Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dynamic Changes in White Matter Abnormalities Correlate With Late Improvement and Deterioration Following TBI

Objective. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is not a single insult with monophasic resolution, but a chronic disease, with dynamic processes that remain active for years. We aimed to assess patient trajectories over the entire disease narrative, from ictus to late outcome. Methods. Twelve patients with moderate-to-severe TBI underwent magnetic resonance imaging in the acute phase (within 1 week of injury) and twice in the chronic phase of injury (median 7 and 21 months), with some undergoing imaging at up to 2 additional time points. Longitudinal imaging changes were assessed using structural volumetry, deterministic tractography, voxel-based diffusion tensor analysis, and region of interest analyses (including corpus callosum, parasagittal white matter, and thalamus). Imaging changes were related to behavior. Results. Changes in structural volumes, fractional anisotropy, and mean diffusivity continued for months to years postictus. Changes in diffusion tensor imaging were driven by increases in both axial and radial diffusivity except for the earliest time point, and were associated with changes in reaction time and performance in a visual memory and learning task (paired associates learning). Dynamic structural changes after TBI can be detected using diffusion tensor imaging and could explain changes in behavior. Conclusions. These data can provide further insight into early and late pathophysiology, and begin to provide a framework that allows magnetic resonance imaging to be used as an imaging biomarker of therapy response. Knowledge of the temporal pattern of changes in TBI patient populations also provides a contextual framework for assessing imaging changes in individuals at any given time point.
Genetic epidemiology of porcine epidemic diarrhoea virus circulating in China in 2012–2017 based on spike gene

Summary A porcine epidemic diarrhoea outbreak first occurred in southern China at the end of 2010 and afterwards the disease spread throughout the country. Spike gene is divergent and important for understanding the genetic relations of porcine epidemic diarrhoea virus field strains, the epidemiological status of the virus and vaccine development. In this study, S1 regions of spike gene of 1,235 selected strains collected from 2012 to 2017 in China were clustered along with 25 references of spike sequences mainly from China. The phylogenetic analysis demonstrates that these sequences of S1 regions were genetically more diverse with time. In all strains, G1a, G1b, G2a and G2b clusters accounted for 1.9%, 9.6%, 32.2% and 56.3%, respectively, namely G2a and G2b were the two most prevalent clusters in China. Furthermore, we made a more detailed classification for G2 group based on phylogenetic tree, in which G2a was divided into two subgroups, and G2b was separated into four subgroups.
A Higher-Than-Average Female Voice Can Cause Young Adult Female Listeners to Think About Aggression More

Previous research found that speakers with more attractive voices receive more favorable evaluations (aka the vocal attractiveness stereotype). But sexual selection theory predicts that, to the extent that men perceive women with higher pitched voices as more attractive, women will be more hostile toward those women because they make more threatening mate rivals. Supporting this hypothesis, Study 1 (N = 102) showed that female participants higher in trait dominance displayed heightened aggressive cognition after being primed with a romantic (but not a control) feeling and listening to a higher- but not lower-than-average female voice. Study 2 (N = 111) showed that this heightened aggressive cognition was activated by a long-term but not a short-term mating motive. These findings supported sexual selection theory, challenged the vocal attractiveness stereotype, and suggested a mechanism that helps maintain the honesty of female voice pitch as a mate attraction signal.
A CMOS low noise transconductance amplifier for 1–6 GHz bands

The linearity and noise requirements in multi-band multi-standard applications make the design of RF CMOS circuits a very challenging task. A low noise transconductance amplifier (LNTA) in 130 nm CMOS technology that operates between 1 and 6 GHz is presented. The LNTA is based on a shunt-feedback (SFB) amplifier with current-reuse scheme and employing the noise-canceling technique used in low-noise amplifier designs for wideband input matching. Two versions of the LNTA were designed in a 130 nm CMOS process and occupy 0.038 and 0.014 mm2 of silicon area while consuming just 9.1 and 7.94 mW, respectively. The second version is an inductorless, smaller, and optimized version of the first one. Post-layout simulations in the temperature range of −40 to 125 °C show a good trade-off between noise and power-consumption across the frequency span with an average noise figure of 3.8 dB and a minimum transconductance of 41.5 mS over the entire band. Performance variations were estimated at 2 GHz with Monte Carlo analysis.
Facilitators and barriers to adaptive implementation of the Meeting Centers Support Program (MCSP) in three European countries; the process evaluation within the MEETINGDEM study

