Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Clinical and Imaging Characteristics of Cerebral Infarction in Patients with Nonvalvular Atrial Fibrillation Combined with Cerebral Artery Stenosis

Aims: Nonvalvular atrial fibrillation often occurs in combination with carotid atherosclerosis, but less is known about it in combination with cerebral artery stenosis. This study investigated the characteristics of cerebral infarction in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation with or without cerebral artery stenosis. Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 172 cerebral infarction patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation hospitalized at the Affiliated Ganzhou Hospital of Nanchang University between December 2011 and January 2016. The patients were divided into two groups (stenosis and non-stenosis groups) based on whether the cerebral infarction was combined with cerebral artery stenosis or not. Clinical characteristics, related supplementary examination, and the imaging characteristics of cerebral infarction lesions were compared between the groups. Results: Mean age [(75.73 ± 8.46) years vs. (63.44 ± 9.95) years], National Institute of Health stroke scale (NIHSS) score [(8.66 ± 6.73) vs. (4.59 ± 3.51)], CHA2DS2-VASc score [(2.93 ± 1.40) vs. (0.96 ± 0.98)], history of hypertension (74.4% vs. 30.0%), and history of stroke/ transient ischemic attack (TIA) (55.8% vs. 13.3%) were higher in the stenosis group (n = 107) than in the non-stenosis group (n = 65) (P < 0.01). In the stenosis group, there were different types of cerebral infarction lesions, including multiple infarction (multifocal type), massive infarction, watershed infarction, and lacunar infarction; in the non-stenosis group, the 60.0% lesions were multiple infarction (multifocal type), a significantly higher proportion than the stenosis group (26.2%, P < 0.05). NIHSS score was an independent risk factor for worse prognosis at follow-up (OR (95%CI) 1.251–1.674, P < 0.001). Conclusions: Advanced age, hypertension, and stroke/TIA were increased in patients with cerebral infarction with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation combined with cerebral artery stenosis.
Effects of Arousal on Judgments of Others ' Emotions

Based on evidence that arousal cues information from memory associated with a similar level of arousal (Clark, Milberg, & Ross, 1983) and on evidence that people will base judgments on the information that is most available to them (Tversky & Kahneman, 1974), it was hypothesized that (a) increases in arousal would increase the likelihood that subjects would interpret positive statements and positive facial expressions as indicating a positive emotion associated with high arousal (joy) rather than a positive emotion associated with low arousal (serenity), and (b) increases in arousal would increase the likelihood that subjects would interpret negative statements and negative expressions as indicating a negative emotion associated with high arousal (anger) rather than a negative emotion associated with low arousal (sadness or depression). Two studies are reported, each of which support the first hypothesis but not the second. Explanations for why arousal had the predicted effects on positive but not on negative stimuli are offered.
Methods for Evaluating Emotions Evoked by Food Experiences: A Literature Review

Besides sensory characteristics of food, food-evoked emotion is a crucial factor in predicting consumer's food preference and therefore in developing new products. Many measures have been developed to assess food-evoked emotions. The aim of this literature review is (i) to give an exhaustive overview of measures used in current research and (ii) to categorize these methods along measurement level (physiological, behavioral, and cognitive) and emotional processing level (unconscious sensory, perceptual/early cognitive, and conscious/decision making) level. This 3 × 3 categorization may help researchers to compile a set of complementary measures (“toolbox”) for their studies. We included 101 peer-reviewed articles that evaluate consumer's emotions and were published between 1997 and 2016, providing us with 59 different measures. More than 60% of these measures are based on self-reported, subjective ratings and questionnaires (cognitive measurement level) and assess the conscious/decision-making level of emotional processing. This multitude of measures and their overrepresentation in a single category hinders the comparison of results across studies and building a complete multi-faceted picture of food-evoked emotions. We recommend (1) to use widely applied, validated measures only, (2) to refrain from using (highly correlated) measures from the same category but use measures from different categories instead, preferably covering all three emotional processing levels, and (3) to acquire and share simultaneously collected physiological, behavioral, and cognitive datasets to improve the predictive power of food choice and other models.
The Value of Reciprocity in Online Barter Markets: An Empirical Investigation

