Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Relationship between 3D Morphologic Change and 2D and 3D Growth of Unruptured Intracranial Aneurysms

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Untreated unruptured intracranial aneurysms are usually followed radiologically to detect aneurysm growth, which is associated with increased rupture risk. The ideal aneurysm size cutoff for defining growth remains unclear and also whether change in morphology should be part of the definition. We investigated the relationship between change in aneurysm size and 3D quantified morphologic changes during follow-up. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed 3D morphology measurements of unruptured intracranial aneurysms on baseline and follow-up TOF-MRAs. Morphology measurements included surface area, compactness, elongation, flatness, sphericity, shape index, and curvedness. We investigated the relation between morphologic change between baseline and follow-up scans and unruptured intracranial aneurysm growth, with 2D and 3D growth defined as a continuous variable (correlation statistics) and a categoric variable (t test statistics). Categoric growth was defined as ≥1-mm increase in 2D length or width. We assessed unruptured intracranial aneurysms that changed in morphology and the proportion of growing and nongrowing unruptured intracranial aneurysms with statistically significant morphologic change. RESULTS: We included 113 patients with 127 unruptured intracranial aneurysms. Continuous growth of unruptured intracranial aneurysms was related to an increase in surface area and flatness and a decrease in the shape index and curvedness. In 15 growing unruptured intracranial aneurysms (12%), curvedness changed significantly compared with nongrowing unruptured intracranial aneurysms. Of the 112 nongrowing unruptured intracranial aneurysms, 10 (9%) changed significantly in morphology (flatness, shape index, and curvedness). CONCLUSIONS: Growing unruptured intracranial aneurysms show morphologic change. However, nearly 10% of nongrowing unruptured intracranial aneurysms change in morphology, suggesting that they could be unstable. Future studies should investigate the best growth definition including morphologic change and size to predict aneurysm rupture.
Oral exposure to aluminum chloride for 28 days suppresses neural stem cell proliferation and increases mature granule cells in adult hippocampal neurogenesis of young‐adult rats

Aluminum (Al), a common light metal, affects the developing nervous system. Developmental exposure to Al chloride (AlCl3) induces aberrant neurogenesis by targeting neural stem cells (NSCs) and/or neural progenitor cells (NPCs) in the dentate gyrus (DG) of rats and mice. To investigate whether hippocampal neurogenesis is similarly affected by AlCl3 exposure in a general toxicity study, AlCl3 was orally administered to 5‐week‐old Sprague Dawley rats at dosages of 0, 4000, or 8000 ppm in drinking water for 28 days. AlCl3 downregulated Sox2 transcript level in the DG at the highest dosage and produced a dose‐dependent decrease of SOX2+ cells without altering numbers of GFAP+ or TBR2+ cells in the subgranular zone, suggesting that AlCl3 decreases Type 2a NPCs. High‐dose exposure downregulated Pcna, upregulated Pvalb, and altered expression of genes suggestive of oxidative stress induction (upregulation of Nos2 and downregulation of antioxidant enzyme genes), indicating suppressed proliferation and differentiation of Type 1 NSCs. AlCl3 doses also increased mature granule cells in the DG. Upregulation of Reln may have contributed to an increase of granule cells to compensate for the decrease of Type 2a NPCs. Moreover, upregulation of Calb2, Gria2, Mapk3, and Tgfb3, as well as increased numbers of activated astrocytes in the DG hilus, may represent ameliorating responses against suppressed neurogenesis. These results suggest that 28‐day exposure of young‐adult rats to AlCl3 differentially targeted NPCs and mature granule cells in hippocampal neurogenesis, yielding a different pattern of disrupted neurogenesis from developmental exposure.
Risk Prediction Models for Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease: The CRIC Study

