Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
PECLIDES Neuro: A Personalisable Clinical Decision Support System for Neurological Diseases

Neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's impact millions of people worldwide. Early diagnosis has proven to greatly increase the chances of slowing down the diseases' progression. Correct diagnosis often relies on the analysis of large amounts of patient data, and thus lends itself well to support from machine learning algorithms, which are able to learn from past diagnosis and see clearly through the complex interactions of a patient's symptoms and data. Unfortunately, many contemporary machine learning techniques fail to reveal details about how they reach their conclusions, a property considered fundamental when providing a diagnosis. Here we introduce our Personalisable Clinical Decision Support System (PECLIDES), an algorithmic process formulated to address this specific fault in diagnosis detection. PECLIDES provides a clear insight into the decision-making process leading to a diagnosis, making it a gray box model. Our algorithm enriches the fundamental work of Masheyekhi and Gras in data integration, personal medicine, usability, visualization, and interactivity. Our decision support system is an operation of translational medicine. It is based on random forests, is personalisable and allows a clear insight into the decision-making process. A well-structured rule set is created and every rule of the decision-making process can be observed by the user (physician). Furthermore, the user has an impact on the creation of the final rule set and the algorithm allows the comparison of different diseases as well as regional differences in the same disease. The algorithm is applicable to various decision problems. In this paper we will evaluate it on diagnosing neurological diseases and therefore refer to the algorithm as PECLIDES Neuro1.
Short-Term Central Adaptation in Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo

Objective: To elucidate the frequency, underlying mechanisms, and clinical implications of spontaneous reversal of positional nystagmus (SRPN) in benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV). Methods: We prospectively recruited 182 patients with posterior canal (PC, n = 119) and horizontal canal (HC) BPPV (n = 63) canalolithiasis. We analyzed the maximal slow phase velocity (maxSPV), duration, and time constant (Tc) of positional nystagmus, and compared the measures between groups with and without SRPN. We also compared the treatment outcome between two groups. Results: The frequency of SRPN in PC- and HC-BPPV was 47 and 68%, respectively. The maxSPVs were greater in BPPV with SRPN than without, larger in HC-BPPV than PC-BPPV (114.3 ± 56.8 vs. 57.1 ± 38.1°/s, p < 0.001). The reversed nystagmus last longer in HC-BPPV than PC-BPPV. The Tc of positional nystagmus got shorter in PC-BPPV with SRPN (3.7 ± 1.8 s) than without SRPN (4.5 ± 2.0 s, p = 0.034), while it was longer during contralesional head turning in HC-BPPV with SRPN (14.8 ± 7.5 s) than that of ipsilesional side (7.3 ±2.8 s, p < 0.001). The treatment response did not significantly differ between groups with and without SRPN in both PC- and HC-BPPV (p = 0.378 and p = 0.737, respectively). Conclusion: The SRPN is common in both PC- and HC-BPPV canalolithiasis. The intensity of rotational stimuli may be a major determinant for the development of short-term central adaptation which utilizes the velocity-storage system below a certain velocity limit. The presence of SRPN is not related to treatment outcome in BPPV.
Safflower Yellow and Its Main Component HSYA Alleviate Diet-Induced Obesity in Mice: Possible Involvement of the Increased Antioxidant Enzymes in Liver and Adipose Tissue

