Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Automatic Assessment of Biometric Parameters in Optic Nerve Head Area by “Zhongshan ONH Calculator (ZOC)”

ABSTRACT Purpose: To test the repeatability and reproducibility of the Zhongshan ONH Calculator (ZOC) software in terms of selected optic nerve head (ONH) parameters commonly used in clinical research of glaucoma. Materials and methods: Forty-two horizontal single-line scans were selected to test the repeatability and reproducibility of the ZOC software. Clinically relevant 2D parameters of the ONH area were selected to test repeatability of ZOC, including length of BMO, minimum rim thickness on both sides (RIML and RIMR), optic cup depth (OCD), and depth of the anterior surface of the LC (ALCD). Results: Intraobserver test showed higher the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) of BMO ((0.991 vs. 0.777), RIML (0.988 vs. 0.890), RIMR (0.972 vs. 0.846), OCD (0.997 vs. 0.992), and ALCD (0.993 vs. 0.949) by single researcher using ZOC software than manual measurement. BA analysis showed acceptable agreement between automatic and manual measurements. SDs and limits of agreement (95% CI) of BMO, RIML, RIMR, OCD, and ALCD were 0.05 (−0.13, 0.07), 0.03 (−0.05, 0.05), 0.03 (−0.06, 0.07), 0.015 (−0.035, 0.024), and 0.04 (−0.07, 0.08), respectively. Conclusion: This study presented the design and development of software for the automatic measurement of OCT images of ONH area with good reproducibility. In the future, with advances of OCTs and improvements to the resolution of the LC, ZOC will become a powerful tool in glaucoma research.
Fingerprinting de smartphones : votre téléphone est-il traçable ?

En septembre dernier, Apple sortait la derniere mouture de son systeme d’exploitation, iOS 8. Celle-ci incluait une nouveaute interessante et unique a ce jour en terme de protection de la vie privee : la generation aleatoire d’adresses MAC lors du scan de point d’acces Wi-Fi, qui met en defaut les techniques de tracage habituelles. Ceci nous oblige a nous interroger sur la question du tracage des smartphones. Cette protection est-elle efficace ? Est-elle suffisante ?
Environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding reveals strong discrimination among diverse marine habitats connected by water movement

While in recent years environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding surveys have shown great promise as an alternative monitoring method, the integration into existing marine monitoring programs may be confounded by the dispersal of the eDNA signal. Currents and tidal influences could transport eDNA over great distances, inducing false‐positive species detection, leading to inaccurate biodiversity assessments and, ultimately, mismanagement of marine environments. In this study, we determined the ability of eDNA metabarcoding surveys to distinguish localized signals obtained from four marine habitats within a small spatial scale (<5 km) subject to significant tidal and along‐shore water flow. Our eDNA metabarcoding survey detected 86 genera, within 77 families and across 11 phyla using three established metabarcoding assays targeting fish (16S rRNA gene), crustacean (16S rRNA gene) and eukaryotic (cytochrome oxidase subunit 1) diversity. Ordination and cluster analyses for both taxonomic and OTU data sets show distinct eDNA signals between the sampled habitats, suggesting dispersal of eDNA among habitats was limited. Individual taxa with strong habitat preferences displayed localized eDNA signals in accordance with their respective habitat, whereas taxa known to be less habitat‐specific generated more ubiquitous signals. Our data add to evidence that eDNA metabarcoding surveys in marine environments detect a broad range of taxa that are spatially discrete. Our work also highlights that refinement of assay choice is essential to realize the full potential of eDNA metabarcoding surveys in marine biodiversity monitoring programs.
Offline Arabic character recognition system

Several languages use the Arabic alphabets and Arabic scripts present challenges because the letter shape is context sensitive. For the past three decades, there has been a mounting interest among researchers in this problem. In this paper we present an Arabic Character Recognition system and review the theory behind the Arabic recognition system, the characteristics of Arabic writing, the sequence steps of recognizing Arabic text. These steps are separately discussed, and previous research work on each step is reviewed. Also in this paper we give some samples of Arabic fonts.
Phenotypic variation in Heliconius erato crosses shows that iridescent structural colour is sex-linked and controlled by multiple genes