Significance Statement Patients with CKD are typically considered to be at high risk for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, but CKD is a heterogeneous condition and there are no validated atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risk stratification tools for this population. Our analysis of 2604 participants in the Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort study found that newly developed risk prediction models, using clinically available variables and novel biomarkers, improved discrimination, calibration, and reclassification of nonevents compared with the traditional American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association pooled cohort equations developed for the general population. The new equations may improve risk stratification in patients with CKD and improve shared decision making for preventive therapy to reduce atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease incidence and mortality. Visual Abstract Background Individuals with CKD may be at high risk for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). However, there are no ASCVD risk prediction models developed in CKD populations to inform clinical care and prevention. Methods We developed and validated 10-year ASCVD risk prediction models in patients with CKD that included participants without self-reported cardiovascular disease from the Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort (CRIC) study. ASCVD was defined as the first occurrence of adjudicated fatal and nonfatal stroke or myocardial infarction. Our models used clinically available variables and novel biomarkers. Model performance was evaluated based on discrimination, calibration, and net reclassification improvement. Results Of 2604 participants (mean age 55.8 years; 52.0% male) included in the analyses, 252 had incident ASCVD within 10 years of baseline. Compared with the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association pooled cohort equations (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve [AUC]=0.730), a model with coefficients estimated within the CRIC sample had higher discrimination (P=0.03), achieving an AUC of 0.736 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.649 to 0.826). The CRIC model developed using clinically available variables had an AUC of 0.760 (95% CI, 0.678 to 0.851). The CRIC biomarker-enriched model had an AUC of 0.771 (95% CI, 0.674 to 0.853), which was significantly higher than the clinical model (P=0.001). Both the clinical and biomarker-enriched models were well-calibrated and improved reclassification of nonevents compared with the pooled cohort equations (6.6%; 95% CI, 3.7% to 9.6% and 10.0%; 95% CI, 6.8% to 13.3%, respectively). Conclusions The 10-year ASCVD risk prediction models developed in patients with CKD, including novel kidney and cardiac biomarkers, performed better than equations developed for the general population using only traditional risk factors.
Cognitive or daily stress association with headache and pain induction in migraine and tension-type headache patients: a systematic review

ABSTRACT Introduction Primary headache disorders, such as migraine and tension-type headache (TTH), represent a significant public health concern. Besides, cognitive/mental stress was suggested to contribute to TTH and migraine physiopathology. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the existence of a causal relationship between stress (mental/cognitive or daily stress) and headache or pain improvement in migraine and TTH patients. Areas Covered We developed a systematic review of the literature, including studies that utilized mental/cognitive stress tasks or daily stress by lifestyle questionnaire in migraine and TTH patients. Necessarily, these studies should have healthy patients and a pain measure (quantitative sensory tests or headache/migraine detection). PubMed, EMBASE, and SCOPUS were searched, using terms about stress and primary headaches. Expert opinion Both mental/cognitive stress and daily stress (perceived) were related to an increase in pain perception and related to the development of headache or enhanced transient pain intensity in migraine and TTH patients. Different factors could enrich the comprehension of the influence of stress on pain/headache induction in migraine and TTH patients, including methodological standardization, consistency of assessing, and isolating the many headache triggers in randomized controlled trial studies.
Two resonant topologies for isolated bi-directional DC-DC conversion

A bidirectional dual active bridge is a structure comprising two full bridges which enables power to be transferred between two dc levels via an intermediate ac link. This thesis introduces two types of bi-directional dc-dc resonant converters, referred to as the LCL and the CLC, whose names relate to the resonant network connected between their dual active bridges. These converters provide high efficiency conversion over a wide range of dc supply voltages and for a wide power range. By virtue of their network’s resonant operation the magnitudes of the reactive components of the bridge currents are reduced. As a result of the reduced currents lower rated switching devices may be used, and the conduction losses in the bridges are significantly smaller than those of conventional converters. Although the conceptual nature of the LCL and CLC converters is the same, they have slightly different operating characteristics as a result of the realisation of their tee networks. This thesis provides a comprehensive analysis and comparison of these two converters, each of which has different merits. In comparison with a conventional converter, which, aside from the isolation transformer, only has an inductor connected between the bridges, additional components are required in the resonant network of the LCL and CLC converters. It will be shown that the extra expenditure on the resonant network is repaid many times in the life of the converter. After each converter is modelled, its currents and its power throughput are calculated by the summation of harmonic components calculated in the frequency domain. Theoretical calculations are then used to derive the power throughput, the current harmonic content and the switching status as a function of modulation. Circuit waveforms are calculated and then verified through simulations. The theory is validated with experimental results. Comparisons of the key metrics are made between the proposed resonant converters and a conventional converter for standard designs operating under fixed operating conditions. Finally, comparisons are made, on a cost basis, between optimised converters operating under varying operating conditions. The results show the advantage of the proposed converters.
Deep-learning-based in-field citrus fruit detection and tracking

