Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Feasibility Study of a New Magnetic Resonance Imaging Mini-capsule Device to Measure Whole Gut Transit Time in Paediatric Constipation

Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text ABSTRACT Objective: In England, 27,500 children are referred annually to hospital with constipation. An objective measure of whole gut transit time (WGTT) could aid management. The current standard WGTT assessment, the x-ray radiopaque marker (ROM) test, gives poor definition of colonic anatomy and the radiation dose required is undesirable in children. Our objective was to develop an alternative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) WGTT measure to the x-ray ROM test and to demonstrate its initial feasibility in paediatric constipation. Methods: With the Nottingham Young Person's Advisory Group we developed a small (8 × 4 mm), inert polypropylene capsule shell filled with MRI-visible fat emulsion. The capsule can be imaged using MRI fat and water in-phase and out-of-phase imaging. Sixteen patients with constipation and 19 healthy participants aged 7 to 18 years old were recruited. Following a common ROM protocol, the participants swallowed 24 mini-capsules each day for 3 days and were imaged on days 4 and 7 using MRI. The number of successful studies (feasibility) and WGTT were assessed. Participants’ EuroQoL Visual Analogue Scale were also collected and compared between the day before the taking the first set of mini-capsules to the day after the last MRI study day. Results: The mini-capsules were imaged successfully in the colon of all participants. The WGTT was 78 ± 35 hours (mean ± standard deviation) for patients, and 36 ± 16 hours, P < 0.0001 for healthy controls. Carrying out the procedures did not change the EuroQoL Visual Analogue Scale scores before and after the procedures. Conclusions: Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Paediatric Constipation was a first-in-child feasibility study of a new medical device to measure WGTT in paediatric constipation using MRI. The study showed that the new method is feasible and is well tolerated.
Systematic review with meta‐analysis: The effect of vitamin E supplementation in adult patients with non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease

Νon‐alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is estimated to be the most common cause of end‐stage liver disease in the next years. Vitamin E has shown beneficial effects as a possible “scavenger” of oxidative stress products, which play a major role in pathogenesis of the disease. The purpose of the present meta‐analysis is to investigate the effects of vitamin E supplementation in biochemical and histological parameters in adult patients with NAFLD.
Distant metastasis in pediatric and adolescent differentiated thyroid cancer: Clinical outcomes and risk factor analyses.

CONTEXT The specific characteristics of pediatric and adolescent differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) is the more frequent occurrence of distant metastasis (DM) compared with adult DTC. OBJECTIVE To investigate the clinical outcomes of DM in this population and analyze risk factors related to DM. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Medical records of 171 patients with DTC &19 years old, who underwent initial surgery between 1979 and 2014 were retrospectively reviewed. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE Clinical responses to radioiodine (RAI) therapy evaluated by the American Thyroid Association (ATA) guidelines for adult DTC and RECIST criteria. Risk factors related to distant-metastasis-free survival (DMFS). RESULTS DM was observed in 29 patients, and all were lung metastases. The pattern of lung metastasis was classified into 3 categories: macronodular, micronodular and no apparent nodule (detected only by RAI scintigraphy). Patients with excellent responses according to the ATA guideline criteria or CR of the RECIST criteria were most frequently observed in those with no apparent nodule. Significant factors related to DMFS were sex, clinical lymph node metastasis (LNM), extrathyroidal extension, and number of LNM. Subjects were divided into 3 groups according to the number of risk factors: low risk (no risk factors); intermediate risk (1 risk factor); and high risk (≥2 risk factors). Twenty-year DMFS rates in the low-, intermediate-, and high-risk groups were 99.0%, 71.7%, and 28.6%, respectively. CONCLUSION To achieve the full efficacy of RAI therapy, early diagnosis of DM before apparent metastases appear is desirable. The selective approach would be preferable for pediatric and adolescent DTC.
Clinical Criteria Can Identify Children With Osteopenia in Newly Diagnosed Crohn Disease.

