Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Improvement of levodopa induced dyskinesias by thalamic deep brain stimulation is related to slight variation in electrode placement: possible involvement of the centre median and parafascicularis complex

OBJECTIVE To define the reason why two teams using the same procedure and the same target for deep brain stimulation (DBS) obtained different results on levodopa induced dyskinesias, whereas in both, parkinsonian tremor was improved or totally suppressed. METHODS Deep brain stimulation can replace lesions in the surgical treatment of abnormal movements. After 10 years of experience with DBS in Parkinson’s disease, a comparison of results between the teams of Lille (A) and Grenoble (B) was carried out, for as long as they used intraoperative ventriculography. Both teams aimed at the same target, the ventralis intermedius nucleus of the thalamus (VIM), but team A found a clear improvement of choreic peak dose dyskinesias, whereas team B did not consistently. Therefore all teleradioanatomical data of both teams were re-examined and compared with the therapeutic effects. Location of 99 monopolar electrodes of thalamic stimulation applied to treat parkinsonian tremor has been retrospectively measured (team A included 21 patients, 22 electrodes; team B included 52 patients, 74 electrodes). Peak dose levodopa dyskinesias were suppressed by DBS in all nine patients of team A, four of which were severely disabling. Only eight out of 32 patients from team B experienced a moderate (four) or clear (four) improvement of dyskinesias, whereas in the remaining 24 patients, dyskinesias were unchanged with stimulation. RESULTS The mean centre of team A’s electrodes was on average 2.9 mm deeper, more posterior and medial than team B’s (t=8.05; p<0.0001). This does not correspond to the coordinates of the VIM, but seems to be closer to those of the centre median and parafascicularis complex (CM-Pf), according to stereotaxic atlases. Considering only the dyskinetic patients, significant differences were found in the electrode position according to the therapeutic effects on levodopa dyskinesias, but they were not related to the team membership. Improvement in levodopa dyskinesias was significantly associated with deeper and more medial placement of electrodes. CONCLUSION The retrospective analysis of patients treated with DBS using comparable methodologies provides important information concerning electrode position and therapeutic outcome. The position of the electrode is related to the therapeutic effects of DBS. The results support the hypothesis that patients experiencing an improvement of dyskinesias under DBS are actually stimulated in a structure which is more posterior, more internal, and deeper than the VIM, very close to the CM-Pf. These results are consistent with neuroanatomical and neurophysiological data showing that the CM-Pf is included in the motor circuits of the basal ganglia system and receives an important input from the internal pallidum. This suggests that the CM-Pf could be involved specifically in the pathophysiology of levodopa peak dose dyskinesias.
Robust Asymptotic Stabilization of Nonlinear Systems With Non-Hyperbolic Zero Dynamics

We present a general tool to handle the presence of zero dynamics which are asymptotically but not locally exponentially stable in problems of robust nonlinear stabilization by output feedback. We show how it is possible to design locally Lipschitz stabilizers under conditions which only rely upon a partial detectability assumption on the controlled plant, by obtaining a robust stabilizing paradigm which is not based on design of observers and separation principles. The main design idea comes from recent achievements in the field of output regulation and specifically in the design of nonlinear internal models.
Flavobacterium endophyticum sp. nov., a nifH gene-harbouring endophytic bacterium isolated from maize root.

A novel Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, rod-shaped bacterium, designated strain 522T, was isolated from surface-sterilized root tissue of maize planted in Fangshan District of Beijing, China. A polyphasic taxonomic study was performed on the new isolate. On the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity studies, this isolate belonged to the genus Flavobacterium and showed less than 93.9 % similarity to the type strains of all recognized species of the genus Flavobacterium. The predominant respiratory quinone was menaquinone-6 and the polar lipid profile was composed of the major lipids phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylserine and two unidentified amino lipids. The major fatty acids were C15 : 0, iso-C15 : 0, iso-C15 : 1 G and iso-C16 : 0.The G+C content of the DNA was 37.7 mol%. The results of physiological and biochemical tests and the differences in fatty acid profiles allowed the clear phenotypic differentiation of strain 522T from closely related species of the genus Flavobacterium. Strain 522T therefore represents a novel species within the genus Flavobacterium, for which the name Flavobacterium endophyticum sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is 522T ( = ACCC 19708T = DSM 29537T).
The Internet and Adolescent Sexuality in Lagos Metropolis, Nigeria