Bright, highly reflective iridescent colours can be seen across nature and are produced by the scattering of light from nanostructures. Heliconius butterflies have been widely studied for their diversity and mimicry of wing colour patterns. Despite iridescence evolving multiple times in this genus, little is known about the genetic basis of the colour and the development of the structures which produce it. Heliconius erato can be found across Central and South America, but only races found in western Ecuador and Colombia have developed blue iridescent colour. Here, we use crosses between iridescent and non-iridescent races of H. erato to study phenotypic variation in the resulting F2 generation. Using measurements of blue colour from photographs, we find that iridescent structural colour is a quantitative trait controlled by multiple genes, with strong evidence for loci on the Z sex chromosome. Iridescence is not linked to the Mendelian colour pattern locus that also segregates in these crosses (controlled by the gene cortex). Small-angle X-ray scattering data show that spacing between longitudinal ridges on the scales, which affects the intensity of the blue reflectance, also varies quantitatively in F2 crosses.
Ordino: a visual cancer analysis tool for ranking and exploring genes, cell lines and tissue samples

Abstract Summary Ordino is a web-based analysis tool for cancer genomics that allows users to flexibly rank, filter and explore genes, cell lines and tissue samples based on pre-loaded data, including The Cancer Genome Atlas, the Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia and manually uploaded information. Interactive tabular data visualization that facilitates the user-driven prioritization process forms a core component of Ordino. Detail views of selected items complement the exploration. Findings can be stored, shared and reproduced via the integrated session management. Availability and implementation Ordino is publicly available at https://ordino.caleydoapp. org. The source code is released at https://github.com/Caleydo/ordino under the Mozilla Public License 2.0. Supplementary information Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Psychometric Properties of the Checklist of Experiences of Psychological Abuse to the Couple in Adolescents and Young Adults

In Ibero-America, interest in the evaluation and prevention of violence in young couples has been increasing. However, there are not enough Spanish-speaking standardized questionnaires. The psychometric analyses of the Checklist of Experiences of Psychological Abuse to the Couple (CEPA) are presented as a subset of the Checklist of Experiences of Abuse to the Couple. Overall, 1,505 adolescents participated; 828 were women, and 677 were men, aged 14 to 21 years old. A confirmatory factor analysis with the Structural Equation Modeling Software version 6.2 (EQS) was performed to consider different factor models that were consistent with theoretical and empirical aspects about violence in young couples. A structure was obtained with one factor of higher order, “Psychological Aggression” (14 items), and the following three primary factors: (a) “Coercion” (four items), (b) “Humiliation” (five items), and (c) “Control” (five items); Cronbach’s alpha ranged from . 71 to . 83. The overall scale and the three subscales correlated significantly with each other and with negative personality traits associated with gender. The results indicate that the scale has adequate psychometric properties for use in clinical practice and research.
Neo-5,22E-Cholestadienol Derivatives from Buthus martensii Karsch and Targeted Bactericidal Action Mechanisms

The discovery and search for new antimicrobial molecules from insects and animals that live in polluted environments is a very important step in the scientific search for solutions to the current problem of antibiotic resistance. Previously, we have reported that the secondary metabolite with the antibacterial action discovered in scorpion. The current study further isolated three new compounds from Buthus martensii karsch, while compounds 1 and 2 possessed 5,22E-cholestadienol derivatives whose structure demonstrated broad spectrum bactericide activities. To explore the antibacterial properties of these new compounds, the result shows that compound 2 inhibited bacterial growth of both S. aureus and P. aeruginosa in a bactericidal rather than a bacteriostatic manner (MBC/MIC ratio ≤ 2). Similarly, with compound 1, a ratio of MBC/MIC ≤ 2 indicates bactericidal activity inhibited bacterial growth of P. aeruginosa. Remarkably, this suggests that two compounds can be classified as bactericidal agents against broad spectrum bactericide activities for 5,22E-cholestadienol derivatives from Buthus martensii karsch. The structures of compounds 1–3 were established by comprehensive spectra analysis including two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance (2D-NMR) and high-resolution electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (HRESI-MS) spectra. The antibacterial mechanism is the specific binding (various of bonding forces between molecules) using compound 1 or 2 as a ligand based on the different receptor proteins’—2XRL or 1Q23—active sites from bacterial ribosome unit A, and thus prevent the synthesis of bacterial proteins. This unique mechanism avoids the cross-resistance issues of other antibacterial drugs.
Dietary Patterns Related to Triglyceride and High-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol and the Incidence of Type 2 Diabetes in Korean Men and Women

