Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Relatively strong automatic appetitive action‐tendencies in male carriers of the OPRM1 G‐allele

This study investigated whether automatic approach action tendencies for alcohol‐related stimuli were associated with variation in the mu‐opioid receptor gene (OPRM1), previously related to rewarding effects of alcohol and craving. An adapted approach avoidance task was used, in which participants pulled or pushed a joystick in reaction to the format of a picture shown on the computer screen (e.g. pull landscape pictures and push portrait pictures). Picture size on the screen changed upon joystick movement, so that upon a pull movement picture size increased (creating a sense of approach) and upon a push movement picture size decreased (avoidance). Participants reacted to four categories of pictures: alcohol‐related, other appetitive, general positive and general negative. The sample consisted of 84 heavy drinking young men without a g‐allele in the A118G (or A355G) single nucleotide polymorphism of the OPRM1 gene and 24 heavy drinking young men with at least one g‐allele. Heavy drinking carriers of a g‐allele showed relatively strong automatic approach tendencies for alcohol (approach bias). Unexpectedly, they also showed an approach bias for other appetitive stimuli. No approach bias was found for general positive or negative stimuli. These results suggest that automatic approach tendencies in response to appetitive stimuli could play a role in the etiology of addictive behaviors and related disorders. Further research is needed to investigate the specificity of this approach bias and possible gender differences.
CBFA 2 T 3 ( MTG 16 ) Is a Putative Breast Tumor Suppressor Gene from the Breast Cancer Loss of Heterozygosity Region at 16 q 24 . 31

Numerous cytogenetic and molecular studies of breast cancer have identified frequent loss of heterozygosity (LOH) of the long arm of human chromosome 16. On the basis of these data, the likely locations of breast cancer tumor suppressor genes are bands 16q22.1 and 16q24.3. We have mapped the CBFA2T3 (MTG16) gene, previously cloned as a fusion partner of the AML1 protein from a rare (16;21) leukemia translocation, to the 16q24.3 breast cancer LOH region. The expression of CBFA2T3 was significantly reduced in a number of breast cancer cell lines and in primary breast tumors, including early ductal carcinomas in situ, when compared with nontransformed breast epithelial cell lines and normal breast tissue. Reintroduction of CBFA2T3 into different breast tumor derived cell lines with decreased expression of this gene reduced colony growth on plastic and in soft agar. CBFA2T3 was shown to function as a transcriptional repressor when tethered to the GAL4 DNA-binding domain in a reporter gene assay and, therefore, has the potential to be a transcriptional repressor in normal breast epithelial cells. Taken together, these findings suggest that CBFA2T3 is a likely candidate for the breast cancer tumor suppressor gene that is the target for the frequent 16q24 LOH in breast neoplasms.
Personality Style and Impulsivity as Determinants of Suicidal Subgroups

Studies on suicide have often been inadequate in the sense of failing to understand or conceptualize the dynamics of suicidal behavior from a comprehensive theoretical basis. The aim of the present study was therefore to examine Blatt's theory of Dependent and Self-critical personality dimensions (Blatt, 1974, Blatt & Shichman, 1983) in the context of actual suicidal behavior, and also to utilize these dimensions to facilitate our understanding of suicidal action. Ninety-six undergraduate students who had attempted suicide in the past were administered a series of measures related to suicidal behavior, involving impulsivity, intent, and lethality. Participants were also identified as Dependent or Self-critical in their basic personality orientation. Dependents and Self-critics engaged in contrasting suicidal behaviors along several parameters, with Self-critical individuals generally posing greater risk. These differences were congruent with Blatt's theoretical framework. Implications for suicide risk assessment, management, and treatment are discussed, with special reference to the importance of identifying distinctive suicidal subgroups identified by Dependent and Self-critical personality dimensions.
Commentary: Ethical considerations in international research collaboration: The Bucharest early intervention project.