ABSTRACT Background: In the MEETINGDEM project, the Meeting Centers Support Program (MCSP) was adaptively implemented and evaluated in three European countries: Italy, Poland, and the United Kingdom. The aim of this study was to investigate overall and country-specific facilitators and barriers to the implementation of MCSP in these European countries. Methods: A qualitative multiple case study design was used. Based on the theoretical model of adaptive implementation, a checklist was composed of potential facilitators and barriers to the implementation of MCSP. This checklist was administered among stakeholders involved in the implementation of MCSP to trace the experienced facilitators and barriers. Twenty-eight checklists were completed. Results: Main similarities between countries were related to the presence of suitable staff, management, and a project manager, and the fact that the MCSP is attuned to needs and wishes of people with dementia and informal caregivers. Main differences between countries were related to: communication with potential referrers, setting up an inter-organizational collaboration network, receiving support of national organizations, having clear discharge criteria for the MCSP and continuous PR in the region. Conclusion: The results of this study provide insight into generic and country specific factors that can influence the implementation of MCSP in different European countries. This study informs further implementation and dissemination of MCSP in Europe and may also serve as an example for the dissemination and implementation of other effective psychosocial support interventions for people with dementia and their informal caregivers across and beyond Europe.
Are Tests of Premorbid Functioning Subject to the Flynn Effect?

Objective While there is a wealth of research into the Flynn effect, as yet no research exists examining the effect on tests of premorbid functioning. This study investigated the ability of the National Adult Reading Test (NART), the Wechsler Test of Adult Reading (WTAR), and the Test of Premorbid Functioning (TOPF) to predict premorbid IQ. It was hypothesised that the tests of premorbid functioning would produce differing premorbid IQ estimates, with the NART predicting the highest premorbid IQ scores, followed by the NART‐2 and the WTAR, with the TOPF predicting the lowest scores. Method Ninety‐five unimpaired Australian male and female participants aged between 18 and 65 years were administered a comprehensive battery of tests, including each of the tests of premorbid functioning. Results Results indicated that premorbid IQ estimates were significantly different (p < .001) from each other, with the NART producing the highest premorbid IQ estimate and the TOPF the lowest estimate. Conclusions These findings indicate that premorbid estimates of functioning are subject to the Flynn effect, thus use of estimates produced by tests of premorbid abilities that were designed to predict to earlier editions of the Wechsler scales will tend to inflate the level of premorbid baseline, leading to the possibility of spurious diagnosis of deficit. Clinicians should employ the most recently normed versions of these tests and employ the premorbid estimate which has been validated to predict the edition of the Wechsler scales that the individual will actually be using during any testing.
Clinical and radiographic results from a 2-year comparison of once-weekly versus twice-weekly administration of etanercept in biologics-naive patients with rheumatoid arthritis

ObjectivesThe twice-weekly administration of 25 mg of etanercept (TW) has been shown to be effective in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, the once-weekly administration of 25 mg of etanercept (OW) was tried in order to address the economic burden of anti-rheumatic biologics. We evaluated the clinical and radiographic results from a 2-year follow-up study of patients receiving OW or TW.MethodsSixty-three biologics-naive patients with RA were randomly assigned to receive either OW (n = 42) or TW (n = 21). ResultsFrom baseline to year 2, rates of clinical remission, according to the Disease Activity Score of 28 joints (DAS-28) (based on C-reactive protein; CRP)–with clinical remission being regarded as a DAS-28 (CRP) score of <2.3–were significantly improved in the OW group (from 1.6 to 39.0%) and in the TW group (from 9.5 to 47.6%), but no significant between-group difference was observed at year 2. Radiographic joint damage, quantified with the modified Sharp score, was significantly progressive in the OW group in contrast to findings in the TW group. Thus, among patients receiving TW therapy, the progression of joint damage may have been inhibited or may have shown remission.ConclusionsThese results suggest that, in terms of DAS-28 remission, OW therapy can efficiently substitute for TW therapy in biologics-naive patients with RA. However, TW therapy was indispensable in preventing the worsening of joint damage.
Divine institution: Max Weber’s value spheres and institutional theory