We aimed to examine whether dietary patterns that explain the variation of triglyceride (TG) to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) ratio were associated with the incidence of type 2 diabetes in Korean adults. We included a total of 5097 adults without diabetes at baseline with a mean follow-up of 11.54 years. Usual diet was assessed by a validated food frequency questionnaire, and serum levels of TG and HDL-C were measured at baseline. We derived dietary pattern scores using 41 food groups as predictors and the TG/HDL-C ratio as a response variable in a stepwise linear regression. We calculated the odds ratio (OR) with the 95% confidence interval (CI) of type 2 diabetes according to pattern scores using multivariate logistic regression. A total of 1069 incident cases of type 2 diabetes were identified. A list of foods characterizing the dietary pattern differed by sex. Higher dietary pattern scores were associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes; ORs (95% CIs) comparing extreme quintiles were 1.53 (1.12–2.09; p for trend = 0.008) for men and 1.33 (0.95–1.86; p for trend = 0.011) for women. Our study suggests the evidence that dietary patterns associated with low levels of TG/HDL-C ratio may have the potential to reduce the burden of type 2 diabetes.
LncRNA MEG3 negatively modified osteosarcoma development through regulation of miR‐361‐5p and FoxM1

This study was aimed to figure out whether long noncoding RNA MEG3/miR‐361‐5p/FoxM1 signaling would contribute to improved proliferation and metastasis of osteosarcoma cells. We altogether collected 204 pairs of osteosarcoma tissues and adjacent normal tissues, and obtained four human osteosarcoma cell lines. Then pcDNA3.1‐MEG3, si‐MEG3, miR‐361‐5p mimic, miR‐361‐5p inhibitor, pcDNA3.1‐FoxM1, si‐FoxM1, and negative control (NC) were, respectively, transfected into the osteosarcoma cells. Furthermore, real time polymerase chain reaction was utilized to determine the mRNA expressions of maternally expressed gene 3 (MEG3) and miR‐361‐5p, and western blot analysis was applied for determining the FoxM1 expression. Besides, dual luciferase reporter gene assay was adopted to verify if MEG3 can be directly targeted by miR‐361‐5p. Finally, 3‐(4,5‐dimethyl‐2‐thiazolyl)‐2,5‐diphenyl‐2H‐tetrazolium bromide, colony formation assay, flow cytometry, wound healing assay, and transwell assay were conducted to investigate the influence of MEG3, miR‐361‐5p, and FoxM1 expressions on the viability, proliferation, apoptosis, migration, and invasion of osteosarcoma cells. MEG3 and miR‐361‐5p were observed to be significantly downregulated within both osteosarcoma tissues and cell lines, whereas FoxM1 was upregulated in osteosarcoma tissues and cell lines (p < 0.05). MEG3 directly bound to miR‐361‐5p, and significantly upgraded its expression (p < 0.05). The upregulated MEG3 and miR‐361‐5p or the downregulated FoxM1 appeared to substantially inhibit proliferation, migration, and invasion of osteosarcoma cells (p < 0.05). Finally, the proliferation, migration, invasion, and motility of osteosarcoma cells within the miR‐NC + pcDNA3.1‐FoxM1 group and pcDNA + pcDNA‐FoxM1 group were markedly promoted when compared with the miR‐361‐5p mimic group and pcDNA3.1‐MEG3 group (p < 0.05). The MEG3/miR‐361‐5p/FoxM1 axis could potentially serve as therapeutic targets or diagnostic biomarkers for osteosarcoma.
Clinical Manifestations, Antimicrobial Drug Susceptibility Patterns, and Outcomes in Melioidosis Cases, India

