Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Alopecia Areata as a Proximal Risk Factor for the Development of Comorbid Depression: A Population-based Study

Alopecia areata and depression tend to co-occur; however, their temporal association has not been comprehensively investigated. The aim of this study was to examine the temporal association between alopecia areata and depression. The study included only cases with a comorbid presentation of alopecia areata and depression (n = 1,936), extracted from the databases of the Clalit Health Services, Israel. Survival analyses were used to assess the cumulative probability of receiving alopecia areata as comorbid diagnosis in the years following depression, and vice versa, compared with the opposite trajectory. The results indicate that patients with alopecia areata had greater odds of subsequent depression within 2 years from alopecia areata diagnosis, and showed a steeper increase in cumulative probability of depression as time progressed (log-rank =336.38, p < 0.001), compared with the opposite trajectory. All patients with alopecia areata had comorbid depression within 10 years of alopecia areata, compared with 70% of depression patients receiving diagnoses of comorbid alopecia areata within the same time-frame.
Diagnostic criteria of perfluorobutane-enhanced ultrasonography for diagnosing hepatocellular carcinoma in high-risk individuals: how is late washout determined?

Purpose The aim of this study was to investigate the optimal washout criteria of perfluorobutane-enhanced ultrasonography (PFB-US) for the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in high-risk individuals. Methods Participants at risk of HCC with treatment-naïve solid hepatic observations (≥1 cm) who underwent PFB-US from March 2019 to September 2020 were prospectively recruited. Arterial phase hyperenhancement (APHE), washout time, and washout degree were evaluated. The diagnosis of HCC was made by non-rim APHE with late and mild washout. The per-lesion diagnostic performance for diagnosing HCC using different cutoffs for late washout (50, 55, 60, 65, and 70 seconds postcontrast) and the different time windows for determining washout (until 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 minutes postcontrast) were compared using the McNemar test. Results In total, 101 participants with 113 observations (mean size, 33.5±2.8 mm; HCCs [n=82], non-HCC malignancies [n=16], benign [n=15]) were evaluated. Non-rim APHE was observed in 86.6% (71/82) of HCCs. As the cutoff time for late washout increased, the specificity increased to 100% (95% confidence interval [CI], 88.8% to 100%) at the 60-second cutoff with 62.2% sensitivity (95% CI, 50.8% to 72.7%). When the time window for determining washout became wider, the sensitivity and accuracy increased until 6 minutes, with 100% specificity at all times. Conclusion Determining washout within 6 minutes after contrast injection with a 60-second cutoff for late washout showed the highest sensitivity without losing specificity for diagnosing HCC using PFB-US in individuals at high risk.
Health and cognition among adults with and without Traumatic Brain Injury: A matched case–control study

ABSTRACT Objectives To evaluate associations between traumatic brain injury (TBI) and presence of health conditions, and to compare associations of health and cognition between TBI cases and controls. Methods This matched case–control study used data from the TBI Model Systems National Database (TBI cases) and Midlife in the United States II and Refresher studies (controls). 248 TBI cases were age-, sex-, race-, and education-matched without replacement to three controls. Cases and controls were compared on prevalence of 18 self-reported conditions, self-rated health, composite scores from the Brief Test of Adult Cognition by Telephone. Results The following conditions were significantly more prevalent among TBI cases versus controls: anxiety/depression (OR = 3.12, 95% CI: 2.20, 4.43, p < .001), chronic sleeping problems (OR = 2.76, 95% CI: 1.86, 4.10, p < .001), headache/migraine (OR = 2.61, 95% CI: 1.50, 4.54, p = .0007), and stroke (OR = 6.42, 95% CI: 2.93, 14.10, p < .001). The relationship between self-rated health and cognition significantly varied by TBI (p interaction = 0.002). Conclusion Individuals with TBI have greater odds of selected neurobehavioral conditions compared to their demographically similar uninjured peers. Among persons with TBI there was a stronger association between poorer self-rated health and cognition than controls. TBI is increasingly conceptualized as a chronic disease; current findings suggest post-TBI health management requires cognitive supports.
Expecting the best or fearing the worst: Discrepancies between self‐rated health and frailty in an ageing Irish population