Purpose Oxidative stress plays an important role in the pathogenesis of obesity and its associated disorders. Safflower yellow (SY) and hydroxysafflor yellow A (HSYA), the natural compounds isolated from Carthamus tinctorius L. , has been found to possess antioxidative and anti-obesity properties. The purpose of the present study is to investigate whether SY and its main component HSYA alleviate obesity by the antioxidant effects. Methods Diet-induced obese (DIO) mice were treated with 200 mg/kg/d SY or HSYA for 10 weeks. Body weight, fat mass, serum biochemical parameters and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities were measured. Glucose and insulin tolerance tests were performed. The expression of antioxidant enzymes in liver and adipose tissue were measured. In vitro, H2O2-induced oxidative stress HepG2 cells and 3T3-L1 adipocytes were treated with SY and HSYA to investigate the direct effects of SY and HSYA on the expression of antioxidant enzymes. Results SY and HSYA significantly decreased the body weight gain of DIO mice, and decreased fat mass to 57.8% and 61.6% of the control mice, respectively (P < 0.05). The parameters of glucose metabolism and liver function were improved after SY and HSYA treatment. The hepatic SOD activities and the mRNA levels of antioxidant enzymes in liver and adipose tissue of SY and HSYA treated mice were increased (P < 0.05). Meanwhile, the administration of SY and HSYA on the H2O2-induced oxidative stress HepG2 cells and adipocytes also increased the expression of the antioxidant factor and antioxidant enzymes to 1.2~3.3 folds of the control cells (P < 0.05). Conclusion SY and its main component HSYA could significantly decrease the fat mass, and improve glucose metabolism and liver function in diet-induced obese mice. The beneficial effects of SY and HSYA on obesity and metabolism may be associated with the increased expression of antioxidant enzymes in liver and adipose tissue.
The Value of CEUS in Distinguishing Cancerous Lymph Nodes From the Primary Lymphoma of the Head and Neck

Aim: The purpose of this study was to assess the ability of contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS) in the differential diagnosis of cancerous lymph nodes. Methods: Contrast-enhanced ultrasonography was performed in the cervical nodules of included patients, and the diagnoses were confirmed by pathological examination. Contrast-enhanced ultrasonography images and parameters of head and neck lymphomas were compared with those of cancerous lymph nodes. Besides, receiver operating characteristic curve was operated to access the diagnostic value of CEUS. Results: Finally, a total of 63 head and neck lymphomas and 80 cervical cancerous lymph nodes were enrolled in this study. Results showed that the CEUS images of lymphoma were mainly characterized by homogeneous enhancement (71.43%), and approximately half of them were centripetal perfusion (58.73%), whereas most CEUS images of cancerous lymph nodes were inhomogeneous enhancement (82.50%) and centripetal perfusion (92.50%). Quantitative analysis of CEUS parameters indicated that PI (derived peak intensity) and AUC (area under the curve) of lymphomas were both lower than those of cancerous lymph nodes (PI: 8.78 vs. 10.51, AUC: 652.62 vs. 784.09, respectively) (P < 0.05). Receiver operating characteristic analysis showed that the sensitivity of CEUS parameters in the differential diagnosis was significant (80.00%), although the specificity was not high (47.62%). When parameters were combined with the image features, the accuracy of diagnosis was greatly improved (from 0.655 to 0.899). Conclusion: Contrast-enhanced ultrasonography could be a promising tool for the differential diagnosis of head and neck lymphomas and cancerous lymph nodes.
The Mediator Role of Academic Resilience in the Relationship of Anxiety Sensitivity, Social and Adaptive Functioning, and School Refusal With School Attachment in High School Students

School has an important function in providing the environment for young people to acquire many skills and knowledge required by contemporary life, but the problems of attachment to school and problematic attendance all over the world reveal an increasing statistic. It is thought that some negative processes such as anxiety sensitivity, social and adaptive functioning, and school refusal can affect this problem. On the other hand, it is considered that the academic resilience of young people has an important protective function in terms of these risk factors. For this purpose, the mediator role of academic resilience between anxiety sensitivity, social and adaptive functioning, and school refusal and school attachment were examined in a Turkish sample of 452 high school students. In the process of data collection, the school refusal assessment scale, social and adaptive functioning scale, and academic resilience scale were adapted and used in the Turkish culture. In the data analysis, the structural equation model was used to determine the direct and indirect predictive effects between the variables. The results of the study showed that academic resilience fully mediated the relationship between anxiety sensitivity and school attachment, whereas it partially mediated the relationship between social and adaptive functioning and school refusal and school attachment. Based on the results of the study, it was evaluated that high academic resilience has a strong protective function against the problems of negative school attachment and problematic school absenteeism among young people, and this finding was discussed within the context of literature.
Perineural Invasion and Postoperative Adjuvant Chemotherapy Efficacy in Patients With Gastric Cancer

