Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Transductive Support Vector Machines: Promising Approach to Model Small and Unbalanced Datasets

Semi‐supervised methods dealing with a combination of labeled and unlabeled data become more and more popular in machine‐learning area, but not still used in chemoinformatics. Here, we demonstrate that Transductive Support Vector Machines (TSVM) – a semi‐supervised large‐margin classification method – can be particularly useful to build the models on small and unbalanced datasets which often represent a difficult problem in QSAR. Both TSVM and ordinary SVM have been applied to build classification models on 10 DUD datasets. The “transductive effect” (the difference in predictive performance between transductive and ordinary support vector machines) was investigated as a function of: (a) active/inactive ratio, (b) descriptor weighting, and (c) the training and test sets size and composition.
Renal Response to a Protein Load in Healthy Young Adults as Determined by Iohexol Infusion Clearance, Cimetidine-Inhibited Creatinine Clearance, and Cystatin C Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate.

OBJECTIVE Renal reserve (RR) measures the increase in glomerular filtration rate (GFR) in response to a protein load; lack of RR could indicate subclinical kidney disease but such a test is not routinely used in clinical practice. The purpose of this study was to compare a meat versus liquid protein load in a cystatin C-based (Cys-C) RR test using cimetidine-inhibited creatinine clearance (Cr Cl) and iohexol infusion clearance (Io Cl) for validation. The design was cross-sectional analysis and the setting was a Clinical Research Center. SUBJECTS Participants (N = 16), mean (standard deviation [SD]) age 22 (2) years, had normal health and blood pressure without proteinuria. INTERVENTION Participants 1 to 8 received a beef burger (1 g/kg protein) and participants 9 to 16 received a ProCel shake (1-1.5 g/kg protein). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE RR defined as the difference in stimulated versus baseline GFR. RESULTS Baseline GFR (SD) in mL/minute/1.73 m2 averaged 103.0 (15.6) for Cr Cl, 94.8 (7.9) for Io Cl, and 117.0 (6.0) for Cys-C estimated GFR (eGFR). Mean RR (SD) for the burger group (N = 8, mL/minute/1.73 m2) was 16.6 (12.3) for Cr Cl (P = .006); 7.2 (3.7) for Io Cl (P < .001), and 4.9 (2.6) for Cys-C eGFR (P = .001). Mean RR for the shake group (N = 8) was 15.8 (5.8) for Cr Cl (P < .001), 10.1 (7.8) for Io Cl (P = .008), and 2.4 (2.9) for Cys-C eGFR (P = .05). CONCLUSION Protein loading stimulates Io Cl and Cr Cl after a beef or milk-based protein load. The change in Cys-C eGFR is significant but smaller for the shake and burger group, which may be due to the dilutional effect of water loading or the length of Cys-C half-life in the blood.
Personal Attitudes Toward Weight in Overweight and Obese US Hemodialysis Patients.

OBJECTIVE Overweight and obesity have become increasingly common among end-stage renal disease patients on hemodialysis. Yet, little attention has been given to what hemodialysis patients themselves think of their weight, how they perceive it affects their health, and their attitudes about or desire for weight reduction. We explored these issues using a survey that we designed specifically for the dialysis population. DESIGN AND METHODS Sixty-six chronic hemodialysis patients from a US urban center with a body mass index ≥25 kg/m2 and stable weight were recruited to participate in a cross-sectional study. The 12-question weight-related survey was validated by retesting a random portion of the study population. RESULTS Based on test-retest results, the survey had good to excellent validity. Seventy-nine percent of patients were black, 49% were male, 29% were overweight, and 71% were obese. In general, the patients underestimated their weight excess though 73% were interested in weight loss, of whom nearly half reported attempting to do so mostly through diet and exercise. The majority of participants interested in losing weight felt that doing so would improve their physical and emotional health. The most common barrier to weight reduction was a belief that it was too difficult (55%), followed by a lack of motivation, money, time, resources, and knowledge. Diet was the most common weight loss strategy (85%) considered, whereas bariatric surgery was the least common (6.1%). CONCLUSIONS A majority of overweight and obese hemodialysis patients believe their excess weight is adversely impacting their health and quality of life and therefore wish to lose weight.
Prevalence and clinical relevance of interview-assessed psychosis-risk symptoms in the young adult community