Ethical issues in international collaborative research are multiple and complex, and the applicable ethical guidance is diverse and sometimes contradictory Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences CIOMS, 2002; Nuffield Council on Bioethics, 2002; World Medical Association, 2004. Research with children is similarly fraught with ethical conundrums, competing guidelines, and legislation. An intervention study, which is both international and involving children, is thus bound to be riddled with ethical issues. The authors of the Bucharest study BEIPZeanah, Koga, Simion, Stanescu, Tabacaru, Fox, & Nelson, this issue are thus to be commended for publishing some ethical reflections on their study to supplement the basic research findings. Such ethical reflections are rare in the research literature. A useful and comprehensive framework for conceptualizing ethical issues in international collaborative research was published by Emanuel, Wendler, Killen, and Grady 2004. This framework attempts to embody the central ethical principles applicable to international health research in a format that is accessible to researchers rather than just to bioethicists. The authors Zeanah et al., this issue of the BEIP refer to this framework in their paper and cite it as an appendix, but regrettably do not apply it in structuring their discussion of their ethical issues. This could be seen as a shortcoming of the paper itself, as the application of the framework to this Commentary will hopefully illustrate. Each of the headings below represents one of the major categories of ethical discussion contained in the Emanuel et al. framework.
Donor‐specific anti‐HLA antibodies in pediatric renal transplant recipients with creeping creatinine: Prevalence, histological correlations, and impact on patient and graft survival

Donor‐specific anti‐HLA antibodies (DSA) causing CAMR are responsible for a high proportion of long‐term graft failures after RTX. We studied the prevalence of DSA in RTX children biopsied for creeping Cr, its relationship with NA, and patient and graft survival according to histopathology. Between 2008 and 2013, 92 children were biopsied at a median of 38 months post‐RTX. At biopsy, the prevalence of DSA was 49% and C4d 70%. NA rate was 45%, higher in adolescents (60%). Most frequent diagnoses were CAMR (72%) and interstitial fibrosis with tubular atrophy (IFTA) (28%). Forty‐five of 66 patients with CAMR (68%) had detectable DSA. Twenty‐one DSA‐negative patients with CAMR had histological damage (IFTA + C4d positivity). C4d was detected in 64 of 66 biopsies with CAMR. Recipients with IFTA alone had neither C4d, nor detectable DSA, and were adherent. Graft survival at five yr was 89% in patients with CAMR, 79% in those with CAMR + TCMR Banff I, 33% in those with CAMR + TCMR Banff II, and 96% in those with IFTA. ABMR and complement activation were frequent in children biopsied for creeping Cr. Recipients with DSA were more likely to be non‐adherent and have CAMR or CAMR + TCMR and worse graft survival.
A Case of Cardiac Herniation after Thoracic Blunt Trauma

We present a case of a male patient derived from a rural primary care center, after suffering thoracoabdominal blunt trauma in a MVA. He was hypotensive upon admission, chest X-rays showed a left hemo-pneumothorax and FAST revealed free fluid in the abdominal cavity, so he underwent emergent celiotomy. A grade III hepatic laceration and hemoperitoneum were noticed, and the liver was repaired. Cardiac contusion was diagnosed in the early postoperative period when observing dynamic EKG disturbances and persistent tachycardia. Control chest X-rays showed a mediastinal fluid-air level, and chest CT scan reported pneumopericardium and displacement of the heart, suggesting cardiac herniation. A longitudinal tear in the surface of the pericardial sac, which has completely open and without suffering of the heart, was observed in thoracoscopic evaluation of the chest, so the defect was left wide open. The patient evolved well, with no further surgical interventions required. Pericardial rupture in blunt chest trauma is uncommon, occuring in 0.4 3% of all cases, is commonly associated with high energy trauma and usually fatal. Mortality rate is as high as 75%, due to hemodynamic changes caused by cardiac herniation through the pericardial defect. In most cases, diagnosis is made postmortem. It should be suspected in cases of cardiac contusion, especially in those patients unresponsive to IV fluid or with sudden cardiogenic shock. EKG findings are in specific, but a deviated axis can be seen. Echocardiography and FAST are noninvasive and useful tools for quick diagnosis, while chest CT scan is more accurate.
Spatially quantifying microscopic tumor invasion and proliferation using a voxel‐wise solution to a glioma growth model and serial diffusion MRI