Purpose: There is currently a lack of validated predictors for adjuvant chemotherapy efficacy in patients with gastric cancer (GC). Perineural invasion (PNI) is the process of neoplastic invasion of the nerves, accompanied by tumor microenvironment (TME) changes. TME can determine treatment outcome while the impact of PNI on chemotherapy efficacy remains unknown in GC. We investigated the association between PNI and the efficacy of postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with resected GC. Methods: Patients who underwent radical resection of stage IB-III GC with or without fluoropyrimidine (FU)-based adjuvant chemotherapy were retrospectively selected from two separate patient cohorts. PNI was confirmed with S100 immunohistochemistry (IHC). Tumor hypoxia and activity of selected pathways were quantified by mRNA-based signature scoring based on publicly available data. A hypoxia biomarker, ERO1A, and a FU resistance biomarker, thymidylate synthase (TS), were assessed by IHC, respectively. Results: Two cohorts included 223 and 599 patients, respectively. Adjuvant chemotherapy significantly improved overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) in PNI-positive but not in PNI-negative patients, which was not impacted by stages. Multivariate models showed that adjuvant chemotherapy was an independent predictor for OS and DFS in PNI-positive patients in both cohorts. For TME, PNI-negative tumors were more hypoxic than were PNI-positive tumors, and displayed relative up-regulation of signaling along the pathways that are important in FU metabolism or resistance. Expressions of ERO1A and TS significantly decreased in PNI-positive compared to PNI-negative tumors. Conclusions: PNI might help predict adjuvant chemotherapy benefit in patients with resected GC. Validation in prospective studies is required. Novel treatment strategies need to be developed in PNI-negative patients.
Evaluation of Reactivity of Monoclonal Antibodies Against Omp25 of Brucella spp.

Brucellosis is a serious zoonosis occurring mainly in developing countries, and its diagnosis is largely dependent on serologic detection and bacterial culture. In this study, we developed the murine monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against a conserved and major outer membrane protein 25 (Omp25) of Brucella species (B. spp.) for use in clinical diagnosis. The mAbs to Omp25 were produced by hybridoma technique, which were utilized for developing various immunoassays for detection of Brucellae, including Western blot (WB), enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), immunochemical staining (ICS), immunofluorescence staining (IFS), and flow cytometry assay (FCM). A number of five mAbs (2B10, 4A12, 4F10, 6C12, and 8F3) specific to Omp25 were selected, including 2 IgG1, 2 IgG2a, and 1 IgG2b. Among them, mAbs 6C12, 8F3, and 4A12 reacted highly with B. melitensis (M5-90), B. abortus (S19, 104M, and 2308), and B. suis strain (S2). No cross-reactivity with Yersinia enterocolitica O:9, Salmonella spp. , and Escherichia coli was found. By mapping Omp25 epitopes, mAb 6C12 was found as reacting with a semi-conformational epitope, and mAbs 4A12 and 8F3 as recognizing a different linear epitope, respectively. The paired mAbs were tested for detecting Brucella species, suggesting that 8F3 was suitable for solid phase capture and 6C12 or 4A12 was suitable for conjugation with HRP for detection of Brucella Omp25 in ELISA. The FCM was established by mAb 6C12 for detecting intracellular Brucellae-infected peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from brucellosis patients. In conclusion, mAbs against Omp25 are precious reagents for detection of Brucellae in clinical samples with various immunoassays. mAb 6C12-based FCM could be potentially used for the monitoring of therapeutic efficacy for brucellosis in clinical practice.
Motion and Gender-Typing Features Interact in the Perception of Human Bodies

The human body conveys socially relevant information, including a person’s gender. Several studies have shown that both shape and motion inform gender judgments of bodies. However, while body shape seems to influence more the judgment of female bodies, body motion seems to play a major role in the judgments of male bodies. Yet, the interdependence of morphologic and dynamic cues in shaping gender judgment and attractiveness evaluation in body perception is still unclear. In two experiments, we investigated how variations of implied motion and shape interact in perceptual and affective judgments of female and male bodies. In Experiment 1, participants were asked to provide ratings for masculinity and femininity of virtual renderings of human bodies with variable gender-typing features and implied motion. We found evidence of a tendency to perceive bodies in static poses as more feminine and bodies in dynamic poses as more masculine. In Experiment 2, participants rated the same pictures for dynamism and pleasantness. We found that male bodies were judged more dynamic than female bodies with the same pose. Also, female bodies were liked more in static than in dynamic poses. A mediation analysis allowed us to further shed light on the relationship between gender-typing features and motion, suggesting that the less is the movement conveyed by a female body, the greater is an observer’s sensitivity to its femininity, and this leads to a more positive evaluation of its pleasantness. Our findings hint to an association between stillness and femininity in body perception, which can stem from either the evolutionary meaning of sexual selection and/or the influence of cultural norms.
All-Inorganic CsPbBr3 Perovskite Films Prepared by Single Source Thermal Ablation