Abstract Background An efficient indicated prevention of psychotic disorders requires valid risk criteria that work in both clinical and community samples. Yet, ultra-high risk and basic symptom criteria were recently recommended for use in clinical samples only. Their use in the community was discouraged for lack of knowledge about their prevalence, clinical relevance and risk factors in non-clinical, community settings when validly assessed with the same instruments used in the clinic. Methods Using semi-structured telephone interviews with established psychosis-risk instruments, we studied the prevalence of psychosis-risk symptoms and criteria, their clinical relevance (using presence of a non-psychotic mental disorder or of functional deficits as proxy measures) and their risk factors in a random, representative young adult community sample (N=2683; age 16–40 years; response rate: 63.4%). Results The point-prevalence of psychosis-risk symptoms was 13.8%. As these mostly occurred too infrequent to meet frequency requirements of psychosis-risk criteria, only 2.4% of participants met psychosis-risk criteria. A stepwise relationship underlay the association of ultra-high risk and basic symptoms with proxy measures of clinical relevance, this being most significant when both occurred together. In line with models of their formation, basic symptoms were selectively associated with age, ultra-high risk symptoms with traumatic events and lifetime substance misuse. Conclusions Psychosis-risk criteria were uncommon, indicating little risk of falsely labelling individuals from the community at-risk for psychosis. Besides, both psychosis-risk symptoms and criteria seem to possess sufficient clinical relevance to warrant their broader attention in clinical practice, especially if ultra-high risk and basic symptoms occur together.
Problematic alcohol use and hippocampal volume in a female sample: disentangling cause from consequence using a co-twin control study design

Abstract Background Although there is extensive evidence that problematic alcohol use is associated with smaller hippocampal volume, the typical cross-sectional study design cannot determine whether hippocampal deviations reflect pre-existing liability toward problematic alcohol use or instead reflect an alcohol exposure-related effect. We used the co-twin control study design, which capitalizes upon differences within a twin pair in levels of drinking, to differentiate pre-existing liability from an effect of alcohol exposure. Methods The sample included 100 female twins, prospectively assessed from ages 11 to 24. Problematic alcohol use was assessed dimensionally and included indicators of quantity, frequency, and density of alcohol use and intoxication. Hippocampal volume was assessed using magnetic resonance imaging. Results Problematic alcohol use (proximal and cumulative) was associated with significantly smaller left and right hippocampal volume. Follow-up co-twin control analyses that partitioned individual-level alcohol effects into pre-existing, familial liability and non-shared alcohol exposure-related effects indicated that this association reflected alcohol exposure. Greater alcohol using twins had smaller hippocampal volume relative to lesser alcohol using co-twins, beyond effects of their shared genetic and environmental liability toward problematic alcohol use. Results held accounting for recent alcohol use, other substance use, externalizing and internalizing psychopathology, personality traits, trauma exposure, and menstrual phase. Conclusions The association between problematic alcohol use and smaller hippocampal volume likely reflects an alcohol exposure-related effect. Differentiating pre-existing brain deviations that confer risk for problematic alcohol use from those that reflect effects of alcohol on the brain will inform etiological models of addiction and further prevention and intervention efforts.
The effects of psychotherapy for depression on anxiety symptoms: a meta-analysis

