Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Factors Affecting Outcomes in Cochlear Implant Recipients Implanted With a Perimodiolar Electrode Array Located in Scala Tympani

Objective: To identify primary biographic and audiologic factors contributing to cochlear implant (CI) performance variability in quiet and noise by controlling electrode array type and electrode position within the cochlea. Background: Although CI outcomes have improved over time, considerable outcome variability still exists. Biographic, audiologic, and device-related factors have been shown to influence performance. Examining CI recipients with consistent array type and electrode position may allow focused investigation into outcome variability resulting from biographic and audiologic factors. Methods: Thirty-nine adults (40 ears) implanted for at least 6 months with a perimodiolar electrode array known (via computed tomography [CT] imaging) to be in scala tympani participated. Test materials, administered CI only, included monosyllabic words, sentences in quiet and noise, and spectral ripple discrimination. Results: In quiet, scores were high with mean word and sentence scores of 76 and 87%, respectively; however, sentence scores decreased by an average of 35 percentage points when noise was added. A principal components (PC) analysis of biographic and audiologic factors found three distinct factors, PC1 Age, PC2 Duration, and PC3 Pre-op Hearing. PC1 Age was the only factor that correlated, albeit modestly, with speech recognition in quiet and noise. Spectral ripple discrimination strongly correlated with speech measures. Conclusion: For these recipients with consistent electrode position, PC1 Age was related to speech recognition performance. Consistent electrode position may have contributed to high speech understanding in quiet. Inter-subject variability in noise may have been influenced by auditory/cognitive processing, known to decline with age, and mechanisms that underlie spectral resolution ability.
Diagnosis of bovine neosporosis: Recent advances and perspectives

Neospora caninum is considered a major cause of abortion in cattle. Appropriate techniques for diagnosis of bovine neosporosis, both in vivo and in aborted foetuses, have been developed in the last ten years and some of them are commercially available. For diagnosis in live animals, detection of antibodies in serum or milk has been shown to be the best option both at the herd and the individual level. These techniques are excellent tools to examine N. caninum-associated abortion problems and to adopt some basic herd-control measures. Concerning foetal diagnosis, detection of compatible lesions by histological examination and parasites by PCR in brain (as well as heart and liver) are the best choices. Diagnostic criteria to distinguish foetal infection and Neospora-associated abortion are based not only on the demonstration of the parasite in the foetus but also on the extent and severity of the lesions in the foetus, foetal age and the assessment of neosporosis at the herd level. In the near future, new tools to diagnose infection should help to detect animals with parasite reactivation by testing the immune response to stage-specific antigens and lead to the development of molecular typing methods to characterise different parasite isolates. Finally, uniform diagnostic procedures need to be established between laboratories and countries in order to standardise result interpretation. The role of National or Regional Reference Laboratories is essential in countries or regions where control programmes for the disease are being developed.
Ultra-rare-event detection performance of a custom scanning cytometer on a model preparation of fetal nRBCs.

BACKGROUND The performance of a fully automated scanning cytometer incorporating previously reported high-precision autofocus and accurate image segmentation was evaluated for the detection of "ultra-rare" cells using a model of fetal nucleated red blood cells (fnRBCs) in the maternal circulation. These distinctive scanning cytometry techniques were expected to markedly improve sensitivity and specificity. METHODS Normal adult blood and fetal red blood cells were stained with fluorescein isothiocyanate-conjugated anti-fetal hemoglobin and 4,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole, a nuclear dye. Adult cells were spiked with fetal cells to create ratios of about 1 fnRBC in 10(7) nucleated cells and deposited in monolayers on slides using centrifugal cytology. Rare-event performance parameters were reviewed, formalized, and applied to test the new instrument using this cell model. RESULTS Fifteen slides were analyzed to establish performance by comparison with manual detection, and four sets of four slides each were then scanned to explore the limit of detection. Results were an average sensitivity of 91%, an average specificity error of 12.3 false-positives per million cells, and repeatability of 100% at a cell analysis rate of 862 Hz. With addition of a quick interactive step subsequent to scanning, the false-positive rate dropped to a total of only one artifact over the 15 experiments. The instrument succeeded at locating 1 fnRBC in 20 million adult cells, the lowest limit of detection tested. CONCLUSION This consistently high performance, coupled with the capability of scanning arbitrarily large numbers of cells, validates the considerable potential of precise high-speed autofocus and accurate real-time image segmentation for ultra-rare event detection.
Leisure-time physical activity dose‑response effects on obesity among US adults: results from the 1999–2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