Abstract Fruit yield estimation is crucial for establishing fruit harvest and marketing strategies. Recently, computer vision and deep learning techniques have been used to estimate citrus fruit yield and have exhibited notable fruit detection ability. However, computer-vision-based citrus fruit counting has two key limitations: inconsistent fruit detection accuracy and double-counting of the same fruit. Using oranges as the experimental material, this paper proposes a deep-learning-based orange counting algorithm using video sequences to help overcome these problems. The algorithm consists of two sub-algorithms, OrangeYolo for fruit detection and OrangeSort for fruit tracking. The OrangeYolo backbone network is partially based on the YOLOv3 algorithm, which has been improved upon to detect small objects (fruits) at multiple scales. The network structure was adjusted to detect small-scale targets while enabling multiscale target detection. A channel attention and spatial attention multiscale fusion module was introduced to fuse the semantic features of the deep network with the shallow textural detail features. OrangeYolo can achieve mean Average Precision (mAP) values of 0.957 in the citrus dataset, higher than the 0.905, 0.911, and 0.917 achieved with the YOLOv3, YOLOv4, and YOLOv5 algorithms. OrangeSort was designed to alleviate the double-counting problem associated with occluded fruits. A specific tracking region counting strategy and tracking algorithm based on motion displacement estimation were established. Six video sequences taken from two fields containing 22 trees were used as the validation dataset. The proposed method showed better performance (Mean Absolute Error (MAE) = 0.081, Standard Deviation (SD) = 0.08) than video-based manual counting and produced more accurate results than the existing standards Sort and DeepSort (MAE = 0.45 and 1.212; SD = 0.4741 and 1.3975).
The Elephant in the Cell: Nuclear Mechanics and Mechanobiology.

The 2021 Summer Biomechanics, Bioengineering, and Biotransport Conference (SB3C) featured a workshop titled "The Elephant in the Room: Nuclear Mechanics and Mechanobiology. " The goal of this workshop was to provide a perspective from experts in the field on the current understanding of nuclear mechanics and its role in mechanobiology. This paper reviews the major themes and questions discussed during the workshop, including historical context on the initial methods of measuring the mechanical properties of the nucleus and classifying the primary structures dictating nuclear mechanics, physical plasticity of the nucleus, the emerging role of the linker of nucleoskeleton and cytoskeleton (LINC) complex in coupling the nucleus to the cytoplasm and driving the behavior of individual cells and multicellular assemblies, and the computational models currently in use to investigate the mechanisms of gene expression and cell signaling. Ongoing questions and controversies, along with promising future directions, are also discussed.
Deep Brain Stimulation for Arm Tremor: A Randomized Trial Comparing Two Targets

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the thalamic ventral intermediate nucleus (VIM) effectively suppresses arm tremor. Uncontrolled studies suggest the posterior subthalamic area (PSA) may be superior. We compared the intra‐individual efficacy of VIM‐ versus PSA‐DBS on tremor suppression and arm function.
Muscle ultrasonography in diagnostics of fasciculations: A lot has been done, but there is still more to do