OBJECTIVES Chronic inflammation of Crohn disease (CD) is associated with reduced bone mineral density (BMD). As bone mass is almost exclusively accrued during childhood, early recognition of osteopenia is especially important in pediatric CD. We aimed to identify variables associated with osteopenia to guide dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scan screening to those who most need it. METHODS This was a retrospective inception cohort study of children newly diagnosed with CD, and routinely referred to DXA scans. Demographic and explicit clinical data were recorded along with whole-body less head BMD, adjusted for age, sex, and height by z-scores. RESULTS Of the 116 included children (mean age 13 ± 3.1 years, 67 [58%] boys, mean body mass index [BMI] 16.7 ± 2.6), 63 (54%) had normal BMD (z-score > -1) or borderline osteopenia (-1 ≥ z-score > -2) and 53 (46%) had osteopenia (z-score ≤ -2). Osteopenia was associated with lower BMI z-score (-0.8 ± 1.2 vs -1.8 ± 1.1, P < 0.001) and higher PCDAI (33.7 ± 15.2 vs 25.7 ± 16.5; P = 0.009) than those with BMD z-score >-2. In total, 59% of children with BMI z-score <-0.5 had moderate-severe osteopenia and only 18% of those with higher z-scores. Multivariate logistic regression identified BMI z-score as the sole risk factor (OR 1.28 [95% CI 1.08-1.52], P = 0.005). BMI z-score ≥-0.5 excludes osteopenia with a sensitivity 87%, specificity 49%, NPV 82%, and PPV 59%. CONCLUSIONS Osteopenia was found in nearly half of children with newly onset CD. BMI z-score <-0.5 should prompt referral to DXA screening.
Body Size of Temperate Sea Spiders: No Evidence of Oxygen-Temperature Limitations

Oxygen limitation has been proposed as one of the key factors that limits body size at high temperatures (the oxygen-temperature hypothesis). Geographic patterns in body size are thought to be driven in part by the effects of temperature on oxygen supply and demand, particularly when the increased oxygen demand of tissues at higher temperatures outpaces the ability of large organisms to supply internal tissues with oxygen. We tested the effects of temperature on the rate of oxygen consumption of two temperate sea spider (Pycnogonida) species, Achelia chelata and Achelia gracilipes, across a range of body sizes. We measured oxygen consumption at 5 temperatures: 12, 16, 20, 24, and 28 °C. Oxygen consumption of both species increased significantly with temperature, but the effect did not depend on body size; thus, we found no evidence to support the oxygen-temperature hypothesis. While previous interspecific studies on Antarctic pycnogonids have found that larger-bodied animals have more porous cuticles, thus potentially offsetting their higher aerobic metabolic demand by increasing oxygen diffusivity, the pore area of the cuticle of the two temperate species did not change with body size. This suggests that the generally small size of warm-water sea spiders may be due to selective factors other than oxygen limitation.
Resting-state EEG Connectivity in Young Children with ADHD

ABSTRACT Objective: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a highly prevalent and impairing neurodevelopmental disorder. While early childhood is a crucial time for early intervention, it is characterized by instability of ADHD diagnosis. Neural correlates of ADHD have potential to improve diagnostic accuracy; however, minimal research has focused on early childhood. Research indicates that disrupted neural connectivity is associated with ADHD in older children. Here, we explore network connectivity as a potential neural correlate of ADHD diagnosis in early childhood. Method: We collected EEG data in 52 medication-naïve children with ADHD and in 77 typically developing controls (3–7 years). Data was collected with the EGI 128 HydroCel Sensor Net System, but to optimize the ICA, the data was down sampled to the 10-10 system. Connectivity was measured as the synchronization of the time series of each pair of electrodes. Subsequent analyses utilized graph theoretical methods to further characterize network connectivity. Results: Increased global efficiency, which measures the efficiency of information transfer across the entire brain, was associated with increased inattentive symptom severity. Further, this association was robust to controls for age, IQ, SES, and internalizing psychopathology. Conclusions: Overall, our findings indicate that increased global efficiency, which suggests a hyper-connected neural network, is associated with elevated ADHD symptom severity. These findings extend previous work reporting disruption of neural network connectivity in older children with ADHD into early childhood.
Two social communities in the Pearl River Estuary population of Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins (Sousa chinensis)