Background It is not well established whether total volume of leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) has dose‑response effects on obesity. Methods The dose‑response relationship was examined using 12 227 non-institutionalised individuals, aged 20‑64 years, drawn from the 8 years (1999–2006) of the continuous National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), a nationally representative sample of the US population. Results The age-adjusted prevalence of women's obesity was 41.4% for those with no LTPA in the past month; 39.1% for those who engaged in LTPA but fell short of the recommended minimum amount of LTPA (ie, <450 metabolic equivalent minutes per week (MET min/week)); 31.0% for those who met the recommended minimum guideline (ie, 450 to < 750); 28.0% for those whose LTPA exceeded the minimum guideline but less than the first quartile among the overachievers (ie, 750 to <1260); 23.4% for the overachievers between the first and third quartile (ie, 1260 to <3556); and 19.5% for the overachievers at or above the third quartile (ie, 3556 MET min/week or above). This association was maintained even after occupational physical activity (OPA) was controlled. However, this pattern was not observed for Mexican and black adults and showed a floor effect as LTPA increased. Conclusions There is a crude graded inverse dose‑response relationship between total volume of LTPA and obesity in US adult women, but not in men. Gender and racial/ethnic differences exist in the relationship of accumulated LTPA with obesity due, in part, to differential ratios of LTPA to OPA.
Screening-based approaches to identify small molecules that inhibit protein–protein interactions

ABSTRACT Introduction: Protein–protein interactions (PPIs) are very attractive targets for drug development as they play important roles in regulating many aspects of pathophysiologies. It has recently been revealed that the functionally important region of most PPIs is small enough to be modulated by small molecules. Thus, many studies in this field have achieved amazing progress, together with diverse and advanced screening technologies. Areas covered: This article presents screening technologies to identify small molecule inhibitors of PPIs in addition to discussing the suitability of PPIs as molecular targets. The phases in the processes of selecting compounds are discussed and appropriate steps are proposed, including methodologies to test binding affinity, kinetics, structural analysis, and cellular function. Expert opinion: Targeting PPIs is still a challenging approach in drug development and relatively few small molecules have reached clinical development. Potential candidates should be assessed and optimized by properly using the multiple assay systems to develop ideal small molecule drugs. Although there remain some barriers to be overcome, small molecule inhibitors of PPIs are fascinating and first-in-class as therapeutic agents to treat various diseases.
Compressive strains at physiological frequencies influence the metabolism of chondrocytes seeded in agarose

Articular cartilage is subjected to dynamic compressive loading that is known to influence chondrocyte metabolism. While the exact signalling mechanisms are unclear, it has been proposed that cell deformation plays a role and may stimulate a metabolic response through distinctive pathways. In this study, a well characterized model system in which chondrocytes are embedded in agarose was used to study the effect of dynamic cellular strain on three key metabolic processes, namely the synthesis of glycosaminoglycan, of DNA, and of total protein. Using a specially designed apparatus, 15% compressive strain amplitude was applied to agarose‐chondrocyte cylinders statically or dynamically over a range of frequencies (0.3‐3 Hz). Static and low‐frequency strain (0.3 Hz) inhibited the synthesis of glycosaminoglycan, while a frequency of 1 Hz stimulated synthesis. Static strain reduced the level of thymidine uptake, whereas dynamic strain at all frequencies induced an increase in chondrocyte proliferation. Incorporation of tritiated proline was suppressed by all strain regimens tested. The three parameters investigated were each influenced by the dynamic strain regimens in a distinct manner, implying that the signalling mechanisms involved are uncoupled.
Adult Mouse Myometrial Label‐Retaining Cells Divide in Response to Gonadotropin Stimulation

Conditional deletion of β‐catenin in the Müllerian duct mesenchyme results in a degenerative uterus characterized by replacement of the myometrial smooth muscle with adipose tissue. We hypothesized that the mouse myometrium houses somatic smooth muscle progenitor cells that are hormonally responsive and necessary for remodeling and regeneration during estrous cycling and pregnancy. We surmise that the phenotype observed in β‐catenin conditionally deleted mice is the result of dysregulation of these progenitor cells. The objective of this study was to identify the mouse myometrial smooth muscle progenitor cell and its niche, define the surface marker phenotype, and show a functional response of these cells to normal myometrial cycling. Uteri were labeled with 5‐bromo‐2′‐deoxyuridine (BrdU) and chased for up to 14 weeks. Myometrial label‐retaining cells (LRCs) were observed in the myometrium and stroma throughout the chase period. After 12 weeks, phenotypic analysis of the LRCs by immunofluorescence demonstrated that the majority of LRCs colocalized with α‐smooth muscle actin, estrogen receptor‐α, and β‐catenin. Flow cytometry of myometrial cells identified a myometrial Hoechst 33342 effluxing “side population” that expresses MISRII‐Cre‐driven YFP. Functional response of LRCs was investigated by human chorionic gonadotropin stimulation of week 12 chase mice and demonstrated sequential proliferation of LRCs in the endometrial stroma, followed by the myometrium. These results suggest that conventional myometrial regeneration and repair is executed by hormonally responsive stem or progenitor cells derived from the Müllerian duct mesenchyme.
Comparison between the M and XL probes for liver fibrosis assessment by transient elastography.