This study empirically examines online peer-to-peer (P2P) barter markets, in which individuals trade goods or services without the use of money. Using detailed transaction data and weblog data from a leading online P2P barter market for books, we examine the drivers and influences of reciprocal relationships on the initiation and fulfillment of exchanges. We find that avid users with a higher reading demand are more likely to establish and utilize reciprocal relationships compared to non-avid users. The use of reciprocal relationships provides significant value throughout the entire market exchange process. First, reciprocal relationships enable an avid user to find new books as well as new exchange partners through exploratory browsing, which economizes on search costs. Second, browsing reciprocal partners' profiles enables an avid user to discover books on new topics, despite the reciprocal partners' similarity in book tastes. Lastly, reciprocal relationships help improve the quality of exchange outcomes through lower rejection rates and faster delivery times. Our findings shed important insights on the role of bilateral reciprocity in facilitating online transactions in barter markets even in the presence of well-established reputation mechanisms. Implications for the design of decentralized online markets are discussed.
Influence of Solvent Polarity and Conditions on Extraction of Antioxidant, Flavonoids and Phenolic Content from Averrhoa bilimbi

This paper presents the influence of solvent polarity and extraction conditions on the extraction of total flavonoid, total phenolic and antioxidants from Averrhoa bilimbi. The experiment was performed using a different solvent at different extraction conditions, including extraction time (15-240 min), temperature (30-70 °C) and agitation speed (50-300 rpm). Results showed that yields of extraction varies with solvent polarity. Extraction using 50% aqueous methanol gives the highest antioxidant activity and flavonoid content. The highest total flavonoid content (193.3 µg quercetin equivalent/g dry weight), total phenolic content (717.8 µg gallic acid equivalent/g dry weight) and antioxidant activity (77%) was achieved using 50% methanol, at 70 °C and agitation speed of 300 rpm. This work may be useful for obtaining higher bioactive compounds during the extraction process of A. bilimbi.
Bacteriological profile and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of urine culture isolates from patients in Ndjamena, Chad

Introduction Bacteriological profile and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of urine culture isolates were determined among patients in the Ndjamena General Hospital, a National Reference centre. Methods A cross-sectional study was carried out from July to November 2014. Six hundred and sixty patients were enrolled, to whom a cytobacteriological examination of urine was prescribed. Urine was collected and cultured. Bacterial identification and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns were performed using Vitek 2 compact automated system. Results 216 isolates were recovered from patients (age range: 10-90 years). E. coli was the pathogen frequently cultured 128 (59.3%) followed by K. pneumonia 28 (13.0%). Bacteriuria was more present in inpatients (70.4%) compared to outpatients (29.6%). High antibiotic-resistance rate (> 60%) of the total isolates was observed with ampicillin, ciprofloxacin and cephalosporins. Imipeneme (94.9%) displayed satisfactory activity against bacteria isolates. ESBLs phenotype was present in 68/105 (64.7%) of betalactamine resistant isolates. AAC(3)-I and AAC(6’)-I enzymes were found respectively in 16/36 (44.4%) and 20/36 (55.6%) of aminoglycosides resistant isolates. Resistance of isolates to quinolones was mainly due to an association of target modification (gyrA and parC), porin reduction and/or efflux mechanisms and was present in 107/213 (49%) of quinolones resistant isolates. Conclusion E. coli is the predominant uropathogen isolated in our setting and there are antibiotic-resistant uropathogens among the studied population. Therefore, routine surveillance of bacterial uropathogens to common used antibiotics must be a continuous process so as to provide physicians with up to date information about the local data of antimicrobial resistance.
Comparison of basiliximab vs antithymocyte globulin for induction in pediatric heart transplant recipients: An analysis of the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation database