Adolescent pre-martial sexual activities often come with sexual health problems such as HIV/AIDS and pregnancies not planned for. While society contends with this social problem, the forces of globalization through the internet offer a wide range of sexuality related information, some of which expose adolescents to risk-bearing practices. Earlier works on adolescent sexuality in Nigeria have drawn attention to the roles of family socio- economic background, peer influence, prolongation of adolescence resulting from longer years of schooling, and a number of other factors in shaping adolescent sexuality. The role of online sexual activities, a rather recent phenomenon, in shaping adolescent sexuality in Nigeria remains, however, an area yet to be addressed by researchers. This work set out, therefore, to examine the effect of general online exposure to sexuality related information and involvement in online sexual activities on real life sexual practices among adolescents in metropolitan Lagos using a combination of quantitative and qualitative research methods.
Appendectomy and the development of ulcerative colitis: results of a metaanalysis of published case-control studies

OBJECTIVE:Numerous epidemiological studies have been performed to determine risk factors that might contribute to the development of ulcerative colitis (UC). Recent studies have focused on the role of appendectomy in the disease's pathogenesis. This report aims to review and analyze the degree of evidence from recent published studies.METHODS:Medline and Embase databases were scrutinized for studies published between 1987 and January 1999. Reference lists from published articles, reviews, and abstracts from major gastrointestinal (GI) meetings were also reviewed. All studies specifically designed to evaluate the association between appendectomy and UC were selected. Thirteen studies that satisfied our selection criteria were evaluated by metaanalysis.RESULTS:The 13 case-control studies collectively gathered evidence from 2770 patients with UC and 3352 controls. Combining the results of the individual studies gave an overall odds ratio of 0.307 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.249–0.377) in favor of appendectomy (p < 0.0001). This suggests that appendectomy gives a 69% reduction in the risk of developing UC (95% CI = 62%–75%). The test for heterogeneity (of all 13 studies) was not significant (χ2= 16.213, d.f. = 12, p > 0.10). The influence of potential confounding factors (mainly smoking) on these results could be excluded.CONCLUSIONS:The review of the literature and the metaanalysis of the selected studies suggest that the inverse association between appendectomy and UC is strong and consistent. Further studies are needed to establish whether a causal relationship exists.
A reflection on call-by-value

One way to model a sound and complete translation from a source calculus into a target calculus is with an adjoint or a Galois connection. In the special case of a reflection, one also has that the target calculus is isomorphic to a subset of the source. We show that three widely studied translations form reflections. We use as our source language Moggi's computational lambda calculus, which is an extension of Plotkin's call-by-value calculus. We show that Plotkin's CPS translation, Moggi's monad translation, and Girard's translation to linear logic can all be regarded as reflections form this source language, and we put forward the computational lambda calculus as a model of call-by-value computation that improves on the traditional call-by-value calculus. Our work strengthens Plotkin's and Moggi's original results and improves on recent work based on equational correspondence, which uses equations rather than reductions.
Energetic particle forcing of the Northern Hemisphere winter stratosphere: comparison to solar irradiance forcing

