Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Serial volumetric assessment of coronary fibroatheroma by optical frequency domain imaging: insights from the TROFI trial

Aims Coronary lesions precursors of acute events remain elusive, since they undergo continuous changes and their temporal changes are not very well-characterized. In natural history studies, optical frequency domain imaging (OFDI) has been used only to assess fibroatheromas as a 2D structure and sometimes in a single frame fashion. We aim at describing the serial volumetric modifications of the fibrous cap (FC) of the fibroatheromas as determined by OFDI over a 6-month follow-up period. Methods and results In 49 patients, OFDI investigation was performed following treatment of culprit lesion and at 6-month follow-up in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). A fully automatic volumetric quantification of FC was done in all lipid-containing frames of non-culprit lesions in the infarct related artery. These lesions were matched at baseline and 6-month follow-up. A total of 58 non-culprit lipid rich lesions (34 TCFAs and 24 thick-cap fibroatheroma [ThCFA]) were found in 34 patients at baseline. Overall, there was a FC volume decrease of 1.57 (Inter-quartile Range [IQR] -4.13 to 0.54) mm3 at 6-months. 27% of the lesions changed their phenotype over time (TCFA or ThCFA). TCFAs that became ThCFAs at follow-up had smaller mean and maximal FC as compared with lesions that remained TCFAs (P = 0.01 for both). Conclusions Non-culprit fibroatheromas located in the infarct related artery of patients with STEMI had a volumetric reduction of the FC after 6-month follow-up. Quantitative FC assessment was able to differentiate high-risk lesions that became ThCFAs. There was a considerable change of plaque phenotype (TCFAs or ThCFAs) over time.
Causes of repair failure for degenerative mitral valve disease and reoperation outcomes

OBJECTIVES This study aimed to evaluate the causes of initial mitral valve (MV) repair failure, the details of reoperation and the long-term outcomes of mitral valve re-repair (Re-MVP). METHODS We retrospectively reviewed 86 patients who underwent reoperation after MV repair for MR due to degenerative disease from October 1991 to December 2015. First, we analysed the initial MV repair data, causes of MV repair failure, reoperation data and long-term outcomes including survival. Second, the patients were classified into 2 groups based on valve related failure or procedure related failure , and the differences between the groups were analysed. RESULTS Leaflet prolapse at the initial operation affected the bilateral leaflets in 37 (43%) patients, the anterior leaflet in 30 (35%) patients and the posterior leaftlet in 19 (22%) patients. Median duration from first operation to reoperation was 47.5 (interquartile range 4.8-85.8) months. Reoperation indication included recurrent mitral regurgitation alone in 59 patients, haemolysis combined with recurrent mitral regurgitation in 15 patients, infectious endocarditis combined with recurrent mitral regurgitation in 8 patients, mitral stenosis in 2 patients and left ventricular pseudoaneurysm in 2 patients. The cause of MV repair failure was valve-related in 61 (71%) patients, procedure-related in 20 (23%) patients and both in 5 (6%) patients. Re-MVP was successful in 23 (27%) patients. Re-MVP was more common in patients with procedure-related failure, which occurred earlier than valve-related failure. Freedom from all-cause death was significantly better after Re-MVP. The 5-year freedom from reoperation after Re-MVP was 95.7%. CONCLUSIONS Re-MVP was more common in patients with procedure-related failure, which occurred earlier than valve-related failure. Durability of re-repaired MVs and survival of re-repaired patients were acceptable.
Tourette Syndrome: A Mini-Review

The purpose of this mini-review is to provide the latest information on epidemiology, pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment of Tourette syndrome (TS). The authors conducted a literature search of available sources describing the issue of tic disorders with special focus on TS and made a comparison and evaluation of relevant findings. The results of this mini-review indicate that TS is a complex disorder, which has a significant impact on the quality of life of both the patients and his/her family. Therefore, early and proper diagnosis and treatment are necessary in order to reduce or even eliminate both symptoms and social burden of the patient. This requires a multidisciplinary management approach in order to meet the patients’ special needs. Future research should focus on neuroimaging, new neurotransmitter targets, in functional neurosurgery, as well as the effect of non-pharmacological psychotherapies for these people.
Association between self-rated health and ideal cardiovascular health: The Baptist Health South Florida Employee Study