This study aims to compare 2 common induction strategies, basiliximab and ATG. Analysis of the ISHLT transplant registry was performed. The database was queried for pediatric heart transplants from January 1, 2000, to June 30, 2015, who had received induction with basiliximab or ATG. Primary end‐point was graft survival. Secondary end‐points included 1‐year survival and 1‐year conditional survival. There were 3158 heart transplants who received induction with basiliximab or ATG. The ATG cohort was younger, more likely to have congenital heart disease or be a retransplant, have a higher PRA, longer ischemic time, and been transplanted earlier in the study period (all P<.01). There was no difference in graft loss in the basiliximab cohort compared to the ATG cohort (HR 1.18 P=.06). On conditional 1‐year survival analysis, basiliximab induction was associated with graft loss (HR=1.35 95% CI 1.1‐1.7, P<.01), and in the propensity‐matched cohort, the basiliximab cohort was more likely to experience rejection prior to discharge (P=.04). Infection prior to discharge was more common in the antithymocyte cohort. Induction with ATG is associated with improved late graft survival compared to basiliximab.
Context Processing and Cognitive Control

© 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Published 2017 by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. The ability to maintain and flexibly regulate thoughts and action plans in pursuit of internally represented behavioural goals is central to the psychological construct of cognitive control and critical to adaptive human behaviour. This ability requires a complex balance between maintaining current goal representations against distracting information, while also flexibly updating these representations as goals and environmental factors change. In the present chapter, we review evidence that the balance between control stability and flexibility is supported by context maintenance in the prefrontal cortex and flexible representation updating via a dopaminergic gating mechanism. We will then discuss how context processing can be understood as supporting dual mechanisms of cognitive control characterised by distinct temporal dynamics, by reviewing evidence for the dual mechanisms of control (DMC) framework (Braver, 2012; Braver, Gray, & Burgess, 2007). We will also outline methodological approaches and tools that have been fruitful in empirical investigation within the DMC framework and discuss future directions for investigation stemming from this perspective. Given past evidence and future directions within this line of research, we propose that the core utility of the DMC framework lies in its ability to account for and generate specific, testable predictions regarding variability in cognitive control dynamics across a broad variety of task paradigms and at multiple levels of analysis.
Apoptosis, Paraptosis and Autophagy: Death and Survival Pathways Associated with Photodynamic Therapy

The ability of photosensitizing agents to create photodamage at specific subcellular sites has proved useful for characterizing pathway(s) to cell death and for selecting optimal targets for anti‐tumor efficacy. Both apoptosis and autophagy can occur after photodamage directed at mitochondria, lysosomes or the ER, with the balance often a determinant of overall efficacy. A combination of lysosomal + mitochondrial targets is associated with enhanced efficacy. More recently, ER photodamage was found to evoke a mainly unexplored mode of photokilling that involves extensive cytoplasmic vacuole formation but does not represent autophagy. This has been termed “paraptosis” and appears to be a reaction to the appearance of misfolded ER proteins. This report is designed to summarize current knowledge relating to death pathways and update information relating to paraptosis as a PDT response.
Star formation triggered by cloud–cloud collisions

We present the results of smoothed particle hydrodynamics simulations in which two clouds, each having mass MO = 500 M⊙ and radius RO = 2 pc, collide head-on at relative velocities of ΔvO = 2.4, 2.8, 3.2, 3.6 and 4.0 km s−1. There is a clear trend with increasing ΔvO. At low ΔvO, star formation starts later, and the shock-compressed layer breaks up into an array of predominantly radial filaments; stars condense out of these filaments and fall, together with residual gas, towards the centre of the layer, to form a single large-N cluster, which then evolves by competitive accretion, producing one or two very massive protostars and a diaspora of ejected (mainly low-mass) protostars; the pattern of filaments is reminiscent of the hub and spokes systems identified recently by observers. At high ΔvO, star formation occurs sooner and the shock-compressed layer breaks up into a network of filaments; the pattern of filaments here is more like a spider's web, with several small-N clusters forming independently of one another, in cores at the intersections of filaments, and since each core only spawns a small number of protostars, there are fewer ejections of protostars. As the relative velocity is increased, the mean protostellar mass increases, but the maximum protostellar mass and the width of the mass function both decrease. We use a Minimal Spanning Tree to analyse the spatial distributions of protostars formed at different relative velocities.
Virulence‐associated gene profiling, DNA fingerprinting and multilocus sequence typing of Haemophilus parasuis isolates in Australia