Background More than half of patients who present with depressive disorders also have elevated comorbid anxiety symptoms. Given the high comorbidity between these disorders, it is important to understand the extent that psychotherapies for depression additionally ameliorate symptoms of anxiety. Methods Systematic searches were conducted in PubMed, PSYCinfo, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Registry of Controlled Trials. Included studies were randomized controlled trials that compared psychotherapy compared with a control condition for the treatment of adults with a primary diagnosis or elevated symptoms of depression and that examined the effects of treatment on anxiety outcomes. Acute phase depression and anxiety (continuous measure) outcomes were extracted. Effect sizes were calculated by subtracting the average post-treatment scores of the psychotherapy group from the average post-treatment scores of the comparison group divided by the pooled standard deviation. Results Fifty-two studies of varying quality met the inclusion criteria. Pooled effect sizes showed that anxiety outcomes were significantly lower in the psychotherapy conditions than in control conditions at post-treatment [g = 0.52; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.44–0.60; NNT (numbers-needed-to-treat) = 3.50]. Moderate heterogeneity was observed (I2 = 55%, 95% CI 40–66). Bivariate metaregression analysis revealed a significant association between depression and anxiety effect sizes at post-treatment Longer-term follow-ups of up to 14 months post-baseline showed indications for a small lasting effect of psychotherapy on anxiety outcomes (g = 0.27). Conclusions This meta-analysis provides evidence that psychotherapy aimed at depression can also reduce anxiety symptoms in relation to control conditions.
Disparities in the management of cardiovascular risk factors in patients with psychiatric disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract Background The high cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality reported for patients with psychiatric disorders may possibly be due to a poorer management of CV risk factors (CVRFs). However, these healthcare disparities remain poorly understood. In this paper, studies comparing the management of smoking, diabetes, hypertension and dyslipidaemia, in patients with and without depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, bipolar or personality disorder, were reviewed. Methods Prospective studies comparing rates of screening, diagnosis, treatment and control of CVRFs were searched in PubMed, Embase, PsychInfo, Scopus and Web of Science (inception to January 2017). The Meta-analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (MOOSE) criteria were used. Studies were assessed for quality. Wherever possible, meta-analyses were conducted to summarize the findings. Results Twenty studies, out of the 18 333 references initially identified, were included. Most studies were heterogeneous in design. Two areas permitted meta-analyses: the pooled odds ratio for quitting smoking for those with depression was 0.64 (0.49–0.80) p < 0.001; the pooled difference of glycated haemoglobin for patients with type 2 diabetes and depression was 0.18 (0.06–0.31) p = 0.005. Individual studies showed associations between: schizophrenia and lower probability of having smoking habit recorded; schizoid personality disorder and higher probability of remaining non-smokers after quitting; anxiety and poorer control of type I diabetes; depression, anxiety or schizophrenia and lower probability of having a diagnosis of hypertension; schizophrenia or bipolar disorder and lower use of antihypertensive and lipid-lowering drugs. Conclusions A proactive clinical management, together with further studies, are needed to reduce the CV morbidity and mortality of patients with psychiatric disorders.
Prevalence and heritability of body dysmorphic symptoms in adolescents and young adults: a population-based nationwide twin study

Abstract Background Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) usually begins during adolescence but little is known about the prevalence, etiology, and patterns of comorbidity in this age group. We investigated the prevalence of BDD symptoms in adolescents and young adults. We also report on the relative importance of genetic and environmental influences on BDD symptoms, and the risk for co-existing psychopathology. Methods Prevalence of BDD symptoms was determined by a validated cut-off on the Dysmorphic Concerns Questionnaire (DCQ) in three population-based twin cohorts at ages 15 (n = 6968), 18 (n = 3738), and 20–28 (n = 4671). Heritability analysis was performed using univariate model-fitting for the DCQ. The risk for co-existing psychopathology was expressed as odds ratios (OR). Results The prevalence of clinically significant BDD symptoms was estimated to be between 1 and 2% in the different cohorts, with a significantly higher prevalence in females (1.3–3.3%) than in males (0.2–0.6%). The heritability of body dysmorphic concerns was estimated to be 49% (95% CI 38–54%) at age 15, 39% (95% CI 30–46) at age 18, and 37% (95% CI 29–42) at ages 20–28, with the remaining variance being due to non-shared environment. ORs for co-existing neuropsychiatric and alcohol-related problems ranged from 2.3 to 13.2. Conclusions Clinically significant BDD symptoms are relatively common in adolescence and young adulthood, particularly in females. The low occurrence of BDD symptoms in adolescent boys may indicate sex differences in age of onset and/or etiological mechanisms. BDD symptoms are moderately heritable in young people and associated with an increased risk for co-existing neuropsychiatric and alcohol-related problems.
Chemoinformatic Classification Methods and their Applicability Domain

