Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Detection of myocardial scars in neonatal infants from computerized echocardiographic texture analysis.

It has been demonstrated that highly reflectile echoes (HREs) on standard echocardiograms may represent foci of myocardial fibrosis, calcification, or infiltration. A pilot study of the echocardiograms of premature infants by our group has indicated the presence of HREs in many stressed infants. We have subsequently shown that these HREs correspond to myocardial scarring or necrosis. By studying normal two-dimensional echocardiograms and those with visually observed highly reflectile echoes (HREs). we have been able to develop echo-intensity ranges for normal neonatal myocardium and suspected foci of necrosis. An amplitude analysis of the intensity levels of these highly reflectile areas (HREs) in the echocardiogram has indicated that their mean intensity was significantly higher than the surrounding healthy myocardial areas. Significant correlation was found between these highly reflectile echo zones and calcified or necrotic tissue based on postmortem pathological examination. An objective method of quantifying the ultrasonic reflection amplitude has thereby been developed by us, based on image analysis of the echograms available from the B-scan system. Algorithms have been developed for evaluating the greylevels (or echo intensities or reflection amplitudes) of the pixels, normalizing them with respect to the reflection amplitude of the pericardium, and then printing out the grey-level distribution over an image. Appropriate software has been developed to designate scarred myocardial segments, based on the mean and standard deviation of the selected region on the echo image in comparison with these values for the pericardium.
Commonality of TRIM32 mutation in causing sarcotubular myopathy and LGMD2H

Sarcotubular myopathy (OMIM 268950) is a rare autosomal recessive myopathy first described in two Hutterite brothers from South Dakota and in two non‐Hutterite brothers from Germany. We report that sarcotubular myopathy (STM) is caused by mutation in TRIM32, the gene encoding the tripartite motif‐containing protein 32. TRIM32 was found to be the gene mutated in limb girdle muscular dystrophy type 2H (LGMD2H [OMIM 254110]), a disorder that has been confined to the Hutterite population. The TRIM32 mutation found in the STM patients is identical to the causative mutation for LGMD2H (D487N), Haplotype analysis shows that the disease chromosomes share common ancestry. Ann Neurol 2005;57:591–595
Axially symmetric Bianchi I Yang-Mills cosmology as a dynamical system

We construct the most general form of axially symmetric SU(2) - Yang - Mills fields in Bianchi cosmologies. The dynamical evolution of axially symmetric Yang - Mills fields in the Bianchi I model is compared with the dynamical evolution of the electromagnetic field in Bianchi I and the fully isotropic Yang - Mills field in Friedmann - Robertson - Walker cosmologies. The stochastic properties of axially symmetric Bianchi I - Einstein - Yang - Mills systems are compared with those of axially symmetric Yang - Mills fields in flat space. After numerical computation of Liapunov exponents in synchronous (cosmological) time, it is shown that the Bianchi I - Einstein - Yang - Mills system has milder stochastic properties than the corresponding flat Yang - Mills system. The Liapunov exponent is non-vanishing in conformal time.
Urine Osmolarity and Risk of Dialysis Initiation in a Chronic Kidney Disease Cohort – a Possible Titration Target?

Background Increasing evidence is linking fluid intake, vasopressin suppression and osmotic control with chronic kidney disease progression. Interestingly, the association between urine volume, urine osmolarity and risk of dialysis initiation has not been studied in chronic kidney disease patients before. Objective To study the relationship between urine volume, urine osmolarity and the risk of initiating dialysis in chronic kidney disease. Design In a retrospective cohort analysis of 273 patients with chronic kidney disease stage 1–4 we assessed the association between urine volume, urine osmolarity and the risk of dialysis by a multivariate proportional sub-distribution hazards model for competing risk data according to Fine and Gray. Co-variables were selected via the purposeful selection algorithm. Results Dialysis was reached in 105 patients over a median follow-up period of 92 months. After adjustment for age, baseline creatinine clearance, other risk factors and diuretics, a higher risk for initiation of dialysis was found in patients with higher urine osmolarity. The adjusted sub-distribution hazard ratio for initiation of dialysis was 2.04 (95% confidence interval, 1.06 to 3.92) for each doubling of urine osmolarity. After 72 months, the estimated adjusted cumulative incidence probabilities of dialysis were 15%, 24%, and 34% in patients with a baseline urine osmolarity of 315, 510, and 775 mosm/L, respectively. Conclusions We conclude that higher urine osmolarity is associated with a higher risk of initiating dialysis. As urine osmolarity is a potentially modifiable risk factor, it thus deserves further, prospective research as a potential target in chronic kidney disease progression.
The Bodily Expressive Action Stimulus Test (BEAST). Construction and Validation of a Stimulus Basis for Measuring Perception of Whole Body Expression of Emotions