OBJECTIVE Liver stiffness measurement (LSM) using Transient Elastography (TE) for liver fibrosis assessment is difficult to be performed in obese and overweight patients by standard M probe, thus the XL probe was developed. The aim of our paper was to assess the usefulness of the XL probe in daily clinical practice. MATERIAL AND METHOD Our study included 216 patients (mean BMI 30.1+/-4.1 kg/m2) with chronic hepatopathies, in which paired measurements were made using the M (3.5MHz) and XL (2.5 MHz) probes in the same session. In each patient 10 valid LSM were acquired with each probe, a median was calculated, expressed in kiloPascals (kPa). Unreliable TE measurements were considered: fewer than 10 valid shots; with a success rate (SR) <60% and/or interquartile range interval (IQR) ≥30%. RESULTS In 127 patients reliable LSM could not be obtained by standard M probe, 10 of them normal weight, 25 of them overweight, and 92 obese. By XL probe reliable measurements were obtained in 80/127(63%) of these patients: 8/10 (80%) of the normal weights, 17/25 (68%) of the overweight and 55/92 (59.8%) of the obese. In 98 patients with reliable M probe measurements, XL probe LSMs were also performed. XL LS values strongly and significantly correlated with those obtained by M probe (Spearman r=0.789, p<0.0001), but were significantly lower [median 6.4 kPa (range 3.1 - 53.8) vs 7.7 kPa (range 3.7-69.1), Wilcoxon paired t test p<0.001)]. CONCLUSION By using the XL probe, reliable LSM by TE can be obtained in more than 60% of patients with unreliable measurements by M probe. LSM by XL probe are significantly correlated, but lower, than those obtained by M probe.
Measurement of Human Nasal Ciliary Motility Using Computerized Microphotometry

A new computerized technique for the assessment of human nasal ciliary beat frequency is described. Thirty normal volunteers underwent nasal cytologic brushing to obtain ciliary samples. In each subject, 150 ciliary beats were analyzed from each of 50 separate ciliated cell clusters. The ciliary beat frequency for each area was determined with fast Fourier transformation. The results were plotted on a histogram to determine the ciliary beat distribution. The mean frequency for these samples was 11.29 Hz, with a standard deviation of 0.96 Hz. The median frequency for these samples was 11.25 Hz. These results show a marked improvement over hand-counting microphotometry techniques because of the much larger sampling size and elimination of much human error. We believe this method of ciliary analysis represents a significant advancement in the evaluation of ciliary function and should assist in the diagnosis of patients with congenital and acquired forms of ciliary dysmotility.
Judgment, Resources, and Complexity

Systematic reviews play an increasingly important role in decision making in health promotion and public health. However, little has been published on how systematic reviewers acquire necessary knowledge and skills, and on the challenges they face in producing reviews. Semistructured interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of 17 systematic reviewers of health promotion. They described practice, training, and mentoring as being key ways that they learned reviewing skills, often in combination. Practice-based learning was considered to be particularly beneficial. Training was generally easy to access, though questions were raised about the feasibility of training stakeholders such as health professionals to become reviewers. It was suggested that an understanding of research methods is beneficial for novice reviewers. While funding opportunities for doing reviews are available, long-term investment is needed to support an infrastructure for the production of high-quality systematic reviews of important health promotion priorities.
Performance of a hybrid Monte Carlo‐Pencil Beam dose algorithm for proton therapy inverse planning

PURPOSE Analytical algorithms have a limited accuracy when modeling very heterogeneous tumor sites. This work addresses the performance of a hybrid dose optimizer that combines both Monte Carlo (MC) and pencil beam (PB) dose engines to get the best trade-off between speed and accuracy for proton therapy plans. METHODS The hybrid algorithm calculates the optimal spot weights (w) by means of an iterative optimization process where the dose at each iteration is computed by using a precomputed dose influence matrix based on the conventional PB plus a correction term c obtained from a MC simulation. Updates of c can be triggered as often as necessary by calling the MC dose engine with the last corrected values of w as input. In order to analyze the performance of the hybrid algorithm against dose calculation errors, it was applied to a simplistic water phantom for which several test cases with different errors were simulated, including proton range uncertainties. Afterwards, the algorithm was used in three clinical cases (prostate, lung, and brain) and benchmarked against full MC-based optimization. The influence of different stopping criteria in the final results was also investigated. RESULTS The hybrid algorithm achieved excellent results provided that the estimated range in a homogeneous material is the same for the two dose engines involved, i.e., PB and MC. For the three patient cases, the hybrid plans were clinically equivalent to those obtained with full MC-based optimization. Only a single update of c was needed in the hybrid algorithm to fulfill the clinical dose constraints, which represents an extra computation time to obtain c that ranged from 1 (brain) to 4 min (lung) with respect to the conventional PB-based optimization, and an estimated average gain factor of 14 with respect to full MC-based optimization. CONCLUSION The hybrid algorithm provides an improved trade-off between accuracy and speed. This algorithm can be immediately considered as an option for improving dose calculation accuracy of commercial analytical treatment planning systems, without a significant increase in the computation time (≪5 min) with respect to current PB-based optimization.
A composite SWNT–collagen matrix: characterization and preliminary assessment as a conductive peripheral nerve regeneration matrix