Background There is increasing evidence of the role psychosocial factors play as determinants of cardiovascular health (CVH). We examined the association between self-rated health (SRH) and ideal CVH among employees of a large healthcare organization. Methods Data were collected in 2014 from employees of Baptist Health South Florida during an annual voluntary health risk assessment and wellness fair. SRH was measured using a self-administered questionnaire where responses ranged from poor, fair, good, very good to excellent. A CVH score (the proxy for CVH) that ranged from 0 to 14 was calculated, where 0-8 indicate an inadequate score, 9-10, average and 11-14, optimal. A multinomial logistic regression was used to examine the association between SRH and CVH. Results Of the 9056 participants, 75% were female and mean age (SD) was 43 ± 12 years. The odds of having a higher CVH score increased as SRH improved. With participants who reported their health status as poor-fair serving as reference, adjusted odds ratios for having an optimal CVH score by the categories of SRH were: excellent, 21.04 (15.08-29.36); very good 10.04 (7.25-13.9); and good 3.63 (2.61-5.05). Conclusion Favorable SRH was consistently associated with better CVH.
Testing the Social Interaction Learning Model's Applicability to Adolescent Substance Misuse in an Australian Context

ABSTRACT Background: Parents and peers both influence the development of adolescent substance misuse, and the Social Interaction Learning (SIL) model provides a theoretical explanation of the paths through which this occurs. Objective: The SIL model has primarily been tested with conduct outcomes and in US samples. This study adds to the literature by testing the SIL model with four substance use outcomes in a sample of Australian youth. Method: We used structural equation modeling to test the fit of the SIL model to a longitudinal sample (n = 907) of students recruited in grade 5 in Victoria, Australia participating in the International Youth Development Study, who were resurveyed in grades 6 and 10. Results: The model fit was good (χ2(95) = 248.52, p < . 001; RMSEA = . 04 [90% CI: . 036 – . 049]; CFI = . 94; SRMR = . 04). Path estimates from parenting to antisocial behavior and from antisocial behavior to antisocial peers were significant. In turn, having antisocial peers was significantly related to alcohol use, binge drinking, tobacco use, and marijuana use. From parenting, only the direct path to marijuana use was significant, but indirect effects were significant. Conclusions: The SIL model illustrates that parenting plays an early role in the formation of adolescent peer relations that influence substance misuse and identifies etiological pathways that can guide the targets of prevention. The SIL pathways appear robust to the Australian social and policy context.
Use of computed tomography and plantar pressure measurement for management of neuropathic ulcers in patients with diabetes.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Total contact casting is effective at healing neuropathic ulcers, but patients have a high rate (30%-57%) of ulcer recurrence when they resume walking without the cast. The purposes of this case report are to describe how data from plantar pressure measurement and spiral x-ray computed tomography (SXCT) were used to help manage a patient with recurrent plantar ulcers and to discuss potential future benefits of this technology. CASE DESCRIPTION The patient was a 62-year-old man with type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM) of 34 years' duration, peripheral neuropathy, and a recurrent plantar ulcer. Although total contact casting or relieving weight bearing with crutches apparently allowed the ulcer to heal, the ulcer recurred 3 times in an 18-month period. Spiral x-ray computed tomography and simultaneous pressure measurement were conducted to better understand the mechanism of his ulceration. OUTCOMES The patient had a severe bony deformity that coincided with the location of highest plantar pressures (886 kPa). The results of the SXCT and pressure measurement convinced the patient to wear his prescribed footwear always, even when getting up in the middle of the night. The ulcer healed in 6 weeks, and the patient resumed his work, which required standing and walking for 8 to 10 hours a day. DISCUSSION Following intervention, the patient's recurrent ulcer healed and remained healed for several months. Future benefits of these methods may include the ability to define how structural changes of the foot relate to increased plantar pressures and to help design and fabricate optimal orthoses.
The trauma of birth