Hybrid organo-lead halide perovskites are becoming the benchmark material for next generation photovoltaics and a very important player for other applications such as photodetectors and light emitting diodes. Nevertheless, the most important issue hindering the large-scale application of these materials remains their intrinsic instability due to the organic cation. Although the substitution with inorganic cesium (Cs) enhances stability, in most cases solution deposition methods of fully inorganic perovskites result in high surface roughness and poor surface coverage. This work reports on the evaporation of the CsPbBr3 precursor by Single Source Thermal Ablation, showing that just after deposition films consist of a mixture of CsPbBr3, CsPb2Br5, and Cs4PbBr6 due to a vertical composition gradient. We point out that mild post deposition treatments lead to the conversion of CsPb2Br5 and Cs4PbBr6 into CsPbBr3 due to its higher thermodynamic stability. Conversion results into smooth and pinhole-free CsPbBr3 films with good light absorption and emission properties. We demonstrate the suitability of obtained films for planar devices by preparing perovskite-based pure-green light emitting diodes, thus promoting Single Source Thermal Ablation as a promising alternative deposition technique for all-inorganic perovskite-based devices.
The Use of Recreational Fishers’ Ecological Knowledge to Assess the Conservation Status of Marine Ecosystems

There is a reluctance to incorporate Fishers’ Ecological Knowledge (FEK) into the evidence base used to underpin marine management decisions. FEK has proved to be useful as an alternative reference of biological changes in data-poor scenarios. Yet, recreational fisher knowledge has rarely been included in scientific studies despite being a source of FEK. Here, the use of recreational FEK to assess the conservation status of marine ecosystems in Galicia (NW Spain) was evaluated. Galicia has a highly complex marine socioecological system that includes both a large global commercial fleet and a powerful recreational sector, alongside other important stakeholders (e.g., tourism, aquaculture). Anglers and spear fishers were asked to provide their perceptions of the conservation status of fish stocks and the impacts on marine ecosystems. Face-to-face interviews were transcribed into text and analyzed using text mining tools. Key concepts were used to quantify fishers’ perceptions of changes in their target fish stocks and quantify the main impacts on marine ecosystems. Overfishing and habitat loss, followed by reduction in biodiversity, pollution, and warming temperatures were considered to be the main drivers of the poor status of cephalopods and finfish stocks. Perceived temporal declines in fish stocks were consistent with available biological data, highlighting the potential for recreational FEK to be used to assess long-term ecological changes. It was important to seek opinions from different users, including fishers from traditional commercial and recreational fisheries, as these groups had good knowledge of the impacts on natural and cultural community heritage. The poor status of ballan wrasse (Labrus bergylta) and kelp beds was identified, which was of concern due to it being a key species in coastal ecosystems. Use of FEK is a good approach to develop knowledge of these systems, but broader monitoring programs are needed to protect the future of these ecosystems.
Understanding Human–Technology Relations Within Technologization and Appification of Musicality