Unique in their structure and function, single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) have received significant attention due to their potential to create unique conductive materials. For neural applications, these conductive materials hold promise as they may enhance regenerative processes. However, like other nano-scaled biomaterials it is important to have a comprehensive understanding how these materials interact with cell systems and how the biological system responds to their presence. These investigations aim to further our understanding of SWNT–cell interactions by assessing the effect SWNT/collagen hydrogels have on PC12 neuronal-like cells seeded within and (independently) on top of the composite material. Two types of collagen hydrogels were prepared: (1) SWNTs dispersed directly within the collagen (SWNT/COL) and (2) albumin-coated SWNTs prepared using the surfactant ‘sodium cholate’ to improve dispersion (AL-SWNT/COL) and collagen alone serving as a control (COL). SWNT dispersion was significantly improved when using surfactant-assisted dispersion. The enhanced dispersion resulted in a stiffer, more conductive material with an increased collagen fiber diameter. Short-term cell interactions with PC12 cells and SWNT composites have shown a stimulatory effect on cell proliferation relative to plain collagen controls. In parallel to these results, p53 gene displayed normal expression levels, which indicates the absence of nanoparticle-induced DNA damage. In summary, these mechanically tunable SWNT–collagen scaffolds show the potential for enhanced electrical activity and have shown positive in vitro biocompatibility results offering further evidence that SWNT-based materials have an important role in promoting neuronal regeneration.
Markers of Systemic and Lung Inflammation in Childhood Asthma

Aim. To compare different biomarkers of inflammation in children with controlled and uncontrolled asthma and to investigate their relationship with other clinical indices of asthma control (symptoms, lung function, serum IgE, and prn beta-agonist use). Materials and Methods. A total of 62 consecutive asthmatic children (age 11 ± 3.3 years, 32 girls) with controlled ([C], n = 19) and uncontrolled asthma ([NC], n = 43) were studied. Measured lung function and inflammatory biomarkers included: spirometry, exhaled NO (FENO), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), peripheral blood white blood cells (WBC) counts, and differentials. Results. Hs-CRP was significantly higher in uncontrolled than in controlled asthma (hs-CRP, median [IQR], mg/L; 0.56 [0.60] vs 0.25 [0.34], p = 0.008). Discriminant analysis (backward stepwise) depicted hs-CRP and lymphocytes (as Z-score for absolute count) as significant discriminative factors for asthma control (F = 8.319, p = 0.0007) with 82.3% diagnostic accuracy. Divided into quartiles hs-CRP showed the significant inverse association with FENO (F = 7.359, p = 0.003, ANOVA) with no significant difference for asthma control (F = 1.032, p = 0.386). Post-hoc analysis revealed that FENO values were significantly lower in the third and the fourth quartile of hs-CRP in comparison to the first and the second one (p < 0.05 for all). Conclusion. In asthmatic children with uncontrolled asthma serum hs-CRP was increased compared to children with controlled asthma. Although FENO values were also increased (insignificantly) and inversely correlated with hs-CRP they were probably reflecting different etiology underlying the loss of control. The role of peripheral blood biomarkers in asthmatics is still poorly investigated so new studies are required.
THE EFFECTS OF PRESLAUGHTER SHACKLING ON SOME STRESS PARAMETERS , FEAR , AND BEHAVIOURAL TRAITS IN BROILERS

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of preslaughter shackling durations on some stress parameters, fear reactions and behavioural traits in broilers. Stress effects of shackling were determined in a group of Ross 308 broilers (total number: 272) aged 42 d. Four shackling treatments were used in experimental tests: shackling of broilers for 10 s (Group G10; as control), 30 s (Group G30), 60 s (Group G60), and 120 s (Group G120). Results showed that heterophil to lymphocyte (h/l) ratio (1.39) at 120 s shackling group increased (P<0.01). It was revealed that shackling had increased blood glucose and cholesterole levels in all treatment groups. The results indicated that shackling duration has no significant effect on Tonic Immobility (TI) duration. The straightening up of the body, vocalisation, and wing flapping activities increased due to increase in shackling duration. It was concluded that shackling duration over 60 s have negative effects on some stress parameters and behavioural traits in broilers; for that reason, broilers should be housed at lower preslughter shackling durations.