Variation in solar irradiance is considered an important factor in natural climate forcing. Variations in the solar UV in particular are now regarded as a major source of decadal variability in the stratosphere, influencing surface climate through stratosphere-troposphere coupling.However, by analyzing meteorological re-analysis data we find that the magnitude of the solar controlled energetic particle forcing signal in stratospheric zonal mean zonal winds and polar temperatures is equivalent to those arising from solar irradiance variations during the Northern hemisphere polar winter months.We find that energetic particle forcing drives warmer polar upper stratospheric temperatures from early winter leading to an anomalously strong polar night jet via modulation of the vertical temperature gradient. By midwinter the stratosphere-troposphere coupling pathway becomes analogous to the solar UV impact at high latitudes. This not only highlights the importance of the energetic particle forcing contribution to stratospheric circulation, but enables us to understand the pathways responsible for the previously reported energetic particle forcing impacts on the troposphere in terms of the coupling of solar UV forcing to dynamics in the latter part of the winter.
An injectable in situ gel with cubic and hexagonal nanostructures for local treatment of chronic periodontitis

Abstract Periodontitis is a chronic bacterial infection, and its effective treatment is dependent on the retention of antibiotics of effective concentrations at the periodontal pockets. In this study, a solution–gel based inverse lyotropic liquid crystalline (LLC) system was explored to deliver metronidazole to the periodontal pockets for local treatment of periodontitis. It was found that the metronidazole-loaded LLC precursor spontaneously transformed into gel in the presence of water in the oral cavity. The low viscosity of the precursor would allow its penetration to the rather difficult to reach infection sites, while the adhesiveness and crystalline nanostructures (inverse bicontinuous cubic Pn3m phase and inverse hexagonal phase) of the formed gel would permit its firm adhesion to the periodontal pockets. The LLC system provided sustained drug release over one week in vitro. Results from in vivo study using a rabbit periodontitis model showed that the LLC system was able to maintain the metronidazole concentrations in the periodontal pockets above the minimum inhibition concentration for over 10 days without detectable drug concentration in the blood. Owing to the spontaneous solution–gel transition in the periodontal pockets and unique liquid crystalline nanostructures, the LLC in situ gel provided effective treatment of periodontitis for a prolonged period of time with reduced systematic side effects, compared to metronidazole suspension which was effective for 24 h with detectable metronidazole concentrations in the blood after 6 h.
Reconstitution of Outer Membrane Protein Assembly from Purified Components

Bring Out the β-Barrel The assembly of β-barrel membrane proteins, which are found in the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria and in the mitochondria and chloroplasts of eukaryotes, is poorly understood. Now Hagan et al. (p. 890, published online 8 April; see the Perspective by Stroud et al.) describe the development of a reconstituted system that recapitulates the process of assembly of β-barrel membrane proteins by the Escherichia coli Bam complex. The assembly of a protein substrate required the purified five-protein Bam complex and several subcomplexes and a chaperone, but did not require an external input of energy. Assembly of a β-barrel membrane protein in a cell-free system does not require added energy. β-barrel membrane proteins in Gram-negative bacteria, mitochondria, and chloroplasts are assembled by highly conserved multi-protein complexes. The mechanism by which these molecular machines fold and insert their substrates is poorly understood. It has not been possible to dissect the folding and insertion pathway because the process has not been reproduced in a biochemical system. We purified the components that fold and insert Escherichia coli outer membrane proteins and reconstituted β-barrel protein assembly in proteoliposomes using the enzymatic activity of a protein substrate to report on its folding state. The assembly of this protein occurred without an energy source but required a soluble chaperone in addition to the multi-protein assembly complex.
Infant mortality statistics from the 2001 period linked birth/infant death data set.

