Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Abbreviated MRI protocol for colorectal liver metastases: How the radiologist could work in pre surgical setting

Background MRI is the most reliable imaging modality that allows to assess liver metastases. Our purpose is to compare the per-lesion and per-patient detection rate of gadoxetic acid-(Gd-EOB) enhanced liver MRI and fast MR protocol including Diffusion Weighted Imaging (DWI) and T2-W Fat Suppression sequence in the detection of liver metastasis in pre surgical setting. Methods One hundred and eight patients with pathologically proven liver metastases (756 liver metastases) underwent Gd-EOBMRI were enrolled in this study. Three radiologist independently graded the presence of liver lesions on a five-point confidence scale assessed only abbreviated protocol (DWI and sampling perfection with application-optimized contrasts using different flip angle evolution (SPACE) fat suppressed sequence) and after an interval of more than 2 weeks the conventional study (all acquired sequences). Per-lesion and per-patient detection rate of metastases were calculated. Weighted к values were used to evaluate inter-reader agreement of the confidence scale regarding the presence of the lesion. Results MRI detected 732 liver metastases. All lesions were identified both by conventional study as by abbreviated protocol. In terms of per-lesion detection rate of liver metastasis, all three readers had higher detection rate both with abbreviated protocol and with standard protocol with Gd-EOB (96.8% [732 of 756] vs. 96.5% [730 of 756] for reader 1; 95.8% [725 of 756] vs. 95.2% [720 of 756] for reader 2; 96.5% [730 of 756] vs. 96.5% [730 of 756] for reader 3). Inter-reader agreement of lesions detection rate between the three radiologists was excellent (k range, 0.86–0.98) both for Gd-EOB MRI and for Fast protocol (k range, 0.89–0.99). Conclusion Abbreviated protocol showed the same detection rate than conventional study in detection of liver metastases.
EEG Fingerprints under Naturalistic Viewing Using a Portable Device

The electroencephalogram (EEG) has been proven to be a promising technique for personal identification and verification. Recently, the aperiodic component of the power spectrum was shown to outperform other commonly used EEG features. Beyond that, EEG characteristics may capture relevant features related to emotional states. In this work, we aim to understand if the aperiodic component of the power spectrum, as shown for resting-state experimental paradigms, is able to capture EEG-based subject-specific features in a naturalistic stimuli scenario. In order to answer this question, we performed an analysis using two freely available datasets containing EEG recordings from participants during viewing of film clips that aim to trigger different emotional states. Our study confirms that the aperiodic components of the power spectrum, as evaluated in terms of offset and exponent parameters, are able to detect subject-specific features extracted from the scalp EEG. In particular, our results show that the performance of the system was significantly higher for the film clip scenario if compared with resting-state, thus suggesting that under naturalistic stimuli it is even easier to identify a subject. As a consequence, we suggest a paradigm shift, from task-based or resting-state to naturalistic stimuli, when assessing the performance of EEG-based biometric systems.
Temporal and Age-Specific Trends in Acute Stroke Incidence: A 15-Year Population-Based Study of Administrative Data in Ontario, Canada

ABSTRACT: Background: Contemporary data on temporal trends in acute stroke incidence, specific to stroke type and age, are lacking. We sought to evaluate temporal trends in incidence of ischemic stroke and intracerebral hemorrhage over 15 years in a large population. Methods: We used linked administrative data to identify all emergency department visits and hospital admissions for first-ever ischemic stroke or intracerebral hemorrhage in Ontario, Canada from 2003–2017. We evaluated annual age-/sex-standardized incidence per 100,000 person-years for ischemic stroke and intracerebral hemorrhage across the study period. We used negative binomial regression to determine incidence rate ratios for each year compared to 2003, with assessment of modification by age, sex, or stroke type. Results: Our cohort had 163,574 people with stroke (88% ischemic stroke). For ischemic stroke and intracerebral hemorrhage combined, age-/sex-standardized incidence decreased between 2003 and 2011 (standardized rate 109.4 to 85.8 per 100,000; 22%), then increased until 2017 (standardized rate 96.8 per 100,000; 13%). The pattern of change was similar for ischemic stroke and intracerebral hemorrhage, and for men and women, but was modified by age. For those aged 60 and above, adjusted incidence rate ratios decreased from 2003 to 2011 then subsequently increased, whereas for those aged <60 years incidence rate ratios increased throughout the entire study time period, particularly after 2011. Conclusions: Acute stroke incidence decreased from 2003 to 2011 but subsequently increased until 2017. Among those aged <60, incidence increased continuously from 2003 to 2017 but especially after 2011. The underlying reasons for these changes should be determined.
Relationship between Quality of Life and Sociodemographic, Physical and Mental Health Variables in People over 65 in the Community of Madrid