Whole body expressions are among the main visual stimulus categories that are naturally associated with faces and the neuroscientific investigation of how body expressions are processed has entered the research agenda this last decade. Here we describe the stimulus set of whole body expressions termed bodily expressive action stimulus test (BEAST), and we provide validation data for use of these materials by the community of emotion researchers. The database was composed of 254 whole body expressions from 46 actors expressing 4 emotions (anger, fear, happiness, and sadness). In all pictures the face of the actor was blurred and participants were asked to categorize the emotions expressed in the stimuli in a four alternative-forced-choice task. The results show that all emotions are well recognized, with sadness being the easiest, followed by fear, whereas happiness was the most difficult. The BEAST appears a valuable addition to currently available tools for assessing recognition of affective signals. It can be used in explicit recognition tasks as well as in matching tasks and in implicit tasks, combined either with facial expressions, with affective prosody, or presented with affective pictures as context in healthy subjects as well as in clinical populations.
Cysteine-Tailed Class I-Binding Peptides Bind to CpG Adjuvant and Enhance Primary CTL Responses1

Immunostimulatory CpG motifs in synthetic oligonucleotides can be effective adjuvants for the priming of CTLs. We first observed that a single male-specific peptide (KCSRNRQYL) (HY2) was more efficient than another male-specific peptide (WMHHNMDLI) (HY1) at priming IFN-γ-secreting CTLs in vivo when combined with lipid A and CpG and that it also visibly precipitated CpG. The addition of the six N-terminal residues (KCSRNR) from HY2 to HY1 yielded a peptide, KCSRNR-HY1, that both precipitated CpG and primed increased numbers of HY1-specific CTLs. We refer to this type of peptide as a primotope that includes a class I binding peptide tailed with amino acids that increase priming. Ala residues were substituted for the Arg/Lys residues (ACSANA-HY1), and these substitutions did not reduce in vivo priming potential. However, the substitution of Ala for Cys (KASRNR-HY1) resulted in the complete loss of priming, demonstrating the importance of Cys for in vivo priming when mixed with CpG. This result suggested that increased priming was based in disulfide bonding between Cys residues and internal phosphorothioate groups of synthetic CpG. The addition of Cys-bearing primotopes to radiolabeled CpG with a single thioate group resulted in the appearance of a new band that was inhibited by 1) Cys > Ala substitution and 2) reduction and alkylation of CpG. These results reveal a novel mechanism for complexing class I binding peptides and CpG adjuvant for development of new peptide-adjuvant combinations for vaccines for cancer and infectious diseases.
DSP: Robust Semi-supervised Dimensionality Reduction Using Dual Subspace Projections

High-dimensional data usually incur learning deficiencies and computational difficulties. We present a novel semi-supervised dimensionality reduction technique that embeds high-dimensional data in an optimal low-dimensional subspace, which is learned with a few user supplied constraints as well as the structure of input data. We study two types of constraints that indicate whether or not pairs of data points originate from the same class. Data partitions that satisfy both types of constraints may be conflicting. To solve this problem, our method projects data into two different subspaces, one in the kernel space and one in the original input space, each is designed for enforcing one type of constraints. Projections in the two spaces interact and data are embedded in an optimal low-dimensional subspace where constraints are maximally satisfied. Besides constraints, our method also preserves the intrinsic data structure, such that nearby/far away data points in the original space are still near to/far from each other in the embedded space. Compared to existing techniques, our method has the following advantages: 1) It can benefit from constraints even when only a few are available. 2) It is robust and does not suffer from over fitting. 3) It handles nonlinearly separable data, but learns a linear data transformation. Thus the method can be easily generalized to new data points and is efficient in dealing with large data sets. Experiments on real data from multiple domains clearly demonstrate that significant improvements in learning accuracy can be achieved after dimensionality reduction by employing only a few constraints.
Acute oral administration of low doses of methylphenidate targets calretinin neurons in the rat septal area