Fasciculations are involuntary twitches of small parts of the muscle with a duration of 0.2–1.0 s due to spontaneous contraction of muscle fascicles. These twitches originate from motor unit depolarizations. In terms of recording by electromyography (EMG), fibrillation potentials are spontaneous action potentials of denervated muscle fibers. Fasciculations are associated with excitability changes in both lower motor neurons and upper motor neurons. Widespread fasciculations are strongly characteristic of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease). However, fasciculations are not exclusively specific to ALS. Fasciculations occasionally occur in healthy individuals (benign fasciculations) and individuals with diseases other than ALS (including metabolic disorders) and different lower motor neuron diseases. Electrophysiological confirmation is necessary for ALS diagnosis. For many years, the “El Escorial” diagnostic criteria were used. These criteria exhibit high specificity but low sensitivity, ranging from 18 to 53%. Recently, Ma et al compared ultrasound (US) with EMG examinations in terms of ALS diagnostics, providing approximately the same correlation between the fasciculations and spontaneous activity grades. Similarly, Duarte et al showed that US provided detection rates even superior to those achieved with EMG independent of the examination time and muscles evaluated. In another recent study, 48% of patients were diagnosed with definite or probable ALS according to “El Escorial” criteria compared with 79% using the ultrasound-assisted Awaji criteria. Published in 2020, the novel ALS “Gold Cost criteria” also stated that “lower motor neuron dysfunction can be derived from US detection of fasciculations from multiple muscles. ” However, the new criteria did not include US examination of muscles as a standard method, probably because the US method still requires standardization in larger clinical studies. Nevertheless, US seems to be the most promising method in the field of diagnostics of fasciculations due to its lack of invasiveness, good reproducibility, low cost and high sensitivity. In this issue of J Clin Ultrasound, Rajula and colleagues used US to demonstrate again that this method is more sensitive in detecting fasciculations than EMG and could represent a noninvasive alternative to EMG in ALS patients. In this study, the proportion of patients with definite ALS increased from 42% by clinical examination to 70% after combining EMG and US findings. Despite the confirmatory character of this paper, the authors found that the US method was more sensitive for diagnostics of the prevalence of muscle fasciculation than previously reported in the “classical” paper by Misawa et al. However, some aspects of US diagnostics still need to be clarified and verified. Some additional important points are noted below.
Impact of Medicaid Expansion on Rhinologic Cancer Presentation, Treatment, and Outcomes

The United States Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act allocated funds for states to expand Medicaid coverage. However, several states declined expansion. We aim to determine whether Medicaid expansion is associated with healthcare coverage, cancer stage at diagnosis, treatment, and survival among patients with rhinologic cancer. Rhinologic cancer was defined to include cancer of the nasal cavity, paranasal sinus, nasopharynx, or olfactory nerve.
Impact of Decentration and Tilt on Spherical, Aberration Correcting, and Specific Aspherical Intraocular Lenses: An Optical Bench Analysis

Introduction: The human eye is not optically symmetrical, and very few intraocular lens (IOLs) are perfectly centered in the eye. That is why contrast sensitivity can degrade in some conditions, especially in low light. In an optical bench analysis, we compare spherical (A), aberration correcting (B), and specific aspherical lenses (C) in terms of impact of decentration and tilt on the modulation transfer function as well as the simulated overall quality with USAF test targets. Material and Methods: The OptiSpheric IOL PRO2 was used to measure the optical performance of IOLs (A, B, C). In order to assess the optical quality of the IOLs, the optical quality parameters for the aperture size of 3.0 mm and 4.5 mm at the IOL plane were assessed. Through Frequency Modulation Transfer Function (MTF) and Strehl Ratio (SR) values, as well as the “US Airforce 1951 resolution test chart images” as qualitative simulation, were analyzed. All measurements (ISO) were repeated and done for centered, decentered (1 mm), and tilted (5°) IOLs. Results: Centered: The MTF (mean) at 50 lp/mm (IOL A, B, C) with 3.0-mm aperture was 0.794/0.716/0.797 (ISO-1 cornea) and 0.673/0.752/0.723 (ISO-2 cornea) and with 4.5-mm aperture 0.728/0.365/0.751 (ISO 1) and 0.276/0.767/0.505 (ISO 2). The SR (mean) with 3.0-mm aperture was 0.763/0.829/0.898 and with 4.5-mm aperture 0.228/0.386/0.432. Decentered by 1 mm: The MTF (mean) at 50 lp/mm with 3.0-mm aperture was 0.779/0.459/0.726 (ISO 1) and 0.695/0.381/0.662 (ISO 2). The MTF (mean) at 50 lp/mm with 4.5-mm aperture was 0.732/0.348/0.653 (ISO 1) and 0.355/0.069/0.346 (ISO 2). The SR (mean) with 3.0-mm aperture was 0.829/0.543/0.397 and with 4.5-mm aperture was 0.259/0.145/0.192. Tilted by 5°: The MTF (mean) at 50 lp/mm with 3.0-mm aperture was 0.731/0.705/0.751 (ISO 1) and 0.623/0.727/0.732 (ISO 2). The MTF (mean) at 50 lp/mm with 4.5-mm aperture was 0.579/0.406/0.701 (ISO 1) and 0.277/0.512/0.429 (ISO 2). The SR (mean) with 3.0-mm aperture was 0.539/0.478/0.514 and with 4.5-mm aperture was 0.262/0.136/0.201. Conclusion: Aberration correcting IOLs perform best when perfectly centered. The optical performance of aberration correcting IOLs can be markedly downgraded by misalignment. The examined ZO optic performed well in decentration and tilt. The ZO concept seems to be a good alternative to aspheric lenses, as it achieves to combine benefits of spherical and aspheric intraocular lenses. There is no perfect IOL, but fitting and choosing the right one for the individual case seems to be crucial to take advantage of benefits and minimize disadvantages. This is why knowledge of optical properties is also mandatory for the surgeon.
Sexuality-based stigma and access to care: intersecting perspectives between healthcare providers and men who have sex with men in HIV care centres in Senegal