Classification rules are often used in chemoinformatics to predict categorical properties of drug candidates related to bioactivity from explanatory variables, which encode the respective molecular structures (i.e. molecular descriptors). To avoid predictions with an unduly large error probability, the domain the classifier is applied to should be restricted to the domain covered by the training set objects. This latter domain is commonly referred to as applicability domain in chemoinformatics. Conceptually, the applicability domain defines the region in space where the “normal” objects are located. Defining the border of the applicability domain may then be viewed as detecting anomalous or novel objects or as detecting outliers. Currently two different types of measures are in use. The first one defines the applicability domain solely in terms of the molecular descriptor space, which is referred to as novelty detection. The second type defines the applicability domain in terms of the expected reliability of the predictions which is referred to as confidence estimation. Both types are systematically differentiated here and the most popular measures are reviewed. It will be shown that all common chemoinformatic classifiers have built‐in confidence scores. Since confidence estimation uses information of the class labels for computing the confidence scores, it is expected to be more efficient in reducing the error rate than novelty detection, which solely uses the information of the explanatory variables.
Changes in the Profile and Care of HIV-HCV Seropositive Patients in TwoCross-Sectional Surveys in France (2006 and 2013)

Aim: To analyze HCV care and treatment in HIV-HCV coinfected patients and their evolution between 2006 and2013, in France.Patients and methods: HIV-HCV consecutive seropositive patients were prospectively included in two crosssectional studies from April 3 to 10, 2006 (n=416) and from April 8 to 15, 2013 (n=342). A standard data collection form was used. Results: Patients in 2013 compared to those in 2006 had undetectable HIV viral load and negative HCV viremia more often (82% vs. 69%, and 48% vs. 27%, respectively), with more frequent co-infection by HCV genotype 1 and 4. Liver biopsy was done less frequently (5% vs. 35%). Non-invasive liver damage assessment was done more frequently (42% vs. 22%), using serum biomarkers (37% vs. 67%) or liver-stiffness methods (69% vs. 11%). A sustained virological response to HCV treatment was more frequent (50% vs. 30%). In both surveys, patients who had received HCV treatment compared to those who had never been treated were more often of European origin, had better control of their HIV infection, had more frequent liver damage assessments and were less frequently infected by a genotype 4. Conclusion: In comparison to 2006, more co-infected patients in 2013 had better control of their HIV infection, had liver damage assessment, received HCV treatment and more frequently had a sustained virological response. New anti-HCV combinations with greater efficacy and less toxicity should soon modify the present picture.
The Nail in Health and Disease

ABSTRACT This is an even more complete and satisfying text than the excellent first edition. Dr Zaias has devoted much of his dermatologic career to understanding the anatomy and physiology of the nail. His familiarity with all aspects of nail disease resounds throughout.This text is particularly strong in the basic science of the nail as well as the multiple disorders. But it is primarily a medical dermatology textbook. Only 13 pages (5%) of the book are devoted to surgical procedures. Although most commonly used nail procedures are covered, there is a lack of detail that will disappoint dermatologic surgeons. You will have to look elsewhere for a more thorough treatise of nail surgery.The chapters on anatomy and physiology are excellent and well referenced. The embryology presented is well done but lacking in references. There are excellent chapters on nail regeneration and kinetics.Those who like syndromes need not look
Effects of body mass index and age on prostate specific antigen: a study on men attending a tertiary hospital in Ghana.

Background: Prostate specific antigen (PSA) is useful in the diagnosis of prostate adenocarcinoma. Aims: Our study sought to establish possible effect of age and BMI on serum PSA levels in Ghanaian men with genitourinary complaints. Methods: In this non-randomized, cross-sectional study, we recruited 202 men from the Genitourology and pathology departments of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) and MDS-Lancet Laboratories Ghana, between July 2011 and February 2012. Height and weight were measured and body mass index (BMI) calculated for each participant. Serum PSA levels were measured and prostate biopsies from each of the participants were examined histologically for diagnosis.
Neocartilage formation in 1 g, simulated, and microgravity environments: implications for tissue engineering.