Methylphenidate (MPD) is a commonly administered drug to treat children suffering from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Alterations in septal driven hippocampal theta rhythm may underlie attention deficits observed in these patients. Amongst others, the septo-hippocampal connections have long been acknowledged to be important in preserving hippocampal function. Thus, we wanted to ascertain if MPD administration, which improves attention in patients, could affect septal areas connecting with hippocampus. We used low and orally administered MPD doses (1.3, 2.7 and 5 mg/Kg) to rats what mimics the dosage range in humans. In our model, we observed no effect when using 1.3 mg/Kg MPD; whereas 2.7 and 5 mg/Kg induced a significant increase in c-fos expression specifically in the medial septum (MS), an area intimately connected to the hippocampus. We analyzed dopaminergic areas such as nucleus accumbens and striatum, and found that only 5 mg/Kg induced c-fos levels increase. In these areas tyrosine hydroxylase correlated well with c-fos staining, whereas in the MS the sparse tyrosine hydroxylase fibers did not overlap with c-fos positive neurons. Double immunofluorescence of c-fos with neuronal markers in the septal area revealed that co-localization with choline acethyl transferase, parvalbumin, and calbindin with c-fos did not change with MPD treatment; whereas, calretinin and c-fos double labeled neurons increased after MPD administration. Altogether, these results suggest that low and acute doses of methylphenidate primary target specific populations of caltretinin medial septal neurons.
Effectiveness and safety of tocilizumab in achieving clinical and functional remission, and sustaining efficacy in biologics-naive patients with rheumatoid arthritis: The FIRST Bio study

Abstract Objective: To evaluate effectiveness and safety of tocilizumab (TCZ) in biologic-naive Japanese patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in real-world settings, and to analyze the relationship between disease duration and clinical outcomes. Methods: The FIRST Bio study was a postmarketing surveillance study of intravenous TCZ in biologics-naive patients who had a prior inadequate response or were intolerant to ≥1 conventional synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (csDMARD). Effectiveness, safety, and concomitant csDMARD administration were assessed. Results: Of the 839 patients analyzed, 72.3% completed 52 weeks of treatment. The Clinical Disease Activity Index (CDAI) remission rate at week 52 was 36.8%. Contributing factors for CDAI remission were younger age, early disease stage, and no comorbidities. Health Assessment Questionnaire Disability Index ≤0.5 was achieved in 65.1% of patients, and was significantly associated with disease duration. Discontinuation of concomitant methotrexate (MTX) and glucocorticoids (GCs) was possible in 19.3% and 34.1% of patients, respectively, without decreasing remission rate. The incidence (events/100 patient-years) of serious adverse events was 18.09, the most common being infection. Conclusion: These data validate the importance of TCZ treatment in the early stages of RA in biologic-naive patients to achieve increased effectiveness. The safety profile of TCZ was reconfirmed. Furthermore, TCZ therapy may allow discontinuation of concomitant MTX and GCs without affecting remission.
Design and performance evaluation of subsynchronous current suppressor with SSSC

