approach of α‐synuclein‐EGFP fusion proteins, this technique provided several‐fold higher sensitivity; this allowed us to compare α‐synuclein variants and perform time‐lapse imaging. A C‐terminally truncated α‐synuclein variant showed the highest prevalence of aggregates and toxicity, consistent with stabilization of the α‐synuclein monomer by its C‐terminus. Time‐lapse imaging illustrated how cells form and accumulate aggregates of α‐synuclein. A substantial number of cells also reduced their aggregate load, primarily through formation of an aggresome, which could itself be cleared from the cell. The molecular chaperone Hsp70 not only prevented the formation of aggregates, but also increased their reduction and clearance, underlining the therapeutic potential of similar strategies. In contrast to earlier assumptions build‐up, reduction and clearance of α‐synuclein aggregation thus appear a highly dynamic process.
NO . 156 The Foregone Gains of Incomplete Portfolios

This paper estimates a lower bound to the foregone gains of incomplete portfolios, which are in turn a lower bound to the (unobserved) entry costs that could rationalize non-participation to financial markets. My estimates provide a heuristic test for the cost-based explanation of limited financial market participation: high estimates would imply implausibly high participation costs. Using the CEX and assuming isoelastic utility and a relative risk aversion of 3 or less, for the stock market I estimate an average lower bound ranging between 0.7 and 3.3 percent of consumption. Since annual total (observable plus unobservable) participation costs are likely to exceed these bounds, the cost-based explanation is not rejected by this test. JEL Classification: G11, D12, E21