Objectives Ageing populations have the propensity to rate their health status more inaccurately than their younger counterparts. As a result, we (1) devised a metric which categorized older adults into groups based on the discrepancy between their self‐rated health (SRH) and Frailty Index (FI) scores, and (2) investigated which factors predict group membership. Design A cross‐sectional design was employed using data from The Irish Longitudinal Study of Ageing (TILDA). Methods A health asymmetry metric was derived: this categorized 6907 participants (aged 50+ years) into three groups: ‘health pessimistic’ where participants underestimated their healthiness, ‘health realistic’ where participants accurately assessed their health, and ‘health optimistic’ where participants overestimated their healthiness. A multinomial logistic regression modelled the ability of a set of sociodemographic, psychosocial, and health behaviour variables in predicting membership of these categories. Results A significant proportion of the study population were categorized as ‘health realistic’ (~69%). The prevalence rates of health optimistic individuals increased in older age groups, and conversely, health pessimistic rates decreased in older age groups. Most notably, psychosocial factors significantly predicted being health pessimistic: such as anxiety (OR = 1.03), loneliness (OR = 1.04), and decreased social connectedness (OR = 0.87). However, less clear sociodemographic, psychosocial, and health behaviour associations were found for being health optimistic. Conclusion Health asymmetry is a useful method of identifying at‐risk individuals for inaccurate SRH. The ability of this metric to predict clinical mental health outcomes should be investigated.
The fight between PCNL, laparoscopic and robotic pyelolithotomy: do we have a winner? A systematic review and meta-analysis.

INTRODUCTION The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to provide an updated comparison between the currently available minimally invasive approaches (PCNL, laparoscopic [LP] and robotic pyelolithotomy [RP]) for the management of large renal stones. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION An electronic search of the current literature was conducted through the Medline and NCBI PubMed, Embase, Scopus and Cochrane Collaboration Central Register of Controlled Clinical Trials databases in March 2021. Studies about minimally-invasive treatment for kidney stones were considered. Inclusion criteria were: studies evaluating patients with large renal calculi (≥2 cm); the comparison of at least two of the three approaches (PCNL, LP, RP), reporting data suitable for meta-analysis evaluation. Patients with concomitant management for ureteropelvic junction obstruction (UPJ-O) were excluded. EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS Overall, 17 reports were considered for qualitative and quantitative synthesis, for a total cohort of 1079 patients, of which 534 with PCNL, 525 treated with LP, and 20 with RP. Of those, 16 compared PCNL with LP, while only 1 study compared LP with RP. PCNL mean operative time was statistically significantly shorter than LP and RP while mean estimated blood loss was statistically significantly higher for PNCL. No statistically significant differences were recorded among the three surgical approaches. Finally, PCNL demonstrated slightly, albeit statistically significant lower stone free rate when compared with LP. CONCLUSIONS PCNL, LP and RP may be safely and efficiently used to manage large renal stones. All three procedures showed reasonably low rate of complications with a satisfactory stone clearance rate.
MicroRNA-20a-5p regulates the epithelial-mesenchymal transition of human hepatocellular carcinoma by targeting RUNX3