A long transmission line needs controllable series as well as shunt compensation for power flow control and voltage regulation. This can be achieved by suitable combination of passive elements and active FACTS controllers. In this paper, series passive compensation and series active compensation provided by a static synchronous series compensator (SSSC) are considered. This paper presents investigation of subsynchronous resonance (SSR) characteristics of the hybrid series compensated power system and proposes a novel method for the extraction of subsynchronous component of line current using filter. The extracted subsynchronous frequency component of line current is used to modulate the SSSC injected voltage which suppresses subsynchronous current in the transmission network. This novel technique is termed as Subsynchronous Current Suppressor (SSCS). The design of SSCS is based on damping torque analysis. The results show the effectiveness of SSCS in damping in SSR. The 3-phase model of the SSSC is based on the switching functions. By neglecting harmonics in the switching function, D-Q model is derived which is combined with similar models of the other system components for linear analysis. The results of the linear analysis are validated by carrying out transient simulation based on the detailed nonlinear models.
Visual speech recognition of Modern Classic Arabic language

Viseme-based Visual Speech Recognition (VSR) systems, using Hidden Markov Models (HMM) for phoneme recognition, generally use 3-state left-right HMM for each viseme to recognize. In this article, we propose a novel approach introducing a consonant-vowel detector and using two classifiers: an HMM based classifier for the recognition of the “consonant part” of the phoneme and a classifier for the “vowel part”. The benefits of such an approach include (1) reducing the number of hidden states and (2) reducing the number of HMMs. We tested our method on a limited set of words of the Modern Classic Arabic language and achieved a recognition rate of 81.7%. Moreover, the proposed model is speaker-independent and uses visemes as the basic units, thereby, making it applicable to any set of words of varying size or content.
Second-Order Ambiguity in Very Low Probability Risks: Food Safety Valuation

Food consumption involves inherently risky decisions with uncertain probabilities. This study examines how second-order ambiguity, or uncertainty over probabilities, affects food safety decisions. We conduct a food safety survey wherein subjects face both unambiguous and ambiguous situations, each with the same expected value. Respondents show a preference for unambiguous situations and state a willingness to pay to avoid ambiguity
The Target Symptom Rating: A Brief Clinical Measure of Acute Psychiatric Symptoms in Children and Adolescents

Describes the development and psychometric properties of the Target Symptom Rating (TSR), a brief, multi-informant measure of commonly observed symptoms in child and adolescent clinical work. In a large sample of children and adolescents in inpatient and residential treatment, the 13 TSR items fell into 2 subscales: Emotional Problems and Behavior Problems, which were associated in expected ways with the Internalizing and Externalizing factors of the Achenbach scales and the Child and Adolescent Functional Assessment Scale (CAFAS). The measure was sensitive to change in brief and extended treatment, as rated by parents, patients, primary clinicians, and family therapists, and shows promise as a tool for outcome research in applied settings.
The association between peer relations, eating behaviors, and body esteem in adolescent girls

This study was designed to investigate the association between peer relations, eating behaviors, and body esteem in a sample of 876 adolescent girls ( M age = 14 years). Participants completed questionnaires assessing peer pressure about weight and appearance (i.e., social reinforcement & peer modeling), body esteem, dieting and bulimia, weight and appearance related teasing, self esteem and peer nominations of social rejection, popularity and teasing. Weight and height measurements were taken to calculate BMI. The Composite Social Map (CSM) procedure was used to determine clique membership and status. Data were analyzed at the level of the clique, the friendship pair, and the individual. For cliques, results indicated that nuclear cliques were characterized by higher mean levels of peer pressure than secondary and peripheral cliques. Girls in cliques with higher social reinforcement, higher peer modeling, and an earlier average age of menarche, reported higher dietary restraint. For bulimia, higher reports of social reinforcement were associated with higher levels of bulimic behavior. Girls in high pressure cliques with low general self esteem, low body esteem, and high body-shape teasing were more likely to report problematic eating behaviors. For best friend pairs, high between-pair associations were found for average popularity, social rejection, and age of first date, followed by perceptions of peer pressure. Further, dieting was a more common shared characteristic among best friend pairs than bulimic behavior. At the level of the individual, involvement in a close friendship, high opposite-sex relational esteem, severe weight and body-shape teasing, peer pressure about weight and appearance, externalized self-perceptions, and peer attributions about the importance of weight and appearance for popularity and dating were important predictors of problematic eating behaviors. A more complete relational model should also include family variables. These data point to the need for developing and implementing multilevel interventions. Prevention should focus on decreasing pressure by peers to be thin, increasing self and body esteem, and combating weight and body-shape related teasing within the school system
Pandemic Dynamics and the Breakdown of Herd Immunity