We studied the clinical manifestations and outcomes of 114 patients with culture-confirmed melioidosis treated at a tertiary hospital in southern India. Diabetes mellitus is the main risk factor, and chronic melioidosis mimicking tuberculosis was more common than acute disease. Septicemia and respiratory involvement were associated with poor outcomes.
Demographic, clinical characteristics and cardiovascular disease burden in a Portuguese cohort of older chronic kidney disease patients

ABSTRACT Introduction: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is an independent risk factor for several unfavorable outcomes including cardiovascular disease (CVD), particularly in the elderly, who represent the most rapidly growing segment of the end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) population. Portugal has the highest European unadjusted incidence and prevalence rates of ESKD. In 2012, we started to follow a cohort of elderly CKD patients, we describe their baseline characteristics, risk profile, and cardiovascular disease burden. Methods: All CKD patients aged 65 years and older referred to our department during 2012 were enrolled. Baseline data included: demographic, CKD stage, medication, comorbid conditions. Estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was calculated by the CKD-EPI formula. Results: A total of 416 patients, 50% referred by primary care physicians, aged 77 ± 7 years, 52% male, with a median eGFR of 32 mL/min/1.73m2 participated in the study. Fifty percent had diabetes (DM), 85% dyslipidemia, 96% hypertension; 26% were current/former smokers, and 24% had a body mass index > 30 kg/m2. The prevalence of CVD was 62% and higher in stage 4-5 patients; in diabetics, it gradually increased with CKD progression (stage 3a < stage 3b < stage 4-5) (39, 58, 82%; p < 0.001). Conclusions: At baseline, our CKD elderly cohort had a higher burden of CVD. The prevalence of CVD was greater than in other European CKD cohorts. Lower level of eGFR was associated with a greater burden of CVD and was more pronounced in diabetics, highlighting the importance of strategically targeting cardiovascular risk reduction in these patients.
Supervised Machine Learning Algorithms for Evaluation of Solid Lipid Nanoparticles and Particle Size.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES Solid Lipid Nanoparticles (SLNs) are pharmaceutical delivery systems that have advantages such as controlled drug release, long-term stability etc. Particle Size (PS) is one of the important criteria of SLNs. These factors affect drug release rate, bio-distribution etc. In this study, the formulation of SLNs using high-speed homogenization technique has been evaluated. The main emphasis of the work is to study whether the effect of mixing time and formulation ingredients on PS can be modeled. For this purpose, different machine learning algorithms have been applied and evaluated using the mean absolute error metric. MATERIALS AND METHODS SLNs were prepared by high-speed homogenizaton. PS, size distribution and zeta potential measurements were performed on freshly prepared samples. In order to model the formulation of the particles in terms of mixing time and formulation ingredients and evaluate the predictability of PS depending on these parameters, different machine learning algorithms were applied on the prepared dataset and the performances of the algorithms were also evaluated. RESULTS PS of SLNs obtained was in the range of 263-498nm. The results present that PS of SLNs can be best estimated by decision tree based methods, among which Random Forest has the least mean absolute error value with 0.028. As a result, the estimation of machine learning algorithms demonstrates that particle size can be estimated by both decision rule-based machine learning methods and function fitting machine learning methods. CONCLUSION Our findings present that machine learning methods can be highly useful for determining formulation parameters for further research.
Efficacy and safety of behavioral therapy for premature ejaculation