OBJECTIVE Determine if there is a link between virulence-associated genes of Haemophilus parasuis and the genotype and serovar of isolates. METHODS Isolates of H. parasuis from 38 farms across six Australian states, representing all serovars present in Australia, were assessed for the presence of virulence-associated genes (vtaA, hhdBA, fhuA, lsgB and capD). Enterobacterial Repetitive Intergenic Consensus PCR (ERIC-PCR) and multilocus sequence typing (MLST), together with existing knowledge of the serovar of the isolates and the health status of the source pig, were used to examine 75 Australian isolates of H. parasuis. RESULTS An analysis of the ERIC-PRC patterns revealed six main clusters. One cluster of 25 isolates lacked virulence-associated genes and on the basis of serovar and field data, appeared to be mostly non-pathogenic. Another cluster of five isolates containing most of the virulence-associated genes appeared to be pathogenic based on the field and serovar data. The remaining four clusters were a mix of apparently pathogenic and apparently non-pathogenic isolates. The MLST results revealed a high degree of variation, with 54 sequence types of which 41 had not been previously recognised. CONCLUSION Not all virulence-associated genes are present in potentially pathogenic strains of H. parasuis. Australian isolates of H. parasuis are both genetically diverse and markedly different from isolates in other countries. These key findings suggest that vaccine development will be challenging.
Fidelity scales and performance measures to support implementation and quality assurance for first episode psychosis services

The purpose of this paper is to review fidelity and outcome measures which can be used to support broad implementation of first episode psychosis services and ensure quality of existing services. First episode psychosis services use a combination of evidence‐based practices to improve the outcome of a first episode of psychosis and the early stages of schizophrenia. Now that there is an established international evidence base to show that they are effective, efforts are being made to make such services widely available as a routine part of health care.
Metformin, lipids and atherosclerosis prevention

Purpose of review We provide an overview of recent publications that extend clinically relevant knowledge relating to metformin's effects on lipids and atherosclerotic vascular disease and/or provide insights into the drug's mechanisms of action on the heart and vasculature. Recent findings We focus on original research in humans or in human tissues. Several recently completed randomized clinical trials have reported effects of metformin on surrogate measures of atherosclerotic vascular disease, including carotid–intima media thickness, vascular reactivity and calcification in people with Type 1 (T1D) and Type 2 (T2D) diabetes as well as nondiabetic dysglycaemia. In addition, observational studies have provided novel insights into the mechanisms of metformin's effects on carotid plaque, monocytes/macrophages, vascular smooth muscle and endothelial cells, including via 5’-adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) activation. Summary Recent trials based on surrogate outcome measures have provided further data suggesting protective effects of metformin against vascular disease in youth and adults with Type 1 diabetes, as well as in adults with prediabetes and Type 2 diabetes. In parallel, human tissue and cell studies have provided new insights into pleiotropic effects of metformin and suggest novel drug targets. As metformin is an inexpensive agent with an established safety profile, larger scale clinical trials based on hard clinical outcomes [cardiovascular disease (CVD) events] are now indicated.
Efficient Eye-Blinking Detection on Smartphones: A Hybrid Approach Based on Deep Learning