In this note we discuss the issues involved in attempting to model pandemic dynamics. More specifically, we show how it may be possible to make projections for the ongoing H1N1 pandemic as extrapolated from knowledge of seasonal influenza. We derive first-approximation parameter estimates for the SIR model to describe seasonal influenza, and then explore the implications of the existing classical epidemiological theory for the case of a pandemic virus. In particular, we note the dramatic nonlinear increase in attack rate as a function of the percentage of susceptibles initially present in the population. This has severe consequences for the pandemic, given the general lack of immunity in the global population.
Risk factors for depression in postnatal first year, in eastern Turkey.

BACKGROUND There are few studies reporting depression in the postnatal period in developing countries. In this study our objective was to evaluate women from eastern Turkey in the postnatal one-year period in order to analyse the risk factors for depression. METHODS In this cross-sectional, multi-centre study, we selected a study sample from five eastern provinces. Among 2602 randomly selected women who gave birth within the last year, we included 2514 women in our analysis. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale was used for the evaluation of depression. RESULTS The percentage of women with high depression scores was 27.2%. Excess risk of depression was associated with several factors including unemployment, low education, poverty, poor family relations, low marital age, lack of medical services, and mental health problems. CONCLUSIONS Depression in postnatal women is an important public health problem in the less developed eastern part of Turkey.
Reproductive factors and risk of glioma in women.

OBJECTIVE Glioma is the most common primary malignant brain tumor in adults, responsible for 75% of adult primary malignant brain tumors, yet aside from its association with ionizing radiation, its etiology is poorly understood. Sex differences in brain tumor incidence suggest that hormonal factors may play a role in the etiology of these tumors, but few studies have examined this association in detail. The objective of this study was to explore the role of reproductive factors in the etiology of glioma in women. METHOD As part of a population-based case-control study, histologically confirmed primary glioma cases (n = 341 women) diagnosed between January 1, 1995 and January 31, 1997 were identified through clinics and hospitals in four Midwest U.S. states. Controls (n = 527 women) were randomly selected from lists of licensed drivers and Health Care Finance Administration enrollees. In-person interviews with subjects (81%) or their proxies (19%) collected reproductive history and other exposure information. RESULTS Glioma risk increased with older age at menarche (P for trend = 0.009) but only among postmenopausal women. Compared with women who never breast-fed, women who breast-fed >18 months over their lifetime were at increased risk of glioma (odds ratio, 1.8; 95% confidence interval, 1.1-2.9). Women who reported using hormones for symptoms of menopause had a decreased risk of glioma compared with women who never used such hormones (odds ratio, 0.7; 95% confidence interval, 0.5-1.1). CONCLUSION These results support the hypothesis that reproductive hormones play a role in the etiology of glioma among women.
Customizable 3D Printed ‘Plug and Play’ Millifluidic Devices for Programmable Fluidics

Three dimensional (3D) printing is actively sought after in recent years as a promising novel technology to construct complex objects, which scope spans from nano- to over millimeter scale. Previously we utilized Fused deposition modeling (FDM)-based 3D printer to construct complex 3D chemical fluidic systems, and here we demonstrate the construction of 3D milli-fluidic structures for programmable liquid handling and control of biological samples. Basic fluidic operation devices, such as water-in-oil (W/O) droplet generators for producing compartmentalized mono-disperse droplets, sensor-integrated chamber for online monitoring of cellular growth, are presented. In addition, chemical surface treatment techniques are used to construct valve-based flow selector for liquid flow control and inter-connectable modular devices for networking fluidic parts. As such this work paves the way for complex operations, such as mixing, flow control, and monitoring of reaction / cell culture progress can be carried out by constructing both passive and active components in 3D printed structures, which designs can be shared online so that anyone with 3D printers can reproduce them by themselves.