In this paper, we outline a theoretical account of the relationship between technology and human musicality. An enactive and biocultural position is adopted that assumes a close coevolutionary relationship between the two. From this position, we aim at clarifying how the present and emerging technologies, becoming embedded and embodied in our lifeworld, inevitably co-constitute and transform musical practices, skills, and ways of making sense of music. Therefore, as a premise of our scrutiny, we take it as a necessity to more deeply understand the ways that humans become affiliated to the ever-changing instruments of music technology, in order to better understand the coevolutionary impact on learning and other aspects of musicality being constituted together with these instruments. This investigation is particularly motivated by the rapid and diverse development of mobile applications and their potential impact, as musical instruments, on learning and cognizing music. The term appification refers to enactive processes in which applications (i.e., apps) and their user interfaces, developed for various ecosystems of mobile smart technology, partake in reorganizing our ways of musical acting and thinking. On the basis of the theoretical analysis, we argue that understanding the phenomenon of the human–technology relationship, and its implications for our embodied musical minds, requires acknowledging (1) how apps contribute to conceptual constructing of musical activities, (2) how apps can be designed or utilized in a way that reinforces the epistemological continuum between embodied and abstract sense-making, and (3) how apps become merged with musical instruments.
Evidence for a Common Multi-Modal Learning Style in Young Adults? A Psychometric Investigation of Two Modality-Specific Learning Style Inventories

A well-known hypothesis amongst educators and the general public is that matching instructional method with an individual’s modality-specific learning style improves learning. Several critical reports in the past decade, however, have shown that the psychometric properties of the inventories applied to establish modality-specific learning styles have been poorly validated. Furthermore, theoretical development has challenged the theoretical basis for the modality-specific learning style model. Thus, the aim of the current study was to examine the psychometric properties and relationship between, two modality-specific learning style inventories: the Barsch Learning Style Inventory (BLSI) and the Learning Style Survey (LSS). University students (n = 242) completed the two inventories, and their responses were subjected to confirmatory and exploratory factor analysis, as well as analysis of inter-item agreement (internal consistency). The results failed to support the expected three-factor measurement model and thus indicated questionable reliability and factorial validity of the two inventories. Analysis of inter-correlations between factors from the two inventories resulted in a one-factor solution explaining up to 40% of the variance, which is discussed as emerging through an overall multimodal learning style.
A New Hope for CD56negCD16pos NK Cells as Unconventional Cytotoxic Mediators: An Adaptation to Chronic Diseases

Natural Killer (NK) cells play an essential role in antiviral and anti-tumoral immune responses. In peripheral blood, NK cells are commonly classified into two major subsets: CD56brightCD16neg and CD56dimCD16pos despite the characterization of a CD56negCD16pos subset 25 years ago. Since then, several studies have described the prevalence of an CD56negCD16pos NK cell subset in viral non-controllers as the basis for their NK cell dysfunction. However, the mechanistic basis for their cytotoxic impairment is unclear. Recently, using a strict flow cytometry gating strategy to exclude monocytes, we reported an accumulation of CD56negCD16pos NK cells in Plasmodium falciparum malaria-exposed children and pediatric cancer patients diagnosed with endemic Burkitt lymphoma (eBL). Here, we use live-sorted cells, histological staining, bulk RNA-sequencing and flow cytometry to confirm that this CD56negCD16pos NK cell subset has the same morphological features as the other NK cell subsets and a similar transcriptional profile compared to CD56dimCD16pos NK cells with only 120 genes differentially expressed (fold change of 1.5, p < 0.01 and FDR<0.05) out of 9235 transcripts. CD56negCD16pos NK cells have a distinct profile with significantly higher expression of MPEG1 (perforin 2), FCGR3B (CD16b), FCGR2A, and FCGR2B (CD32A and B) as well as CD6, CD84, HLA-DR, LILRB1/2, and PDCD1 (PD-1), whereas Interleukin 18 (IL18) receptor genes (IL18RAP and IL18R1), cytotoxic genes such as KLRF1 (NKp80) and NCR1 (NKp46), and inhibitory HAVCR2 (TIM-3) are significantly down-regulated compared to CD56dimCD16pos NK cells. Together, these data confirm that CD56negCD16pos cells are legitimate NK cells, yet their transcriptional and protein expression profiles suggest their cytotoxic potential is mediated by pathways reliant on antibodies such as antibody-dependent cell cytotoxicity (ADCC), antibody-dependent respiratory burst (ADRB), and enhanced by complement receptor 3 (CR3) and FAS/FASL interaction. Our findings support the premise that chronic diseases induce NK cell modifications that circumvent proinflammatory mediators involved in direct cytotoxicity. Therefore, individuals with such altered NK cell profiles may respond differently to NK-mediated immunotherapies, infections or vaccines depending on which cytotoxic mechanisms are being engaged.