Except in the case of depression, there are few studies that analyze mental health variables related to quality of life (QoL) in people over 65 years of age. The objective of this study is to analyze the relationship between QoL and the following variables: sociodemographic and physical and mental health of people over 65 years of age. The sample was randomly selected and consists of men and women between 65 and 84 years of age (N = 555) from the Community of Madrid. Mental disorders were evaluated with the CIDI65+ interview and QoL with the WHOQoL-BREF scale. Means, ANOVA and multiple linear regression analyses were performed. Women have worse QoL than men and QoL worsens with age. The regression model for the dependent variable “WHOQoL BREF Scale” explains 41.43% of the variance (R2 = 0.413). The variables that have the greatest impact on QoL are as follows: a greater number of physical and psychological symptoms, experiencing financial difficulties and the presence of a psychological disorder, while continuing to work has a positive effect on QoL. Physical and mental disorders have a similar impact on QoL. The presence of a greater number of psychological symptoms (without necessarily fulfilling the criteria of a mental disorder) is a predictive variable of worse QoL. Mental health has a burden on the QoL of people over 65 years of age that is as powerful as physical health.
Five‐year outcomes of ADHD diagnosed in adulthood

There is a dearth of long‐term follow‐up studies of adults diagnosed with ADHD. Here, the aim was to evaluate long‐term outcomes in a group of ADHD patients diagnosed in adulthood and receiving routine psychiatric health care. Adults diagnosed with any type of ADHD (n = 52) and healthy controls (n = 73) were assessed at baseline and at a 5‐year follow‐up, using Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF), Clinical Global Impression (CGI), Brown ADD Scale (BADDS) and Adult ADHD Self‐Report Scale (ASRS). A multivariate regression method was used to identify factors predicting 5‐year outcomes, including baseline ratings, medication intensity, comorbidity, intelligence quotient (IQ), age, and sex. After 5 years, ADHD patients reported fewer and/or less severe symptoms compared to baseline, but remained at clinically significant symptom levels and with functional deficits. Baseline self‐reports of ADHD symptoms predicted their own 5‐year outcome and low baseline functioning level predicted improved global functioning at follow‐up. Factors previously reported to predict short‐term outcomes (i.e., medication, comorbidity, IQ, age, and sex) did not anticipate long‐term outcomes in present study.
Sleep assessment by means of a wrist actigraphy-based algorithm: agreement with polysomnography in an ambulatory study on older adults

ABSTRACT The purpose of the present work is to examine, on a clinically diverse population of older adults (N = 46) sleeping at home, the performance of two actigraphy-based sleep tracking algorithms (i.e., Actigraphy-based Sleep algorithm, ACT-S1 and Sadeh’s algorithm) compared to manually scored electroencephalography-based PSG (PSG-EEG). ACT-S1 allows for a fully automatic identification of sleep period time (SPT) and within the identified sleep period, the sleep-wake classification. SPT detected by ACT-S1 did not differ statistically from using PSG-EEG (bias = −9.98 min; correlation 0.89). In sleep-wake classification on 30-s epochs within the identified sleep period, the new ACT-S1 presented similar or slightly higher accuracy (83–87%), precision (86–89%) and F1 score (90–92%), significantly higher specificity (39–40%), and significantly lower, but still high, sensitivity (96–97%) compared to Sadeh’s algorithm, which achieved 99% sensitivity as the only measure better than ACT-S1’s. Total sleep times (TST) estimated with ACT-S1 and Sadeh’s algorithm were higher, but still highly correlated to PSG-EEG’s TST. Sleep quality metrics of sleep period efficiency and wake-after-sleep-onset computed by ACT-S1 were not significantly different from PSG-EEG, while the same sleep quality metrics derived by Sadeh’s algorithm differed significantly from PSG-EEG. Agreement between ACT-S1 and PSG-EEG reached was highest when analyzing the subset of subjects with least disrupted sleep (N = 28). These results provide evidence of promising performance of a full-automation of the sleep tracking procedure with ACT-S1 on older adults. Future longitudinal validations across specific medical conditions are needed. The algorithm’s performance may further improve with integrating multi-sensor information.
Is chronic obstructive pulmonary disease an independent predictor for adverse outcomes in coronavirus disease 2019 patients?