ABSTRACT The trauma of birth is an international concern for all childbearing women globally. Since changes in 1994 to the Diagnostic Statistical Manual that included childbirth as a potentially traumatic event, several clusters of researchers, particularly representing the Scandinavian countries, the United Kingdom, and Australia, have emerged. Their research findings appear in numerous publications; yet, what is known from these studies is based on a variety of methodological designs and differing measurement tools making it difficult to draw many firm conclusions (Ayers, 2004; Ayers, Joseph, Mc-Kenzie-McHarg, Slade, & Wijma, 2008). This review offers information obtained from frequently cited, current and seminal research studies describing the trauma of birth among women of the world.
Eulerian partial duals of plane graphs

In the paper Combinatorica 33(2) (2013) 231–252, Huggett and Moffatt characterized all bipartite partial duals of a plane graph in terms of oriented circuits in its medial graph. An open problem posed in their paper is the characterization of Eulerian partial duals of plane graphs. In this article, we solve this problem by considering half‐edge orientations of medial graphs.
Illegible Handwriting in Medical Records

Dr Rodriguez-Vera and colleagues (November 2002, JRSM1) say that, if doctors cannot be persuaded to write legibly, the answer is computerization. This might indeed be a useful strategy for eliminating errors attributable to illegible handwriting, but the health record is beset by troubles of a more fundamental nature, requiring more imaginative solutions. Some of these arise from the fact that problem lists, action plans, and problem-oriented medical records have not been universally accepted in our medical culture, either at medical school or in so-called continuing professional development2,3,4. Without the implementation and continual updating of problem lists, drug lists (including adverse reactions), and action plans, the health record soon degenerates into a tedious litany, devoid of both structure and purpose. Furthermore, when hospital records become voluminous4 with chaotic filing thrown in for good measure (i.e. ‘anything’ filed ‘anywhere’ and ‘anyhow’) there is a formidable disincentive to attempting anything more than a cursory review of previous clinical episodes. Computerization will only make matters worse, thanks to the axiom ‘rubbish in, rubbish out’ and the limited flexibility of the present generation of healthcare computers4. Finally, since neither clinic letters nor discharge summaries are routinely audited, and in view of the reported proliferation of errors of omission and factual inaccuracies in some of the correspondence emanating from secondary care5, the electronic record might end up as a system for perpetuating misleading documentation.
acilitation of learning by social-emotional feedback in humans is eta-noradrenergic-dependent

Adaptive behavior in dynamic environments critically depends on the ability to learn rapidly and flexibly from the outcomes of prior choices. In social environments, facial expressions of emotion often serve as performance feedback and thereby guide declarative learning. Abundant evidence implicates beta-noradrenergic signaling in the modulatory influence of emotion on declarative learning. It is currently unclear whether a similar mechanism also mediates a guidance of declarative learning by social-emotional feedback administered in the form of facial expressions. We therefore conducted a double-blind randomized placebo-controlled trial to test the effects of a 40-mg single oral dose of the nonspecific beta-noradrenergic antagonist propranolol in a behavioral task that required gradual declarative learning of item-category associations from either social-emotional (happy vs. angry faces) or nonsocial emory oradrenaline ropranolol ocial (green vs. red color signals) trial-by-trial feedback. As predicted on the basis of our previous experiments, learning from social-emotional feedback was more effective than learning from nonsocial feedback in placebo-treated subjects. This advantage of social-emotional over nonsocial feedback was abolished by propranolol treatment. Propranolol had no effect on learning during the nonsocial feedback condition. Our findings suggest that a facilitation of declarative learning by social-emotional feedback critically a-nor involves signaling via bet
Landscape variation influences trophic cascades in dengue vector food webs