The purpose of this study was to develop a voxel‐wise analytical solution to a glioma growth model using serial diffusion MRI. These cell invasion, motility, and proliferation level estimates (CIMPLE maps) provide quantitative estimates of microscopic tumor growth dynamics. After an analytical solution was found, noise simulations were performed to predict the effects that perturbations in apparent diffusion coefficient values and the time between apparent diffusion coefficient map acquisitions would have on the accuracy of CIMPLE maps. CIMPLE maps were then created for 53 patients with gliomas with WHO grades of II–IV. MR spectroscopy estimates of the choline‐to‐N‐acetylaspartate ratio were compared to cell proliferation estimates in CIMPLE maps using Pearson's correlation analysis. Median differences in cell proliferation and diffusion rates between WHO grades were compared. A strong correlation (R2 = 0.9714) and good spatial correspondence were observed between MR spectroscopy measurements of the choline‐to‐N‐acetylaspartate ratio and CIMPLE map cell proliferation rate estimates. Estimates of cell proliferation and diffusion rates appear to be significantly different between low‐ (WHO II) and high‐grade (WHO III–IV) gliomas. Cell diffusion rate (motility) estimates are highly dependent on the time interval between apparent diffusion coefficient map acquisitions, whereas cell proliferation rate estimates are additionally influenced by the level of noise present in apparent diffusion coefficient maps. Magn Reson Med, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The Real Stroke Burden in the Philippines

Stroke is the Philippines' second leading cause of death. It has a prevalence of 0·9%; ischemic stroke comprises 70% while hemorrhagic stroke comprises 30%. Age-adjusted hypertension prevalence is 20·6%, diabetes 6·0%, dyslipidemia 72·0%, smoking 31%, and obesity 4·9%. The neurologist-to-patient ratio is 1:330·000, with 67% of neurologists practicing in urban centers. Health care is largely private and the cost is borne out-of-pocket by patients and their families. Challenges include delivering adequate support to the rural communities and to the underprivileged sectors.
Fragility Index, power, strength and robustness of findings in sports medicine and arthroscopic surgery: a secondary analysis of data from a study on use of the Fragility Index in sports surgery

Background A recent study concluded that most findings reported as significant in sports medicine and arthroscopic surgery are not “robust” when evaluated with the Fragility Index (FI). A secondary analysis of data from a previous study was performed to investigate (1) the correctness of the findings, (2) the association between FI, p-value and post hoc power, (3) median power to detect a medium effect size, and (4) the implementation of sample size analysis in these randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Methods In addition to the 48 studies listed in the appendix accompanying the original study by Khan et al. (2017) we did a follow-up literature search and 18 additional studies were found. In total 66 studies were included in the analysis. We calculated post hoc power, p-values and confidence intervals associated with the main outcome variable. Use of a priori power analysis was recorded. The median power to detect small (h > 0.2), medium (h > 0.5), or large effect (h > 0.8) with a baseline proportion of events of 10% and 30% in each study included was calculated. Three simulation data sets were used to validate our findings. Results Inconsistencies were found in eight studies. A priori power analysis was missing in one-fourth of studies (16/66). The median power to detect a medium effect size with a baseline proportion of events of 10% and 30% was 42% and 43%, respectively. The FI was inherently associated with the achieved p-value and post hoc power. Discussion A relatively high proportion of studies had inconsistencies. The FI is a surrogate measure for p-value and post hoc power. Based on these studies, the median power in this field of research is suboptimal. There is an urgent need to investigate how well research claims in orthopedics hold in a replicated setting and the validity of research findings.
Emergence of Rickettsia africae, Oceania

We detected Rickettsia africae, the agent of African tick-bite fever (ATBF), by amplification of fragments of gltA, ompA, and ompB genes from 3 specimens of Amblyomma loculosum ticks collected from humans and birds in New Caledonia. Clinicians who treat persons in this region should be on alert for ATBF.
Obstacles to parent–adolescent communication in Hmong American families: exploring pathways to adolescent mental health promotion