We propose an efficient method that can be used for eye-blinking detection or eye tracking on smartphone platforms in this paper. Eye-blinking detection or eye-tracking algorithms have various applications in mobile environments, for example, a countermeasure against spoofing in face recognition systems. In resource limited smartphone environments, one of the key issues of the eye-blinking detection problem is its computational efficiency. To tackle the problem, we take a hybrid approach combining two machine learning techniques: SVM (support vector machine) and CNN (convolutional neural network) such that the eye-blinking detection can be performed efficiently and reliably on resource-limited smartphones. Experimental results on commodity smartphones show that our approach achieves a precision of 94.4% and a processing rate of 22 frames per second.
Long-read whole genome sequencing and comparative analysis of six strains of the human pathogen Orientia tsutsugamushi

Background Orientia tsutsugamushi is a clinically important but neglected obligate intracellular bacterial pathogen of the Rickettsiaceae family that causes the potentially life-threatening human disease scrub typhus. In contrast to the genome reduction seen in many obligate intracellular bacteria, early genetic studies of Orientia have revealed one of the most repetitive bacterial genomes sequenced to date. The dramatic expansion of mobile elements has hampered efforts to generate complete genome sequences using short read sequencing methodologies, and consequently there have been few studies of the comparative genomics of this neglected species. Results We report new high-quality genomes of Orientia tsutsugamushi, generated using PacBio single molecule long read sequencing, for six strains: Karp, Kato, Gilliam, TA686, UT76 and UT176. In comparative genomics analyses of these strains together with existing reference genomes from Ikeda and Boryong strains, we identify a relatively small core genome of 657 genes, grouped into core gene ‘islands’ and separated by repeat regions, and use the core genes to infer the first whole-genome phylogeny of Orientia. Conclusions Complete assemblies of multiple Orientia genomes verify initial suggestions that these are remarkable organisms. They have large genomes with widespread amplification of repeat elements and massive chromosomal rearrangements between strains. At the gene level, Orientia has a relatively small set of universally conserved genes, similar to other obligate intracellular bacteria, and the relative expansion in genome size can be accounted for by gene duplication and repeat amplification. Our study demonstrates the utility of long read sequencing to investigate complex bacterial genomes and characterise genomic variation.
Deep Ordinal Regression Network for Monocular Depth Estimation

Monocular depth estimation, which plays a crucial role in understanding 3D scene geometry, is an ill-posed problem. Recent methods have gained significant improvement by exploring image-level information and hierarchical features from deep convolutional neural networks (DCNNs). These methods model depth estimation as a regression problem and train the regression networks by minimizing mean squared error, which suffers from slow convergence and unsatisfactory local solutions. Besides, existing depth estimation networks employ repeated spatial pooling operations, resulting in undesirable low-resolution feature maps. To obtain high-resolution depth maps, skip-connections or multilayer deconvolution networks are required, which complicates network training and consumes much more computations. To eliminate or at least largely reduce these problems, we introduce a spacing-increasing discretization (SID) strategy to discretize depth and recast depth network learning as an ordinal regression problem. By training the network using an ordinary regression loss, our method achieves much higher accuracy and faster convergence in synch. Furthermore, we adopt a multi-scale network structure which avoids unnecessary spatial pooling and captures multi-scale information in parallel. The proposed deep ordinal regression network (DORN) achieves state-of-the-art results on three challenging benchmarks, i.e., KITTI [16], Make3D [49], and NYU Depth v2 [41], and outperforms existing methods by a large margin.
Association of circulating proinflammatory marker, leucine‐rich‐α2‐glycoprotein (LRG1), following metabolic/bariatric surgery

Obesity confers substantial excess risk for morbidity and mortality, especially for type 2 diabetes (T2D). Leucine‐rich‐α2‐glycoprotein 1 (LRG1), a novel proinflammatory factor, was recently reported to be higher in patients with T2D with complications of peripheral arterial disease. Association of LRG1, obesity, and weight loss is unknown. We examined whether plasma LRG1 is associated with obesity in health screening participants and if it predicts future weight loss in morbidly obese patients after metabolic/bariatric surgery.