Background: Premature ejaculation (PE) is the one of the most prevalent male sexual dysfunction, there has not been specific medicine or therapy for the disease. As an effective treatment for premature ejaculation is a behavioral therapy and is widely used worldwide. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of behavioral therapy in patients who suffer from PE. Method: We will search all randomized controlled trials (RCTs) from the following electronic databases, by September 30, 2018, such as PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, Web of Science database, China Biology Medicine disc (CBM), China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), China Science and Technology Journal database (VIP), and Wanfang Database. We will also collect clinical trial registries, dissertations, grey literature, reference lists of studies, systematic reviews, and conference abstracts. The primary outcomes include the Intravaginal Ejaculatory Latency Time (IELT). Besides, Premature Ejaculation Diagnostic Tool (PEDT), Arabic index of Premature Ejaculation (AIPE), Index of Premature Ejaculation (IPE) will be the secondary outcomes. Two people will review these articles, extract the data information, and assess the quality of studies separately. RevMan (version 5.3) and EndNote X7 will be used for meta-analysis. Results: This study will generate a comprehensive review of current evidence of behavioral therapy for premature ejaculation. Conclusion: The study will provide updated evidence to evaluate the efficacy and safety of behavioral therapy for premature ejaculation. Ethics and dissemination: It is not necessary for this systematic review to acquire an ethical approval. This review will be reported in a peer-reviewed journal. PROSPERO registration number: PROSPERO CRD42018111339.
Early versus late clinical outcomes following same day discharge after elective percutaneous coronary intervention

Background: Nowadays 57% of the cardiologists based in the United Kingdom and 32% of the cardiologists based in Canada utilize same day discharge (SDD) following elective percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) as a routine practice. In this analysis, we aimed to systematically assess early versus late clinical outcomes following SDD after elective PCI. Methods: The Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online, the Cochrane Central, the Resources from the United States National Library of Medicine (www.ClinicalTrials.gov: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov) and EMBASE were carefully searched for relevant English publications which reported early versus late clinical outcomes in patients who were discharged on the same day following revascularization by PCI. Relevant clinical outcomes which were reported in the original studies were considered as the endpoints in this analysis. Odd ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were used to represent the data, and RevMan 5.3 was used as the statistical software. Results: A total number of 21, 687 participants (enrollment time period from the year 1998 to the year 2015) were assigned to this analysis. When early versus late clinical outcomes were compared in patients who were discharged on the same day following elective PCI, major adverse cardiac events (OR: 0.75, 95% CI: 0.31–1.79; P = .51), mortality (OR: 0.26, 95% CI: 0.06–1.06; P = .06), stroke (OR: 1.46, 95% CI: 0.72–2.94; P = .29), arrhythmia (OR: 1.30, 95% CI: 0.64–2.63; P = .47), hematoma (OR: 1.00, 95% CI: 0.60–1.66; P = 1.00) and major bleeding from access site (OR: 1.68, 95% CI: 0.22–12.85; P = .62) were not significantly different. Post-procedural myocardial infarction (OR: 2.01, 95% CI: 0.71–5.70; P = .19) and minor bleeding from access site (OR: 6.61, 95% CI: 0.86–50.66; P = .07) were also similarly manifested. However, re-hospitalization was significantly higher in those patients with late clinical outcomes (OR: 0.18, 95% CI: 0.07–0.44; P = .0002). Conclusions: In those patients who were discharged from the hospital on the same day following elective PCI, no significant difference was observed in the assessed early versus late clinical outcomes. However, late clinical outcomes resulted in a significantly higher rate of re-hospitalization. Larger studies should confirm this hypothesis.
Heuristics of Using Structural Equation Modeling in Social Research

The major objective of this paper is to provide guidelines for using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) in social research. It provides an abridge version of relevant literature in tabular form. SEM is “a second generation of multivariate analysis�? , mainly used for cross-sectional factor analyses, path analyses and regression analyses. It provides guidelines for six mandatory methodological areas (a) disclosure of model building strategy; (b) model specification including measurement models and path models (c) methods of estimation, (d) fit indices with cut-off criteria, (e) model optimization or re-specification, f) sample size requirements for SEM.