L'incidence de l'activite humaine sur les populations animales peut dependre de la structure sociale, un aspect important pour la comprehension des especes sociales comme les cetaces. Nous avons etudie les patrons d'association chez les sotalies de Chine (Sousa chinensis (Osbeck, 1765)) habitant dans l'estuaire de la riviere Pearl pres de l'ile de Lantau (Hong Kong) en utilisant un ensemble de donnees recueillies sur 10 ans et portant sur 88 individus. Nos analyses ont revele la presence de deux communautes sociales, chacune presentant sa propre region d'utilisation centrale, au nord et a l'ouest de l'ile, respectivement, mais dont les aires de repartition globales se chevauchaient partiellement au nord-ouest de l'ile. La communaute du nord presentait une structure de type fission-fusion caracterisee par de courtes associations, alors que la communaute de l'ouest etait caracterisee par des associations a plus long terme. Des delphineaux etaient plus souvent presents dans les groupes de communautes mixtes que dans les groupes exclusifs, des associations inter-communautes pouvant ainsi decouler d'un usage commun de l'habitat, notamment par les femelles, dans l'aire de chevauchement. Des prolongements recents de l'aire de la communaute du nord vers l'ouest representent vraisemblablement une reponse a la destruction d'habitat au nord de l'ile de Lantau. Cela suggere des deplacements faciles entre le nord et l'ouest sont necessaires aux sotalies de la communaute du nord pour acceder a un habitat convenable et constitue une nouvelle source d'inquietude liee aux projets de construction prevus dans la region. Notre etude constitue un exemple de l'importance potentielle des donnees sociobiologiques pour la comprehension de l'incidence des humains sur les populations animales.
Hepatitis B Flare After Cessation of Nucleos(t)ide Analogue Therapy in HBeAg‐Negative Chronic Hepatitis B: To Retreat or Not to Retreat

Finite nucleos(t)ide analogue (Nuc) therapy in HBV suppressed hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-negative patients with chronic hepatitis B may substantially increase hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) loss rate after cessation of therapy, in which "no retreatment" is a strong predictor for HBsAg loss. However, the main safety concern of no retreatment is hepatitis flare leading to hepatic decompensation or even fatality. Hence it is crucial to make retreatment decision that is not too soon to allow sufficient immune clearance facilitating further HBsAg decline towards HBsAg loss and, more importantly, not too late to prevent adverse outcomes. This review discussed and evaluated the presentations and pathogenesis of hepatitis B flare, with emphasis on issues surrounding off-Nuc hepatitis B flare in HBeAg-negative patients. The advantage and deficiency of retreatment decision based on current biochemical marker(s) alone were reviewed. The concept of immune clearance and its clinical application of combined HBsAg/ALT kinetics during hepatitis flare in the differentiation between two types of hepatitis flare were also reviewed. The utility of combined HBsAg/ALT kinetics for retreatment decision was proposed and elaborated in detail. The feasibility, application and underlying pathobiologic mechanism(s) of this approach require further investigation. Studies on the role of immunologic and/or other viral markers in retreatment decision are also needed. In conclusion, combined qHBsAg/ALT kinetics seems to be better than current biochemical marker(s) alone in the differentiation of types of hepatitis flare for better decision that retreatment is not necessary or not too soon for "host-dominating flare" to allow sufficient immune clearance response facilitating further HBsAg decline towards HBsAg loss, and not too late for "virus-dominating flare", to prevent adverse outcome such as hepatic decompensation.
Enhanced Tensor RPCA and its Application