Landscapes affect natural dengue vector control through food webs in both terrestrial and aquatic environments. The epidemiology of vector-borne diseases is governed by a structured array of correlative and causative factors, including landscape (for example, rural versus urban), abiotic (for example, weather), and biotic (for example, food web) factors. Studies of mosquito-borne diseases rarely address these multiple factors at large spatial scales, which limits insights into how human alterations of landscapes and food webs alter mosquito abundance. We used structural equation modeling to identify the relative magnitude and direction of landscape, abiotic, and food web factors on Aedes larvae and adults across 70 sites in northern Thailand. Food web factors were modeled as mosquito-predator trophic cascades. Landscape context affected mosquito-predator communities in aquatic and terrestrial environments via cascading food web interactions. Several mosquito predators within these food webs showed potential as biocontrol agents in mosquito population control, but their potentials for control were landscape-dependent. In terrestrial food webs, the habitat-sensitive tokay gecko structured mosquito-predator communities, indicating that a conservation approach to vector control could be a useful addition to existing control efforts.
Continuous-Wave Electrically Pumped 1.55-$\mu$m Edge-Emitting Platelet Ridge Laser Diodes on Silicon

We report the successful integration on silicon of small footprint, low-threshold electrically pumped edge-emitting lasers by a new approach incorporating microcleaving technology to produce 6-mum-thick platelet lasers with cleaved facets, microscale pick and place assembly to position them on the substrate, and diaphragm pressure solder bonding to attach/connect them permanently in place. InP-based ridge-waveguide platelet lasers integrated on silicon lase at 1550-nm continuous-wave to 55degC (pulsed to 80degC) with output powers as high as 26.8 mW, external differential quantum efficiencies as high as 81%, and threshold currents as low as 18 mA.
Development of an anaerobic threshold (HRLT, HRVT) estimation equation using the heart rate threshold (HRT) during the treadmill incremental exercise test

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to develop a regression model to estimate the heart rate at the lactate threshold (HRLT) and the heart rate at the ventilatory threshold (HRVT) using the heart rate threshold (HRT), and to test the validity of the regression model. [Methods] We performed a graded exercise test with a treadmill in 220 normal individuals (men: 112, women: 108) aged 20–59 years. HRT, HRLT, and HRVT were measured in all subjects. A regression model was developed to estimate HRLT and HRVT using HRT with 70% of the data (men: 79, women: 76) through randomization (7:3), with the Bernoulli trial. The validity of the regression model developed with the remaining 30% of the data (men: 33, women: 32) was also examined. [Results] Based on the regression coefficient, we found that the independent variable HRT was a significant variable in all regression models. The adjusted R2 of the developed regression models averaged about 70%, and the standard error of estimation of the validity test results was 11 bpm, which is similar to that of the developed model. [Conclusion] These results suggest that HRT is a useful parameter for predicting HRLT and HRVT.
Quasi-Stationarity of EEG for Intraoperative Monitoring during Spinal Surgeries

We present a study and application of quasi-stationarity of electroencephalogram for intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring (IONM) and an application of Chebyshev time windowing for preconditioning SSEP trials to retain the morphological characteristics of somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEP). This preconditioning was followed by the application of a principal component analysis (PCA)-based algorithm utilizing quasi-stationarity of EEG on 12 preconditioned trials. This method is shown empirically to be more clinically viable than present day approaches. In all twelve cases, the algorithm takes 4 sec to extract an SSEP signal, as compared to conventional methods, which take several minutes. The monitoring process using the algorithm was successful and proved conclusive under the clinical constraints throughout the different surgical procedures with an accuracy of 91.5%. Higher accuracy and faster execution time, observed in the present study, in determining the SSEP signals provide a much improved and effective neurophysiological monitoring process.
Spatial organization of the Schizosaccharomyces pombe genome within the nucleus

The fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe is a useful experimental system for studying the organization of chromosomes within the cell nucleus. S. pombe has a small genome that is organized into three chromosomes. The small size of the genome and the small number of chromosomes are advantageous for cytological and genome‐wide studies of chromosomes; however, the small size of the nucleus impedes microscopic observations owing to limits in spatial resolution during imaging. Recent advances in microscopy, such as super‐resolution microscopy, have greatly expanded the use of S. pombe as a model organism in a wide range of studies. In addition, biochemical studies, such as chromatin immunoprecipitation and chromosome conformation capture, have provided complementary approaches. Here, we review the spatial organization of the S. pombe genome as determined by a combination of cytological and biochemical studies. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
MICROBIOLOGICALLY INFLUENCED CORROSION (MIC) OF AISI 1006 CARBON STEEL BY Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans AND Desulvofibrio piger

Microbiologically Influenced Corrosion (MIC) has caused more than 40% damage in Oil & Gas World. Yet, the mechanisms of MIC have remained unclear. This study was carried out to observe and compare the damage failure of AISI 1006 carbon steel caused by two common microbes in MIC world, i.e., sulfate- reducing bacteria (Desulfovibrio piger) and iron-oxidizing bacteria (Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans). Pitting corrosion damage was observed for the specimens corroded by D. piger with the mass loss of 0.94 g. At. ferrooxidans was found to have higher mass loss (1.17 g) than D. piger by creating uniform corrosion damage. It is shown that pitting corrosion damage is more detrimental than uniform corrosion damage because of producing catastrophic failure.
Relatedness and helping in fish: examining the theoretical predictions

Many studies have attempted to explain the evolution of cooperation, yet little attention has been paid to what factors control the amount or kind of cooperation performed. Kin selection theory suggests that more cooperation, or help, should be given by relatives. However, recent theory suggests that under specific ecological and demographic conditions, unrelated individuals must ‘pay to stay’ in the group and therefore may help more. We tested these contrasting predictions using the cooperatively breeding fish, Neolamprologus pulcher, and found that the degree of work effort by helpers depended on which helping behaviours were considered and on their level of relatedness to the breeding male or female. In the field, helpers unrelated to the breeding male performed more territory defence, while helpers unrelated to the breeding female contributed less to territory defence. In the laboratory, unrelated group members helped more. Our work demonstrates that a number of factors in addition to kinship shape cooperative investment patterns.
Amyloid Formation by the Pro-Inflammatory S100A8/A9 Proteins in the Ageing Prostate

Background The conversion of soluble peptides and proteins into polymeric amyloid structures is a hallmark of many age-related degenerative disorders, including Alzheimer's disease, type II diabetes and a variety of systemic amyloidoses. We report here that amyloid formation is linked to another major age-related phenomenon − prostate tissue remodelling in middle-aged and elderly men. Methodology/Principal Findings By using multidisciplinary analysis of corpora amylacea inclusions in prostate glands of patients diagnosed with prostate cancer we have revealed that their major components are the amyloid forms of S100A8 and S100A9 proteins associated with numerous inflammatory conditions and types of cancer. In prostate protease rich environment the amyloids are stabilized by dystrophic calcification and lateral thickening. We have demonstrated that material closely resembling CA can be produced from S100A8/A9 in vitro under native and acidic conditions and shows the characters of amyloids. This process is facilitated by calcium or zinc, both of which are abundant in ex vivo inclusions. These observations were supported by computational analysis of the S100A8/A9 calcium-dependent aggregation propensity profiles. We found DNA and proteins from Escherichia coli in CA bodies, suggesting that their formation is likely to be associated with bacterial infection. CA inclusions were also accompanied by the activation of macrophages and by an increase in the concentration of S100A8/A9 in the surrounding tissues, indicating inflammatory reactions. Conclusions/Significance These findings, taken together, suggest a link between bacterial infection, inflammation and amyloid deposition of pro-inflammatory proteins S100A8/A9 in the prostate gland, such that a self-perpetuating cycle can be triggered and may increase the risk of malignancy in the ageing prostate. The results provide strong support for the prediction that the generic ability of polypeptide chains to convert into amyloids could lead to their involvement in an increasing number of otherwise apparently unrelated diseases, particularly those associated with ageing.