Abstract This article examines Max Weber’s theory of value spheres as a basis for a polytheistic religious sociology of institutional life. Weber’s approach implies institutional theory as a form of comparative religion. Two problems present themselves. If the values of the spheres are to be considered as “gods,” they do not align easily with Weber’s sociology of religion. Given that love was central both as a driver and a constituent in Weber’s understanding of salvation religions, it also implies that love be incorporated into our theorizing of institutional life, something entirely absent in the way we think about enduring forms of social organization. Taking the second seriously may enable us to fabricate a solution to the first.
Pharmacokinetics of cisplatin in the absence or presence of Zengmian Yiliu granules (a traditional Chinese medicine compound) in rats determined via ICP-MS: An investigation on drug–herb interactions

Abstract Context: Cisplatin is a highly effective chemotherapeutic agent against many tumors; however, it has potent adverse effects. Zengmian Yiliu granule (ZMYL), a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) compound, has been clinically used against platinum (Pt)-induced toxicity and to enhance the efficacy of cisplatin. Objective: The study was conducted to investigate the likelihood of potential pharmacokinetics drug–herbs interaction (DHI) between cisplatin and ZMYL. Materials and methods: An improved ICP-MS method combined with ultrafiltration and microwave-assisted digestion was performed to determine the total and free Pt concentrations in rat plasma after intraperitoneal administration of cisplatin (9 mg/kg) or a combined administration with ZMYL (1 g/kg) by gavage. Results: ZMYL produced a potential DHI on the pharmacokinetic parameters of cisplatin, calculated from the total Pt concentration. The clearance rate decreased from 110.52 to 66.12 mLh−1 kg−1, the mean residence time extended from 63.1 to 164.54 h, the area under the plasma concentration–time curve increased from 86.58 to 152.93 µg h mL−1, the elimination half-life extended from 48.38 to 126.4 h, and the elimination rate constant decreased from 0.017 to 0.006 h, in the ZMYL combination group (p < 0.05). In terms of free Pt concentration, the apparent volume of distribution and clearance rate was statistically different (p < 0.05). The Pt plasma protein binding ratios in the early dose stages were significantly boosted by the co-administration of ZMYL (p < 0.01). Discussion and conclusion: ZMYL is a potential complementary and alternative medicine for cisplatin chemotherapy. The therapeutic benefits of ZMYL–cisplatin chemotherapy derived from pharmacokinetic interaction needs further investigation.
A Continuum Model of Large Deformation Continuous Ductile Ice Crushing

This paper presents numerical modelling techniques for modelling of large deformation continuous ductile ice crushing. Two continuum formulations, the Coupled Eulerian Lagrangian (CEL) method and Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) method available in ABAQUS/Explicit 6-13 are used in combination with a modified version of a constitutive model originally developed for concrete. First, an analytical small strain problem is modelled in order to compare the accuracy of the two continuum formulations. With the CEL method the problem was solved exactly, while the SPH method produced an error of 42%. Finally, a medium-scale continuous ductile ice crushing indentation experiment conducted in the Van Mijen fjord in Spitsbergen 2003 is modelled with the CEL formulation. Required parameters like the initial uniaxial compressive strength and the elastic modulus was measured during the experiment, other required material parameters are estimated. The calculated global load on the cylindrical indenter was in good agreement with the load measured during the experiment.
Prevalence and antimicrobial resistance among Escherichia coli and Salmonella in Ontario smallholder chicken flocks