OBJECTIVES This report presents 2001 period infant mortality statistics from the linked birth/infant death data set (linked file) by a variety of maternal and infant characteristics. METHODS Descriptive tabulations of data are presented and interpreted. RESULTS Infant mortality rates ranged from 3.2 per 1,000 live births for Chinese mothers to 13.3 for black mothers. Among Hispanics, rates ranged from 4.2 for Cuban mothers to 8.5 for Puerto Rican mothers. Infant mortality rates were higher for those infants whose mothers were born in the 50 States and the District of Columbia, were unmarried, or smoked during pregnancy. Infant mortality was also higher for male infants, multiple births, and infants born preterm or at low birthweight. The three leading causes of infant death--Congenital malformations, low birthweight, and Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)--taken together accounted for 44 percent of all infant deaths. Cause-specific mortality rates varied considerably by race and Hispanic origin. For infants of black mothers, the cause-specific infant mortality rate for low birthweight was nearly four times that for infants of white mothers. Between 1995 and 2001, the overall infant mortality rate declined by 10.5 percent; significant declines ranged from 8.2 percent for infants of non-Hispanic black mothers to 14.3 percent for infants of Hispanic mothers. The SIDS rate declined by 11 percent from 2000 to 2001. For infants of black and American Indian mothers, the SIDS rates were 2.2 and 2.8 times that for non-Hispanic white mothers.
Statistical Tests of Energy Savings Due to Voltage Reduction

A number of utilities have conducted field tests of the effect of distribution voltage reductions on energy consumption. The tests have been interpreted as giving mixed results. This paper reviews eight tests and statistically analyzes the results. These tests consistently support significant energy savings as a result of voltage reduction. Percent energy savings for each 1% reduction in voltage average 0.76%, 0.99%, and 0.41% for residential, commercial, and industrial class loads, respectively.
Full Diversity Space-Frequency Codes for Frequency Asynchronous Cooperative Relay Networks with Linear Receivers

In this paper, we propose a family of distributed space-frequency codes (SFCs) for frequency asynchronous cooperative relay networks with multiple carrier frequency offsets (CFOs) and flat fading channels. The codes have the special structures that the columns of each code matrix can be divided into several orthogonal groups and each group is stacked by several sub-blocks with Toeplitz structure. These codes possess two interesting properties: a) Even under the frequency-asynchronous scenario, the codes can , namely, if R relay nodes participate the cooperation adopting the proposed SFCs, then at the destination node, the achievable diversity order is R; b) Only , such as zero-forcing (ZF) and minimum mean square error (MMSE) receivers, are required to collect the full cooperative diversity, instead of the maximum likelihood (ML) detector as utilized in most existing STC (SFC) schemes. The codes in this family have different symbol rates, orthogonality and performances for different numbers of relay nodes, which can be adjusted by choosing different design parameters. It is shown that frequency-reversal SFC (FR-SFC), and frequency-shift SFC (FS-SFC) proposed in previous papers are only two special members of the code family, and new SFCs outperforming both of them are proposed.
Comparison of clinical outcomes between bioresorbable vascular stents versus conventional drug-eluting and metallic stents: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

AIMS Several studies have suggested good procedural and similar clinical outcomes between everolimus-eluting Absorb bioresorbable stents (BRS) versus conventional drug-eluting stents (DES), but the evidence is not definitive. Our aim was to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate the effects of BRS versus conventional drug-eluting and bare metallic stents on the cardiovascular endpoints and all-cause mortality. METHODS AND RESULTS The follow-up in the included studies was up to 13 months. The following endpoints were evaluated: all-cause mortality, cardiac death, patient-oriented major adverse cardiac events (POCE), device-oriented major adverse cardiac events (DOCE), any-cause myocardial infarction (MI), target vessel MI (TVMI), target vessel revascularisation (TVR) and target lesion revascularisation (TLR). The results of 10 studies with 5,773 subjects showed a statistically significant increase in the risk of TVMI between BRS and conventional stents (odds ratio [OR]: 1.45, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.03-2.05, p=0.032). None of the other differences reached statistical significance: all-cause mortality (OR: 0.67, 95% CI: 0.30-1.49, p=0.333), cardiac death (OR: 1.00, 95% CI: 0.47-2.12, p=0.996), POCE (OR: 0.91, 95% CI: 0.68-1.22, p=0.546), DOCE (OR: 1.12, 95% CI: 0.86-1.46, p=0.387), any-cause MI (OR: 1.34, 95% CI: 0.98-1.82, p=0.064), TVR (OR: 0.99, 95% CI: 0.73-1.33, p=0.934) and TLR (OR: 0.92, 95% CI: 0.66-1.29, p=0.641). Similar results were observed after restricting the meta-analysis to the comparison of BRS vs. EES. CONCLUSIONS Our meta-analysis suggests a significantly higher risk of TVMI with BRS compared with conventional stents and no significant differences in the rates of occurrence of the other outcomes during one-year follow-up. Further studies with larger samples sizes, longer follow-up, different clinical scenarios and more complex lesions are required to confirm or refute our findings.
Erratum to “Fluoroscopy Assisted Minimally Invasive Transplantation of Allogenic Mesenchymal Stromal Cells Embedded in HyStem Reduces the Progression of Nucleus Pulposus Degeneration in the Damaged Intervertebral Disc: A Preliminary Study in Rabbits”