Abstract Background: MicroRNA-20a (miR-20a) is dysregulated in many types of malignancies, including human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but its expression level and functional significance in HCC are still disputed. We aimed to study the role of miR-20a-5p in HCC and its downstream molecular mechanisms. Methods: We used real-time polymerase chain reaction to detect the expression of miR-20a-5p and runt-related transcription factor 3 (RUNX3) in HCC and paraneoplastic tissue, transfected Huh7 and highly metastatic human hepatocellular carcinoma (MHCC97H) cells. A live cell workstation was used to observe the proliferation and migration of transfected cells. The invasiveness of transfected cells was verified by Transwell assay. Cell apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry. The expression levels of proteins after transfection were measured using simple western immunoblot measurements. Gene expression profiles between HCC and normal samples were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas. Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment results were processed by the database for annotation, visualization and integrated discovery. Potential target genes of miR-20a-5p were predicted to further investigate how miR-20a-5p regulates epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in HCC. Results: MiR-20a-5p was significantly highly expressed in HCC tissues, and overexpression of miR-20a-5p significantly promoted HCC cell proliferation, migration, and invasion and inhibited apoptosis in vitro. The protein expression of E-cadherin was decreased and that of vimentin was increased after overexpression of miR-20a-5p in HCC cells. We discovered the intersection of genes from miRDB, miR TarBase, and TargetScan, obtained 397 target genes and finally focused on RUNX3. RUNX3 was not only reduced in HCC specimens but also drastically reduced in HCC cells overexpressing miR-20a-5p. RUNX3 expression decreased with elevated miR-20a-5p, which activated downstream EMT signaling and promoted cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. Conclusions: Since RUNX3 is involved in EMT in HCC, as proven by previous research, our findings provide further evidence for a novel regulatory pathway comprising the miR-20a/RUNX3/EMT axis that upregulates EMT signaling and enhances the migration of HCC cells.
Exploring dynamic functional connectivity alterations in the preclinical stage of Alzheimer’s disease: an exploratory study from SILCODE

Objective. Exploring functional connectivity (FC) alterations is important for the understanding of underlying neuronal network alterations in subjective cognitive decline (SCD). The objective of this study was to prove that dynamic FC can better reflect the changes of brain function in individuals with SCD compared to static FC, and further to explore the association between FC alterations and amyloid pathology in the preclinical stage of Alzheimer’s disease. Approach. A total of 101 normal control (NC) subjects, 97 SCDs, and 55 cognitive impairment (CI) subjects constituted the whole-cohort. Of these, 29 NCs and 52 SCDs with amyloid images were selected as the sub-cohort. First, independent components (ICs) were identified by IC analysis and static and dynamic FC were calculated by pairwise correlation coefficient between ICs. Second, FC alterations were identified through group comparison, and seed-based dynamic FC analysis was done. Analysis of variance was used to compare the seed-based dynamic FC maps and measure the group or amyloid effects. Finally, correlation analysis was conducted between the altered dynamic FC and amyloid burden. Main results. The results showed that 42 ICs were revealed. Significantly altered dynamic FC included those between the salience/ventral attention network, the default mode network, and the visual network. Specifically, the thalamus/caudate (IC 25) drove the hub role in the group differences. In the seed-based dynamic FC analysis, the dynamic FC between the thalamus/caudate and the middle temporal/frontal gyrus was observed to be higher in the SCD and CI groups. Moreover, a higher dynamic FC between the thalamus/caudate and visual cortex was observed in the amyloid positive group. Finally, the altered dynamic FC was associated with the amyloid global standardized uptake value ratio (SUVr). Significance. Our findings suggest SCD-related alterations could be more reflected by dynamic FC than static FC, and the alterations are associated with global SUVr.
Epidemiological and clinical insights from SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR crossing threshold values, France, January to November 2020