Objective Mental health challenges disproportionately affect children in refugee families, with Hmong American adolescents being an extreme case (Thao, Leite, and Atella 2010). Limited understanding about the processes associated with this enhanced risk for children of refugees exists. Obstacles to parent–adolescent communication may contribute to this increased risk (Laursen and Collins 2004). This study's objective is to explore our limited understanding of parent–adolescent communication in refugee families by examining communication obstacles among Hmong Americans. Design Thirty Hmong American young adults (18 to 25 years; mean = 21.2, 50% female or n =15) participated in interviews that focused retrospectively on the parent–adolescent relationship. Results Results revealed obstacles that were initiated by the adolescent, parent, and community. Two adolescent-focused sub-themes (emotional discomfort and psychosocial immaturity), five parent-focused sub-themes (parental judgment, parental intimidation, no benefits of communication with parents, generational/cultural differences, and lack of parent–adolescent bond), and two culture/community-focused sub-themes (traditions/values and vocabulary) emerged. Conclusions The findings provide a foundation for future qualitative and quantitative studies to promote Hmong American family communication, and encourage an ecological approach to promote parent–adolescent communication conducive to supporting adolescent mental health outcomes.
Impact of coopetition in the alliance portfolio and coopetition experience on firm innovation

This paper examines two interrelated questions: to what extent does coopetition in a firm's alliance portfolio impact the firm's innovation performance? And to what extent does a firm's coopetition experience influence the relationship between coopetition in the alliance portfolio and innovation performance? Conceptually, we advance the concepts of balanced coopetition in a firm's alliance portfolio and coopetition experience and suggest that both balanced coopetition and coopetition experience contribute to firm's innovation outcomes. Results based on a longitudinal data of firms from the semiconductor industry show that moderate to high levels of balanced-strong coopetition in a firm's alliance portfolio positively impact the firm's coopetition-based innovation performance. Further, coopetition experience contributes to innovation performance and positively moderates the relationship between balanced-strong coopetition and innovation performance.
Detection and localization of link-level network anomalies using end-to-end path monitoring

The aim of this thesis is to come up with cost-efficient, accurate and fast schemes for link-level network anomaly detection and localization. It has been established that for detecting all potential link-level anomalies, a set of paths that cover all links of the network must be monitored, whereas for localizing all potential link-level anomalies, a set of paths that can distinguish between all links of the network pairwise must be monitored. Either end-node of each path monitored must be equipped with a monitoring device. Most existing link-level anomaly detection and localization schemes are two-step. The first step selects a minimal set of monitor locations that can detect/localize any link-level anomaly. The second step selects a minimal set of monitoring paths between the selected monitor locations such that all links of the network are covered/distinguishable pairwise. However, such stepwise schemes do not consider the interplay between the conflicting optimization objectives of the two steps, which results in suboptimal consumption of the network resources and biased monitoring measurements. One of the objectives of this thesis is to evaluate and reduce this interplay. To this end, one-step anomaly detection and localization schemes that select monitor locations and paths that are to be monitored jointly are proposed. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the already established condition for anomaly localization is sufficient but not necessary. A necessary and sufficient condition that minimizes the localization cost drastically is established. The problems are demonstrated to be NP-Hard. Scalable and near-optimal heuristic algorithms are proposed.
Diffusion tensor imaging of prostate at 3.0 Tesla