This study was conducted to develop a technique for minimally invasive and accurate delivery of stem cells to augment nucleus pulposus (NP) in damaged intervertebral discs (IVD). IVD damage was created in noncontiguous discs at L4-L5 level; rabbits (N = 12) were randomly divided into three groups: group I treated with MSCs in HyStem hydrogel, group II treated with HyStem alone, and group III received no intervention. MSCs and hydrogel were administered to the damaged disc under guidance of fluoroscopy. Augmentation of NP was assessed through histological and MRI T2 mapping of the NP after eight weeks of transplantation. T2 weighted signal intensity was higher in group I than in groups II and III (P < 0.05). Disc height index showedmaximumdisc height in group I compared to groups II and III. Histological score of the degenerative index was significantly (P < 0.05) lower in group I (8.6 ± 1.8) than that in groups II (11.6 ± 2.3) and III (18.0 ± 5.7). Immunohistochemistry staining for collagen type II and aggrecan staining were higher in group I as compared to other groups. Our results demonstrate that the minimally invasive administration of MSCs in hyaluronan hydrogel (HyStem) augments the repair of NP in damaged IVD.
Optimal probabilistic fingerprint codes

We construct binary codes for fingerprinting. Our codes for n users that are ε-secure against c pirates have length O(c2 log(n/ε)). This improves the codes proposed by Boneh and Shaw [3] whose length is approximately the square of this length. Our codes are probabilistic. By proving matching lower bounds we establish that the length of these codes is best within a constant factor for reasonable error probabilities. This lower bound generalizes the bound found independently by Peikert, Shelat, and Smith [10] that applies to a limited class of codes. Our results also imply that randomized fingerprint codes over a binary alphabet are as powerful as over an arbitrary alphabet, and also the equal strength of two distinct models for fingerprinting.
Parent misperception of control in childhood/adolescent asthma: the Room to Breathe survey

The aim of our study was to determine how often asthma control is achieved in children and adolescents, and how asthma affects parents' and children's daily lives. Interviews, including the childhood asthma control test (C-ACT), were conducted with 1,284 parents of asthmatic children (aged 4–15 yrs), as well as with the children themselves (aged 8–15 yrs; n=943), in Canada, Greece, Hungary, the Netherlands, South Africa and the UK. Parents reported mild asthma attacks at least weekly in 11% of children, and serious attacks (requiring oral corticosteroids or hospitalisation) at least annually in 35%. Although 73% of parents described their child's asthma as mild or intermittent, 40% of children/adolescents had C-ACT scores ≤19, indicating inadequate control, and only 14.7% achieved complete Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA)-defined control and just 9.2% achieved Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN)/British Thoracic Society (BTS)-defined control. Guideline-defined asthma control was significantly less common than well-controlled asthma using the C-ACT (p<0.001). Asthma restricted the child's activities in 39% of families and caused lifestyle changes in 70%. Complete asthma control is uncommon in children worldwide. Guideline-defined control measures appear to be more stringent than those defined by C-ACT or families. Overall, parents underestimate their child's asthma severity and overestimate asthma control. This is a major potential barrier to successful asthma treatment in children.