AIM The aim of this study was to analyze and compare the deposition of cartilage-specific extracellular matrix components and cellular organization in scaffold-free neocartilage produced in microgravity and simulated microgravity. METHODS Porcine chondrocytes were seeded (100 x 10(6)/mL) into cylindrical culture chambers (n = 8) and cultured in the following environments: (i) microgravity during the Flight 7S (Cervantes mission) on the International Space Station (ISS), (ii) simulated microgravity in a random positioning machine (RPM), and (iii) normal gravity (1 g, control). After 16 days, each neocartilage tissue was processed for histology, immunohistochemistry, quantitative real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction, and histomorphometric analysis. RESULTS Weaker extracellular matrix staining of ISS neocartilage tissue was noted compared with both Earth-cultivated tissues. Higher collagen II/I expression ratios were observed in ISS samples compared with control tissue. Conversely, higher aggrecan/versican gene expression profiles were seen in control 1 g samples compared with microgravity samples. Cell density produced in microgravity was significantly reduced compared with the normal gravity neocartilage tissues. CONCLUSION Tissue cultivated on the RPM showed intermediate characteristics compared with ISS and 1 g conditions. These data indicate that the RPM system does not sustain microgravity. Although microgravity impacts the development of in vitro generated cartilage, simulated microgravity using the RPM may be a useful tool to produce cartilaginous tissue grafts with fewer cells.
Quantification of platelet‐derived growth factor A, factor B and receptor β in human renal biopsy tissue using competitive reverse transcriptase polymecase chain reaction: comparison between immunoglobulin A nephropathy and thin membrane nephropathy

SUMMARY Platelet‐derived growth factor (PDGF) is a pleiotropic cytokine synthesized by various resident renal cells and infiltrating cells. Its best‐studied role in the kidney is in the mediation of glomerular mesangial cell proliferation. The relationship between expression of PDGFA, PDGFB and the receptor β (PDGFRβ) in human renal biopsies of immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN), a disease characterized by mesangial cell proliferation, and thin membrane nephropathy (TMN), a non‐proliferative glomerulopathy, was studied. Using competitive reverse transcriptase‐polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR), the quantity of mRNA molecules of each growth factor and the receptor was determined in renal biopsies from 20 patients with IgAN and 16 with TMN. In addition, eight nephrectomy samples with paired cortical and medullary samples were studied. There was no significant difference between the disease groups for PDGFA (TMN, 1409 ± 475 copy number/microgram RNA; IgAN, 691 ± 133, P = 0.35), PDGFB (TMN, 2280 ± 467; IgAN, 1465 ± 197, P = 0.10) or PDGFRβ (TMN, 1387 ± 273; IgAN, 1402 ± 344, P = 0.68). Analysis of nephrectomy samples showed higher constitutive expression of PDGFA and PDFGB in the medulla as compared with the cortex. However, further analysis of cortical samples in the IgAN group again failed to show a significant difference compared with TMN. We conclude that whole tissue analysis may have masked upregulation at glomerular level although it should reflect mRNA expression in the tubulointerstitial compartment.
Efecto de un aceite de trementina obtenido de Pinus tropicalis Morelet sobre la biología de una cepa de Aedes (Stegomyia) aegypti Linnaeus, 1762 resistente a insecticidas

Effect of a turpentine oil obtained from Pinus tropicalis Morelet on the biology of a strain Aedes (Stegomyia) aegypti Linnaeus, 1762 insecticide resistant This study investigated the influence of turpentine oil CL95 on the biology of a Cuban strain of Aedes aegypti collected in the town of San Miguel del Padron, Havana, Cuba. The collect was in 2011 during an intensive phase control. We determined the insecticide susceptibility status of the strain under study and exposed to an LC95 of a modified Pinus tropicalis turpentine oil obtained by photoisomerization. High mortality was obtained in larval and pupal larvae surviving exposure. For I variant was obtained a 70 % inhibition and for the II variant 68 %. Surviving females from both variants decreased their fertility regarding control. No impaired fertility