Despite the promising results, tensor robust principal component analysis (TRPCA), which aims to recover underlying low-rank structure of clean tensor data corrupted with noise/outliers by shrinking all singular values equally, cannot well preserve the salient content of image. The major reason is that, in real applications, there is a salient difference information between all singular values of a tensor image, and the larger singular values are generally associated with some salient parts in the image. Thus, the singular values should be treated differently. Inspired by this observation, we investigate whether there is a better alternative solution when using tensor rank minimization. In this paper, we develop an enhanced TRPCA (ETRPCA) which explicitly considers the salient difference information between singular values of tensor data by the weighted tensor Schatten p-norm minimization, and then propose an efficient algorithm, which has a good convergence, to solve ETRPCA. Extensive experimental results reveal that the proposed method ETRPCA is superior to several state-of-the-art variant RPCA methods in terms of performance.
Physiology and genetics of flowering in cultivated and wild strawberries – a review

Summary Two main categories of flowering and fruiting habits exist in strawberry: 1) seasonal flowering (SF) genotypes which produce only one flush of flowering and fruiting in the Spring; and 2) recurrent flowering or everbearing (EB) genotypes which, in addition to a spring flush, produce more or less continuous flowering and fruiting throughout the growing season. Both types are represented in the octoploid cultivated strawberry, Fragaria × ananassa Duch. , as well as in the diploid wood strawberry, F. vesca L. Independent of ploidy level, SF genotypes have proved to be basically short-day (SD) plants, while EB genotypes are basically long-day (LD) plants. However, flower induction is controlled in both groups, by a pronounced interaction of photoperiod and temperature, which has complicated resolution of the underlying response mechanisms. At low temperatures (< 10ºC), both SF and EB genotypes are essentially day-neutral, while, at higher temperatures, they exhibit contrasting photoperiodic responses. Significant progress has been made in elucidating the genetic factors and molecular mechanisms underlying the complex flowering responses of strawberry, using the diploid F. vesca as a model plant. Many of the central genetic components of the flowering pathways which are known in Arabidopsis thaliana have also been identified in strawberry. A major breakthrough was identification of the SFL (SEASONAL FLOWERING LOCUS) gene in F. vesca as a homologue of the Arabidopsis TERMINAL FLOWER1 (FvTFL1) gene, and the recent demonstration of its function as a genetic switch controlling the opposite photoperiodic responses of the SF and EB genotypes of strawberry.
What is the true discharge rate and pattern of the striatal projection neurons in Parkinson’s disease and Dystonia?

Dopamine and striatal dysfunctions play a key role in the pathophysiology of Parkinson’s disease (PD) and Dystonia, but our understanding of the changes in the discharge rate and pattern of striatal projection neurons (SPNs) remains limited. Here, we recorded and examined multi-unit signals from the striatum of PD and dystonic patients undergoing deep brain stimulation surgeries. Contrary to earlier human findings, we found no drastic changes in the spontaneous discharge of the well-isolated and stationary SPNs of the PD patients compared to the dystonic patients or to the normal levels of striatal activity reported in healthy animals. Moreover, cluster analysis using SPN discharge properties did not characterize two well-separated SPN subpopulations, indicating no SPN subpopulation-specific (D1 or D2 SPNs) discharge alterations in the pathological state. Our results imply that small to moderate changes in spontaneous SPN discharge related to PD and Dystonia are likely amplified by basal ganglia downstream structures.
Dual Parasiticidal Activities of Phthalimides: Synthesis and Biological Profile against Trypanosoma cruzi and Plasmodium falciparum