OBJECTIVE This study aimed to investigate whether pre-existing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) was an independent predictor for adverse outcomes in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS We searched electronic databases, including PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, and Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) to screen for eligible articles. A quantitative meta-analysis was performed on the basis of adjusted effect estimates. RESULTS We observed that COPD was significantly associated with an increased risk of adverse outcomes in COVID-19 patients, which is based on 18 studies with 26,075 cases reporting adjusted effect estimates (pooled effect = 1.53, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.29-1.8; I2 = 35.4%, random-effects model). CONCLUSIONS We found that pre-existing COPD was an independent risk factor for predicting the adverse outcomes in COVID-19 patients.
Corruption as Injustice

Although the general public sees corruption as a problem of social justice, the academic literature has explored it as a problem of development, usually in a narrow sense of economic development. This paper attempts to develop a normative theory of corruption as a form of injustice. I define corruption as abuse of power that is a breach of “formal justice” and a violation of “obligations of fairness” by individuals for their private gain, which involves betrayal of public trust. Corruption can be justified only when the gain in substantive justice is large enough to clearly outweigh the loss in formal justice and other alternatives are unavailable. Unjust rules, in terms of substantive principles of justice or in terms of implementability and observability, give partial justification for corruption as self-defense. Hence, unjust rules and institutions tend to breed institutional corruption. Any gains in efficiency from corruption are accompanied by negative externalities such as losses for honest competitors and erosion of social trust. Hence, corruption is not functional for economic efficiency as well as for human development in the long run. I argue that the private sector as well as the public sector is prone to corruption, that market failures as well as government failures produce incentives for corruption, and that principalprincipal relations as well as principal-agent relations are prone to corruption. Formal justice such as control of corruption and substantive justice such as democracy (procedural justice) and income equality (distributive justice) tend to mutually reinforce each other. *I thank Nancy Rosenblum, Susan Rose-Ackerman, and Dennis Thompson for their helpful comments to earlier versions of this paper.
Murine Cytomegalovirus–induced Complement-fixing Antibodies Deposit in Murine Renal Allografts During Acute Rejection

Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text. Background. Human cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is associated with renal allograft dysfunction and loss, particularly in combination with acute rejection. Emerging literature suggests that non-HLA antibodies may contribute to antibody-mediated rejection, but pathogen-induced antibodies have not been investigated in this context. This study examines the presence of CMV-induced antibodies in murine CMV (MCMV)–infected renal allografts during acute rejection. Methods. Intragraft immunoglobulin G (IgG) and complement C3 immunostaining were compared among allogeneic MCMV D−/R−, D+/R−, and D+/R+ renal transplants. Intragraft antibody deposition was examined in B cell–deficient recipients treated with MCMV immune sera. Antibody binding and complement-dependent cytotoxicity (CDC) of D−/R− and D+/R+ sera against infected renal tubular epithelial cells (TECs) were measured in vitro. IgG immunostaining was performed in D+/R+ allografts and native kidneys and in D+/R− allografts treated with ganciclovir to inhibit viral replication. Results. D+/R− and D+/R+ transplants had more abundant IgG and C3 deposition compared with D−/R− recipients. Greater IgG deposition was associated with more severe allograft injury in B cell–deficient recipients treated with MCMV immune sera compared with nonimmune sera. D+/R+ sera induced greater CDC of infected TECs compared with D−/R− sera. Native kidneys had lower IgG deposition compared with allografts, despite similar organ viral loads. Ganciclovir-treated allografts had reduced IgG deposition compared with untreated allografts. Conclusions. In this murine model, complement-fixing antibodies can deposit into MCMV-infected renal allografts, are associated with allograft damage, and can induce CDC of MCMV-infected renal TECs. The allogeneic response and viral replication may also contribute to intragraft antibody deposition.
Second Job Holding Among Direct Care Workers and Nurses: Implications for COVID-19 Transmission in Long-Term Care