Abstract Men who have sex with men (MSM) in Senegal face a challenging socio-legal context, marked by homophobia and the illegality of homosexuality. In addition, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevalence among MSM is 27.6%, 46 times greater than the one in the general population (0.5%). Nevertheless, access to healthcare by MSM may be hampered by stigmatizing attitudes from health facility staff (medical and non-medical). This article describes the health facility staff/MSM relationship and analyses its effects on access to healthcare by MSM. The data used were collected through a field survey based on observations and qualitative interviews conducted in 2019 and 2020 with 16 MSM, 1 non-governmental organization (NGO) staff and 9 healthcare providers in Dakar (the capital city) and Mbour (secondary city on the West Coast) hospitals. The data were subject to a thematic analysis assisted by the ATLAS software. The relationship between MSM and healthcare providers is ambiguous. On the one hand, healthcare providers are torn between their professional duty to treat MSM and the cost of being stigmatized by other colleagues. Therefore, they often limit their empathy with MSM within the hospital context. On the other hand, MSM, trusting in the confidentiality of healthcare providers, feel safe in the care pathway. However, we identify the following stigmatizing factors limiting access to care include (1) fear of meeting a relative, (2) difficult relationships with non-medical support staff (mainly security guards), (3) HIV status disclosure and (4) potential conflicts with other MSM. This study is unique as it includes non-medical staff in its respondents. It shows that hospitals are divided into several areas, based on the stigma perceived by MSM. It is important to map out MSM’s care trajectories and spaces and to identify all types of staff working within them, including non-medical staff, and enrol them in stigma reduction interventions.
Jasmonic acid biosynthetic genes TgLOX4 and TgLOX5 are involved in daughter bulb development in tulip (Tulipa gesneriana)

Abstract Tulip bulbs are modified underground stems that originate from axillary meristems of mother bulb scales. Hormones, including jasmonic acids (JAs), play key roles in the regulation of tulip bulb development. Here, we compared variations in daughter bulb development through transcriptomic profiling analysis and characterized the functions of JA biosynthesis-related genes during daughter bulb enlargement. The results showed that tulip cultivars exhibited contrasting bulb size variations. Transcriptomic analyses revealed that genes involved in plant hormones and development, including the two lipoxygenase genes TgLOX4 and TgLOX5, showed significant changes in expression following tulip bulb growth. Ectopic overexpression of TgLOX4 and TgLOX5 in Arabidopsis enhanced endogenous JA content, improved plant growth, and increased lateral root numbers. Silencing of these two genes in tulip repressed the growth of daughter bulbs. Furthermore, exogenous JA treatment promoted tulip bulb growth, whereas the JA biosynthesis inhibitor sodium diethyldithiocarbamate (DIECA) inhibited this process. This study offers supporting evidence for the involvement of tulip TgLOX4 and TgLOX5 in the regulation of daughter bulb growth and development.