Background The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an unprecedented daily use of RT-PCR tests. These tests are interpreted qualitatively for diagnosis, and the relevance of the test result intensity, i.e. the number of quantification cycles (Cq), is debated because of strong potential biases. Aim We explored the possibility to use Cq values from SARS-CoV-2 screening tests to better understand the spread of an epidemic and to better understand the biology of the infection. Methods We used linear regression models to analyse a large database of 793,479 Cq values from tests performed on more than 2 million samples between 21 January and 30 November 2020, i.e. the first two pandemic waves. We performed time series analysis using autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) models to estimate whether Cq data information improves short-term predictions of epidemiological dynamics. Results Although we found that the Cq values varied depending on the testing laboratory or the assay used, we detected strong significant trends associated with patient age, number of days after symptoms onset or the state of the epidemic (the temporal reproduction number) at the time of the test. Furthermore, knowing the quartiles of the Cq distribution greatly reduced the error in predicting the temporal reproduction number of the COVID-19 epidemic. Conclusion Our results suggest that Cq values of screening tests performed in the general population generate testable hypotheses and help improve short-term predictions for epidemic surveillance.
Effectiveness of Intratympanic Dexamethasone Injection for Tinnitus Treatment: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Objectives Intratympanic dexamethasone injection (ITDI) has been introduced as a treatment option for subjective tinnitus. However, the effects of ITDI on patients with tinnitus remain unclear. In the present systematic review and meta-analysis, we evaluated the effectiveness of ITDI for tinnitus treatment. Methods We searched Medline, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and Embase. Four double-blind randomized controlled trials that tested the efficacy of ITDI compared with a placebo were deemed eligible for a quantitative meta-analysis, while four prospective studies and seven retrospective studies reporting the effectiveness of ITDI on tinnitus treatment were included in a qualitative synthesis. Results In the four studies included in the quantitative meta-analysis, ITDI did not show evidence of tinnitus improvement compared with placebo (odds ratio [OR], 1.38; 95% confidence interval, 0.53–3.61). In the 11 studies included in the qualitative synthesis, seven retrospective studies without controls reported rates of tinnitus improvement after ITDI ranging from 35.9% to 91.3%. In the four prospective studies with controls, ITDI seemed to be effective when combined with other drugs for tinnitus treatment. Conclusion ITDI alone did not show a significant effect for treating tinnitus compared with placebo. However, the potential of combination treatment of ITDI with other drugs for tinnitus therapy should be further studied in more systematic research.
Estimation of percentage of controllable load in total demand at bulk supply point

This paper presents an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) based approach to estimate percentage of controllable load in overall demand at bulk supply point at any given time based on standard voltage, real and reactive power measurements at the substation. Monte Carlo Simulation (MCS) is used to generate the training and validation data. The estimated controllable and uncontrollable load percentages are compared with the targets in the validation process, and the probability distribution and the confidence levels of load participation estimation errors are obtained. When all inputs are available, the most probable absolute error of estimation of controllable and uncontrollable load percentage is approximately 4.3%, with about 60% of all estimations having absolute errors below 10%. The robustness of the methodology with respect to missing input data is also evaluated. It demonstrates that the absence of an input, especially the absence of the reactive power, can reduce the confidence level of estimation with the same estimation error.
Associations between alcohol use and peripheral, genetic, and epigenetic markers of oxytocin in a general sample of young and older adults

Human and nonhuman animal research suggests that greater oxytocin (OT) activity is protective against harmful substance use. Most research on this topic is preclinical, with few studies evaluating the association between substance use and individual differences in the human OT system. The present study sought to fill this gap by evaluating the relationship between alcohol use and multiple biological measures of OT activity in an overall low to moderate‐drinking sample.
Pre-hospital mild therapeutic hypothermia for patients with severe traumatic brain injury

ABSTRACT Background We aimed to assess the effects of pre-hospital mild therapeutic hypothermia (MTH) on patients with severe traumatic brain injury (sTBI). Methods Eighty-six patients with sTBI were prospectively enrolled into the pre-hospital MTH group and the late MTH group (initiated in hospital). Patients in the pre-hospital MTH group were maintained at a tympanic temperature of 33°C–35°C before admission and continued to be treated with a therapeutic hypothermia device for 4 days. Patients in the late MTH group were treated with the same MTH parameters. Intracranial pressure (ICP), complications and Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) scores were monitored. Results ICP was significantly lower for patients in the pre-hospital MTH group 24, 48, and 72 h after treatment (17.38 ± 4.88 mmHg, 18.40 ± 4.50 mmHg, and 16.40 ± 4.13 mmHg, respectively) than that in the late MTH group (20.63 ± 3.00 mmHg, 21.80 ± 6.00 mmHg, and 18.81 ± 4.50 mmHg) (P < .05). The favorable prognosis (GOS scores 4–5) rate in the pre-hospital MTH group was higher tha n the late MTH group (65.1% vs. 37.2%, respectively; P < .05) without complications . Conclusion Pre-hospital MTH for patients with STBI can reduce ICP and improve neurological outcomes.
Evaluating impact of medium variation on dose calculated through planning system in a low cost in-house phantom