One reason that nursing homes are a primary source of COVID-19 infections and deaths in the United States may be that workers hold multiple jobs. We use 2010-2019 Current Population Survey data to document the rate of second jobholding among nursing and long-term care workers. On average, 6.41% of personal care and nursing aides and 6.23% of licensed practical nurses and registered nurses hold second jobs; second job holding rates are 35% and 32% higher than those of other workers, respectively. Both wages and hours in the primary job are negatively associated with the probability of holding a second job for personal care and nursing aides, while lower hours are more strongly correlated with a second job for registered nurses and licensed practical nurses. Many of these workers move across health settings from their first to second jobs, and 15% of second jobs for personal care and nursing aides are in other “essential” occupations.
Nouveau procédé de traitement de composés organiques volatils (COV) par biofiltration solide-gaz : application à la transformation des composés halogénés volatils par des micro-organismes déshydratés

Les COV sont des polluants atmospheriques indesirables. Or, la qualite de l'air est devenu un enjeu majeur de notre societe moderne. Cette prise de conscience amenent donc les industriels a proposer des procedes de traitement innovants pour lutter contre les emissions atmospheriques. C'est dans cette demarche que s'inscrit cette these preparee au LBCB et soutenue par l'ADEME et la region Poitou-Charentes. La transformation directement en phase gaz de COV par des micro-organismes deshydrates represente un nouveau concept en biodepollution. Pour la premiere fois, il a ete mis en evidence la possibilite d'utiliser des bacteries deshydratees telles que Rhodococcus erythropolis NCIMB13064 ou Xanthobacter autotrophicus GJ10 pour transformer des composes halogenes volatils en leurs alcools correspondant dans un biofiltre solide/gaz. Des travaux sur une reaction modele, la dehalogenation du 1-chlorobutane en butan-1-ol, ont permis d'optimiser l'activite depolluante de ces bacteries. Ainsi, des parametres tels que la temperature, l'activite thermodynamique des molecules dans la phase gaz (eau, COV,. . . ) ou le flux gazeux total influent directement sur la capacite de degradation et la stabilite du systeme. Differents pretraitements ont ete realises sur les bacteries afin d'ameliorer leur performance catalytique dans le biofiltre. Les bacteries subissent une permeabilisation de leur paroi (par ultrasons ou lysozyme) avant deshydratation. Ensuite, directement dans le systeme de depollution, les bacteries sont traitees pendant quelques minutes ou en continu avec un flux gazeux basique (amoniaque notamment) en circuit ferme. Ces traitements jouent un role essentiel au niveau de la duree de vie du catalyseur biologique car ils evitent l'accumulation d'acide chlorhydrique dans le biofiltre souvent responsable de l'inactivation du pouvoir degradant. L'extension des etudes a d'autres polluants de la meme famille a montre que la capacite de transformation du biofiltre solide/gaz est plus importante pour les composes halogenes qui possedent une chaine hydrogenocarbonee longue. Cette caracteristique notoire est tres interessante car ces composes sont generalement insolubles en milieu aqueux et posent donc de reels problemes en milieu liquide classique.
Influence of quantified dry cupping on soft tissue compliance in athletes with myofascial pain syndrome