Background The feasibility of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) of prostate has been confirmed by several studies. Apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and fractional anisotropy (FA) values of prostate with healthy or pathological changes remain controversial. Purpose To investigate the efficacy of DTI at 3.0 T in diagnosing prostate cancer in the peripheral zone and to determine the normative ADC and FA values of the normal prostate. Material and Methods T2-weighted imaging (T2WI) and DTI of the prostate was performed in 33 cases with diagnosis confirmed by biopsy at 3.0 T MR. ADC and FA values of cancerous and non-cancerous sextants were compared. Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to compare the ability of ADC, FA and the two values combined in diagnosing prostate cancer in the peripheral zone. DTI data of 20 healthy young volunteers were also acquired. ADC and FA values of the normal central gland and the peripheral zone were compared. Results ADC value (1.10 ± 0.09 × 10−3 mm2/s) was lower while FA value (0.37 ± 0.05) was higher in normal central gland, compared with that in normal peripheral zone (1.63 ± 0.15 × 10−3 mm2/s, 0.21 ± 0.07, respectively) (P < 0.0001, P < 0.0001, respectively). Sixteen of 33 cases were confirmed to be malignant while 17 of 33 cases were benign. All the 198 sextants were confirmed by biopsy, including 136 non-cancerous sextants and 62 cancerous sextants. There were significant differences between cancerous sextants (1.02 ± 0.16 × 10−3 mm2/s, 0.38 ± 0.09) and non-cancerous sextants (1.22 ± 0.14 × 10−3 mm2/s, 0.31 ± 0.06) for both ADC and FA values (P <0.0001, P <0.0001, respectively). Significant differences were noted between the AUC of DTI and FA alone (0.86 vs. 0.76, P = 0.0009), but no differences between the AUC of DTI and ADC alone (0.86 vs. 0.84, P = 0.1595). Conclusion ADC and FA values of normal prostate may be compatible with the microstructural organization of prostate. Furthermore, DTI may be a potential tool in diagnosing prostate cancer in the peripheral zone.
Can Anisotropic Images be Upsampled?

This paper presents a novel method for upsampling anisotropic medical gray-scale images. The resolution is increased by fitting an image function, modeled by cubic B-splines, to the slices. The method simulates the observed slices with an image function and iteratively updates the function by comparing the simulated slices with observed slices. The approach handles partial voluming by modeling the thickness of the slices. The formulation is ill-posed, and thus a prior needs to be included. Correspondences between adjacent slices are established using a symmetric registration method with a free-form deformation model. The correspondences are then converted into a prior that penalizes gradients along lines of correspondence. Tests on the Shepp-Logan phantom show promising results, and the approach performs better than methods such as cubic interpolation and one-way registration-based interpolation.
Automatic speech recognition of cochlear implant-like spectrally reduced speech

In this paper, we investigate the behavior of automatic speech recognition (ASR) system with cochlear implant-like spectrally reduced speech (SRS). The SRSs have been synthesized by using amplitude modulation (AM) and frequency modulation(FM) components extracted by using the frequency amplitude modulation encoding (FAME) strategy. In fact, three sets of SRS were synthesized, one by using only AM components and the two others by using both AM and FM components, but with or without subtraction of rapidly varying FM components. Therefore, along with investigating the behavior of ASR using SRS, we investigate the effect of subtracting rapidly varying FM components of SRS in ASR. Recognition results show that even though slowly varying FM components are useful to support human speech recognition, they bring no significant improvement in ASR when the SRS spectral resolution is sufficiently good. The TIDIGITS speech database and HTK speech recognition software were used for the experimentations.
Workload model specifications and adaptive scheduling of semi-hard real-time controls

The authors investigate a class of real-time control systems in which a variety of types of time constraint are imposed on computational activities. In addition, only a subset of critical activities must always meet the time constraints within the allowable bounds; still others do not have time constraints. Also, the top-level system objectives, which determine the criticalness and time constraints of the execution of activities, can be dynamically altered by the system operators or other subsystems. Therefore, specification and scheduling of workload must effectively incorporate the dynamic high-level system objectives and time constraints and reconcile these objectives with contention for limited system resources. The authors define a workload model for specification of activities which consume the system resources and classify activities based on a taxonomy of constraints on the arrival times of an activity's instance. An advanced sensor system is used to illustrate how to use this workload model to specify time constraints of computational activities in system resources. The types of constraints that occur in such systems do not correspond to the classical periodic activities in the real-time system literature. Simulation studies show the shortcomings of some conventional scheduling algorithms. The authors have derived and verified guidelines for tuning scheduling parameters to achieve desired performance objectives. <<ETX>>