Surveillance is an important component of an overall strategy to address antimicrobial resistant bacteria in food animals and the food chain. The poultry market has many points of entry into the Canadian food chain, and some production practices are underrepresented in terms of surveillance. For example, pathogen carriage and antimicrobial resistance surveillance data are limited in smallholder chicken flocks raised for slaughter at provincially inspected abattoirs. In Canada, antimicrobial resistance in Escherichia coli and Salmonella isolated from commercial broiler chicken flocks, slaughtered at federally inspected abattoirs, is monitored by the Canadian Integrated Program for Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance (CIPARS). The objective of this study was to establish baseline information of antimicrobial resistance presence in E. coli and Salmonella isolated from smallholder flocks in Ontario, utilizing CIPARS collection and isolation methodologies, and to compare findings with CIPARS federally inspected abattoir data from Ontario, Canada. Five chickens per flock were sampled from 205 smallholder flocks. Of 1,025 samples, the E. coli prevalence was 99% (1,022/1,025), and 47% (483/1,022) of positive E. coli isolates were resistant to one or more of the 14 antimicrobials. Furthermore, as compared to results reported for the CIPARS commercial flocks, E. coli isolates from smallholder flocks had significantly lower resistance prevalence to six of 14 individual antimicrobials. Recovery of E. coli did not differ between federally inspected and provincially inspected flocks. Salmonella prevalence at the bird level in smallholder flocks was 0.3% (3/1,025), significantly lower (p ≪ 0.0001, 95% CI 0.080%–0.86%) than federally inspected commercial flocks. The overall differences found between the commercial and smallholder flocks may be explained by differences in poultry husbandry practices and hatchery sources.
Preparation of lignin derivatives and their application as protease adsorbents

Synthesis of two lignin derivatives, lignophenol and lignin-aminophenol, were presented in this article. The chemical structure and the func-tional groups of lignin derivatives were charac-terized through FT-IR analysis. The immobiliza-tion of three proteases (papain, trypsin and pepsin) on lignin and lignin derivatives was carried out using adsorption technique. The influence of contact time and pH on the enzyme adsorption by different adsorbents was inves-tigated. Furthermore, enzyme activity recovery was also evaluated. Results showed that lignin and lignin derivatives could adsorb proteases effectively and the adsorption capacity of lingo- phenol and lignin-aminophenol was higher than that of pure lignin. Meanwhile, the activity re-covery of papain and pepsin immobilized on lignin derivatives was very high. This pheno- menon suggested that there is a supramole- cular interaction between enzymes and lignin derivatives which do not inhibit enzyme activity. Therefore, lignophenol and lignin-aminophenol are both promising adsorbents for enzyme im-mobilization under acid and neutral conditions.
Artificial intelligence in medicine What oncologists need to know about its potential — and its limitations

Artificial intelligence is defined as the ability of a machine to independently replicate intellectual processes typical of humans. Machine learning — the ability of computers to autonomously learn from data — is a subset of artificial intelligence. Research into machine learning in healthcare is growing at an exponential rate. This article explores various applications of machine learning, such as risk modelling (including risk of developing cancer, risk of disease recurrence, or risk of treatment complications), improving diagnostic and staging investigation accuracy, predicting prognosis, and even predicting response to therapy. Machine learning has also been applied to radiation treatment planning, and has potential applications in psychosocial oncology. Large-scale artificial intelligence platforms (such as IBM Watson for Oncology) integrate many neural networks to process natural language, generate hypotheses, and integrate this information with medical databases to create recommendations. However, artificial intelligence has several vulnerabilities, including the black-box effect, potentially prohibitive costs, an overdependence on the quality of the data used for learning, and difficulty in gaining trust and acceptance by medical professionals. Despite these limitations, the role of artificial intelligence in oncology continues to expand. We must take steps now to prepare our healthcare systems for the arrival of machine learning, which will help increase research productivity while ultimately improving our ability to diagnose, prognosticate and make treatment decisions.
Down's syndrome screening in Northern Ireland: women's reasons for accepting or declining serum testing