Purpose This study aimed to develop a quantitative dry cupping system that can monitor negative pressure attenuation and soft tissue pull-up during cupping to quantify soft tissue compliance. Methods Baseball players with myofascial pain syndrome were recruited to validate the benefits of cupping therapy. Nine of 40 baseball players on the same team were diagnosed with trapezius myofascial pain syndrome; another nine players from the same team were recruited as controls. All participants received cupping with a negative pressure of 400 mmHg for 15 minutes each time, twice a week, for 4 weeks. Subjective perception was investigated using upper extremity function questionnaires, and soft tissue compliance was quantified objectively by the system. Results During the 15-minute cupping procedure, pressure attenuation in the normal group was significantly greater than that in the myofascial group (p = 0.017). The soft tissue compliance in the normal group was significantly higher than that in the myofascial group (p = 0.050). Moreover, a 4-week cupping intervention resulted in an obvious increase in soft tissue lift in the myofascial pain group (p = 0.027), although there was no statistical difference in the improvement of soft tissue compliance. Shoulder (p = 0.023) and upper extremity function (p = 0.008) were significantly improved in both groups, but there was no significant difference between the two groups. Conclusion This quantitative cupping monitoring system could immediately assess tissue compliance and facilitate the improvement of soft tissues after cupping therapy. Hence, it can be used in athletes to improve their functional recovery and maintain soft tissues health during the off-season period.
On the Surface Residual Stress Measurement in Magnesium Alloys Using X-Ray Diffraction

X-ray penetration in magnesium alloys is significant due to the low X-ray mass attenuation coefficient. To measure the surface residual stresses in magnesium alloys, a correction needs to be made to account for penetration depth. The residual stresses in as-received and shot peened AZ31B-H24 rolled sheet samples were measured using two-dimensional X-ray diffraction (2D-XRD) method. The electro-polishing layer removal method was used to find the residual stress pattern at the surface and through the depth. The results show that the corrected residual stresses in a few tens of micrometers layer from the surface differ from the raw stresses. To better estimate the residual stress distribution in the surface, the grazing-incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXD) technique was applied. Additionally, micrographs of the lateral cross-section of the peened specimens confirmed the presence of microcracks in this region, causing the residual stresses to vanish. Due to the low X-ray absorption coefficient of Mg alloys, this study shows how a small uncertainty in a single raw measurement leads to high uncertainty in the corrected residual stresses. The results were corroborated with the hole drilling method of residual stress measurements. The corrected X-ray diffraction (XRD) results are in close agreement with the hole drilling and GIXD results.
Personality profiles and meteoropathy intensity: A comparative study between young and older adults

Objectives This study’s main aims were to investigate the Big Five personality trait heterogeneity of study participants in two age groups and to examine whether these traits’ heterogeneity can explain possible individual differences in meteoropathy intensity. Method The sample was comprised of 758 participants divided into two age groups: 378 young adults (18–30 years old) and 380 older adults (60+ years old). The participants filled out online or paper versions of the METEO-Q questionnaire and the Ten Item Personality Inventory (TIPI). Results A latent profile analysis of the completed inventories showed various personality profiles differ in meteoropathy intensity. However, personality’s differentiating effect on meteoropathy was observed only among the young adult group. Conclusions Our study’s results indicate that there is no one personality trait pattern that fits all individuals regarding sensitivity to weather changes. This issue is especially visible when considering age differences.
Instability of CII is needed for efficient switching between lytic and lysogenic development in bacteriophage 186

Abstract The CII protein of temperate coliphage 186, like the unrelated CII protein of phage λ, is a transcriptional activator that primes expression of the CI immunity repressor and is critical for efficient establishment of lysogeny. 186-CII is also highly unstable, and we show that in vivo degradation is mediated by both FtsH and RseP. We investigated the role of CII instability by constructing a 186 phage encoding a protease resistant CII. The stabilised-CII phage was defective in the lysis-lysogeny decision: choosing lysogeny with close to 100% frequency after infection, and forming prophages that were defective in entering lytic development after UV treatment. While lysogenic CI concentration was unaffected by CII stabilisation, lysogenic transcription and CI expression was elevated after UV. A stochastic model of the 186 network after infection indicated that an unstable CII allowed a rapid increase in CI expression without a large overshoot of the lysogenic level, suggesting that instability enables a decisive commitment to lysogeny with a rapid attainment of sensitivity to prophage induction.