Chagas disease and malaria are two neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) that prevail in tropical and subtropical regions in 149 countries. Chagas is also present in Europe, the US and Australia due to immigration of asymptomatic infected individuals. In the absence of an effective vaccine, the control of both diseases relies on chemotherapy. However, the emergence of parasite drug resistance is rendering currently available drugs obsolete. Hence, it is crucial to develop new molecules. Phthalimides, thiosemicarbazones, and 1,3‐thiazoles have been used as scaffolds to obtain antiplasmodial and anti‐Trypanosoma cruzi agents. Herein we present the synthesis of 24 phthalimido‐thiosemicarbazones (3 a–x) and 14 phthalimido‐thiazoles (4 a–n) and the corresponding biological activity against T. cruzi, Plasmodium falciparum, and cytotoxicity against mammalian cell lines. Some of these compounds showed potent inhibition of T. cruzi at low cytotoxic concentrations in RAW 264.7 cells. The most active compounds, 3 t (IC50=3.60 μM), 3 h (IC50=3.75 μM), and 4 j (IC50=4.48 μM), were more active than the control drug benznidazole (IC50=14.6 μM). Overall, the phthalimido‐thiosemicarbazone derivatives were more potent than phthalimido‐thiazole derivatives against T. cruzi. Flow cytometry assay data showed that compound 4 j was able to induce necrosis and apoptosis in trypomastigotes. Analysis by scanning electron microscopy showed that T. cruzi trypomastigote cells treated with compounds 3 h, 3 t, and 4 j at IC50 concentrations promoted changes in the shape, flagella, and surface of the parasite body similar to those observed in benznidazole‐treated cells. The compounds with the highest antimalarial activity were the phthalimido‐thiazoles 4 l (IC50=1.2 μM), 4 m (IC50=1.7 μM), and 4 n (IC50=2.4 μM). Together, these data revealed that phthalimido derivatives possess a dual antiparasitic profile with potential effects against T. cruzi and lead‐like characteristics.
Development and validation of the Harm Concept Breadth Scale: Assessing individual differences in harm inflation

Three studies (Ns = 350, 301 & 341) examined the reliability, validity, and correlates of a new measure of harm inflation, the individual differences counterpart of ‘concept creep’. The Harm Concept Breadth Scale (HCBS) assesses variability in the expansiveness of concepts of harm (i.e., bullying, mental disorder, prejudice, trauma), such that these concepts refer to a wider range of phenomena among people scoring high on the scale. Study 1 developed 66 vignettes representing potential instances of the four concepts, selected optimal subsets of 10 vignettes for each concept, and demonstrated satisfactory internal consistency of the subscales. Study 2 demonstrated that the HCBS had excellent internal consistency, and established construct validity through associations with measures of moral foundations, justice sensitivity, general category inclusiveness, and political orientation. Study 3 employed participants from a different national background and further clarified the correlates of the HCBS via measures of empathy, moral expansiveness, and the Big Five personality traits. The findings indicate that concept breadth is a reliably measurable individual difference variable with weak to moderate associations with harm-based morality, prosocial concern, political liberalism, female gender, and negative emotionality. The HCBS is a valid psychometric instrument for examining the causes and implications of harm inflation.
Are there sex differences in brain activity during long-term memory? A systematic review and fMRI activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis

ABSTRACT The degree to which sex differences exist in the brain is a current topic of debate. In the present discussion paper, we reviewed eight functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) papers to determine whether there are sex differences in brain activity during long-term memory retrieval. The objectives were: 1) to compare the experimental parameters in studies reporting significant versus null long-term memory sex differences, and 2) to identify whether specific brain regions were associated with sex differences during long-term memory. The following experimental parameters were extracted from each paper: the number of participants, the average age of participants, stimulus type(s), whether or not performance was matched, whether or not sex differences were reported, the type of between-subject statistical test used, and the contrast(s) employed. The particular experimental parameters employed in each study did not appear to determine whether sex differences were observed, as there were sex differences in all eight studies. An activation likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analysis was conducted to identify brain regions activated to a greater degree by females than males or males than females. This ALE meta-analysis revealed sex differences (male > female) in the lateral prefrontal cortex, visual processing regions, parahippocampal cortex, and the cerebellum. This constitutes compelling evidence that there are substantial sex differences in brain activity during long-term memory retrieval. More broadly, the present findings question the widespread practice of collapsing across sex in the field of cognitive neuroscience.
Mucinous adenocarcinoma arising in congenital pulmonary airway malformation: clinicopathological analysis of 37 cases

Mucinous adenocarcinoma arising in congenital pulmonary airway malformation (CPAM) is a rare complication, with little being known about its natural course. The aims of this article are to describe a series of mucinous adenocarcinomas arising from CPAMs, and present their clinicopathological features, genetics, and clinical outcome.