Purpose: In radiotherapy, accuracy in dose estimation of dose calculation methods is critical. The influence of deformity on radiation dose calculations derived by planning system is evaluated in present study. The goal of study was to create a low-cost inhomogeneous phantom for measuring absorbed dose using an Ionisation chamber and Gafchromic film, which was validated using treatment planning system (TPS) dose outcome. Methods:and Materials: The central axis dose calculations were computed using Pencil Beam Convolution algorithm (PBC), Collapsed Cone Convolution (CCC) and Monte Carlo (MC) algorithm in the Monaco treatment planning system using an In-house phantom (20 × 20 × 20cm3) made up of acrylic sheet containing water and inhomogeneous material wooden powder equivalent to lung. Phantom was scanned in Computed Tomography (CT) scanner and image set was sent to the planning workstation. The depth dose evaluations were performed using ionization chamber and Gafchromic film with same beam settings and monitor units in every setup. Following that, the calculated doses obtained from TPS and measured depth doses were compared. Results: The results was reported for photon energies 6MV, 10MV, 15MV, 6FFF and 10FFF at varying field sizes of 4 × 4 cm2, 5 × 5 cm2, 10 × 10 cm2, and 15 × 15 cm2. MC maximum dose variation predicted was 2.06% in 15MV of measured chamber dose and −2.06% of measured gafchromic film dose in 6MVFFF. CCC maximum dose variation predicted was 2.68% of measured chamber dose in 6MV and 3.31% of measured gafchromic film dose in 6MV whereas PB maximum dose variation predicted was −5.94% in 15MV of measured chamber dose and −11.6% of measured gafchromic film dose in 6MVFFF. Conclusion: Low-cost in-house phantoms can be utilised to assess point and planar doses during patient-specific quality assurance in centres that don’t have accessibility to phantoms due to the high cost of commercially available tools.
Extinction risk of the endemic vascular flora of Kauai, Hawaii, based on IUCN assessments

The International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species (IUCN Red List) is the world's most comprehensive information source on the global conservation status of species. Governmental agencies and conservation organizations increasingly rely on IUCN Red List assessments to develop conservation policies and priorities. Funding agencies use the assessments as evaluation criteria, and researchers use meta‐analysis of red‐list data to address fundamental and applied conservation science questions. However, the circa 143,000 IUCN assessments represent a fraction of the world's biodiversity and are biased in regional and organismal coverage. These biases may affect conservation priorities, funding, and uses of these data to understand global patterns. Isolated oceanic islands are characterized by high endemicity, but the unique biodiversity of many islands is experiencing high extinction rates. The archipelago of Hawaii has one of the highest levels of endemism of any floristic region; 90% of its 1367 native vascular plant taxa are classified as endemic. We used the IUCN's assessment of the complete single‐island endemic (SIE) vascular plant flora of Kauai, Hawaii, to assess the proportion and drivers of decline of threatened plants in an oceanic island setting. We compared the IUCN assessments with federal, state, and other local assessments of Kauai species or taxa of conservation concern. Finally, we conducted a preliminary assessment for all 1044 native vascular plants of Hawaii based on IUCN criterion B by estimating area of occupancy, extent of occurrence, and number of locations to determine whether the pattern found for the SIE vascular flora of Kauai is comparable to the native vascular flora of the Hawaiian Islands. We compared our results with patterns observed for assessments of other floras. According to IUCN, 256 SIE vascular plant taxa are threatened with extinction and 5% are already extinct. This is the highest extinction risk reported for any flora to date. The preliminary assessment of the native vascular flora of Hawaii showed that 72% (753 taxa) is threatened. The flora of Hawaii may be one of the world's most threatened; thus, increased and novel conservation measures in the state and on other remote oceanic islands are urgently needed.