Background. The use of maternal serum screening to assess individual risk for Down’s syndrome is now standard in many countries. The increased uptake of screening and diagnostic tests has provoked concerns about their potential impact on individuals and societal attitudes. Under the current law in Northern Ireland, women are not given the option to terminate their pregnancy if they have a positive diagnostic test, unless it is in the interests of the mother’s mental or physical wellbeing. There is limited evidence regarding the extent to which women’s decisions are influenced by the cultural and societal context in which screening is offered. Objective. To compare women’s reasons for having or declining Down’s syndrome serum screening in two hospitals with different screening policies in Northern Ireland. Methods. A prospective cohort study of pregnant women (n=317) offered screening for Down’s syndrome in hospital and community settings were interviewed twice using semi-structured interviews. Data collection was from 1 September 2003 to 5 May 2004. Results. The majority of women declined screening irrespective of hospital screening policy as they felt it would not make any difference to pregnancy outcome. Women who declined also voiced concerns about the emotional impact of testing and about the characteristics of the test on offer. Women chose to have screening because of their family history or age, because they wanted to find out more information and for reassurance. The influence of health professionals was reported by women who chose to have screening and also by those who declined. Conclusion. The reasons given for declining screening were emotional rather than knowledge based, which may reflect deep-rooted cultural and religious values. Professional awareness of the impact of societal and cultural attitudes on women’s decisions about antenatal screening tests is important when introducing screening policy.
Early precut is as efficient as pancreatic stent in preventing post-ERCP pancreatitis in high-risk subjects - A randomized study.

BACKGROUND The most common adverse event of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography is pancreatitis. Precut sphincterotomy has been regarded as a risk factor. Some authors have stated that early precut may actually reduce post-ERCP pancreatitis risk. However, early precut as a preventive measure has not been compared to other preventive measures, such as pancreatic duct stent placement. AIM To compare the efficacy of early precut sphincterotomy versus pancreatic duct stent placement in high-risk subjects undergoing endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography for the prevention of post-endoscopic cholangiopancreatography. MATERIALS AND METHODS This was a single-blinded, randomized trial that took place in two tertiary referral centers in Buenos Aires, from November 2011 to December 2013. ERCP subjects presented at least one of the following risk factors: female sex, age less than 40 years, clinical suspicion of sphincter of Oddi dysfunction, previous pancreatitis, and/or common bile duct diameter of less than 8 mm. Only those who presented a difficult biliary cannulation were randomized into two groups: those who received early precut sphincterotomy and those in whom persistency of biliary cannulation was intended, with subsequent pancreatic duct stent placement after cholangiography was achieved. The incidence of post-ERCP pancreatitis, as well as other adverse events incidence, was compared. RESULTS Overall, 101 patients were enrolled, 51 in the pancreatic duct stent group and 50 in the early precut group. Pancreatitis rate was similar in both groups (3.92% vs 4%, p NS). In all cases, pancreatitis was classified as mild. There were no deaths registered. CONCLUSION Early precut was associated with an incidence of adverse events similar to pancreatic duct stent placement.
An Active Linear Algebra Library Using Delayed Evaluation and Runtime Code Generation [ Extended Abstract ]

Active libraries can be defined as libraries which play an active part in the compilation (in particular, the optimisation) of their client code. This paper explores the idea of delaying evaluation of expressions built using library calls, then generating code at runtime for the particular compositions that occur. We explore this idea with a dense linear algebra library for C++. The key optimisations in this context are loop fusion and array contraction. Our library automatically fuses loops, identifies unnecessary intermediate temporaries, and contracts temporary arrays to scalars. Performance is evaluated using a benchmark suite of linear solvers from ITL (the Iterative Template Library), and is compared with MTL (the Matrix Template Library). Excluding runtime compilation overheads (caching means they occur only on the first iteration), for larger matrix sizes, performance matches or exceeds MTL – and in some cases is more than 60% faster.