Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Covariates of non-dipping and elevated night-time blood pressure in ischemic stroke patients: the Norwegian Stroke in the Young Study*

Abstract Abnormal night-time blood pressure (BP) reduction is associated with increased cardiovascular risk in hypertension. Little is known about the prevalence and covariates of night-time BP reduction in ischemic stroke patients. Clinic and ambulatory BP measurements were recorded in 268 stroke survivors aged 15–60 years. The degree of night-time dipping was calculated from the difference between day-time and night-time mean BP, and defined as non-dipping if < 10%. Aortic stiffness was derived from carotid–femoral pulse-wave velocity (PWV) by applanation tonometry and carotid intima–media thickness (cIMT) by ultrasound. A non-dipping pattern was found in 38%. Non-dippers had higher PWV, mean cIMT and night-time BP, and included more patients with history of hypertension, diabetes and high for age PWV compared to dippers (all p < 0.05). In multivariate logistic regression analyses, non-dipping was associated with high for age PWV [odds ratio (OR) = 2.28; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.06–4.92, p < 0.05] independent of history of hypertension and other confounders, while elevated night-time BP was associated with increased cIMT (OR = 3.83; 95% CI 1.01–14.50, p < 0.05) independent of non-dipping status, male gender, obesity, antihypertensive treatment and high for age PWV. In conclusion, in the Norwegian Stroke in the Young Study, non-dipping BP pattern was common and associated with increased aortic stiffness.
A quality of life assessment and the correlation between generic and disease-specific questionnaires scores in outpatients with chronic liver disease-pilot study

Abstract Introduction. Chronic liver diseases (CLD) are an important cause of morbidity and mortality in general population. The aim of this study was to analyze potential differences between patients with CLD and healthy control group, and to estimate the severity of CLD by using simple questionnaires: general health questionnaire (GHQ-12) and chronic liver disease questionnaire (CLDQ). Methods. A cross-sectional pilot study was performed in Zemun Clinical Hospital during years 2014 and 2015. Sixty participants were divided into 4 groups (15 per group): chronic alcoholic hepatitis, other chronic hepatitis, liver cirrhosis, and healthy control group. Entire study population chose one of four offered answers of structured questionnaires GHQ-12 and CLDQ, based on which mean model of end-stage liver disease (MELD) and Child-Turcotte-Pugh (CTP) scores were calculated. Results. Mean GHQ12 and CLDQ scores were 10.5 and 5.21 ± 1.11 respectively. Regarding certain CLDQ domain scores, a significant difference between alcoholic and non-alcoholic hepatitis groups in the worry domain was observed. Mean MELD score was 7.42 ± 2.89 and did not differ between chronic hepatitis groups, while mean CTP score was 5.73 ± 0.88. A statistically significant correlation was observed between GHQ12 and CLDQ scores (ρ = -0.404, p < 0.01), but not between subjective and objective scores. Conclusions. Mean GHQ12 and CLDQ scores pointed out to general psychological no-distress condition of the studied participants, as well as scarcely expressed CLD-specific complaints. Mean MELD and CTP scores indicated stable chronic liver diseases, with low three-month mortality rates in the cases of chronic hepatitis, as well as determination to Child A group in the case of liver cirrhosis.
Prevalence of psychiatric disorders before and 1 year after bariatric surgery: The role of shame in maintenance of psychiatric disorders in patients undergoing bariatric surgery

Objective: The present study examined prevalence of psychiatric disorders before and 1 year after weight loss surgery. Furthermore, we studied if level of pre-operative shame could be a maintaining factor for psychiatric disorders at 1-year follow-up. Method: One-hundred and twenty-seven patients (F/M: 94/33) with mean body mass index (BMI) ± standard deviation (s) =45.3±5.2 kg/m2 and mean age 41.3±10.3 years participated in the study. Eighty-seven patients met for follow-up 1 year after surgery. Psychiatric disorders were assessed by the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (M.I.N.I.) and the Structured Clinical Interview (SCID-II). Levels of depression, anxiety and shame were assessed by the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and the Internalized Shame Scale (ISS). Results: Sixty-one patients (48%) at pre-operative assessment and 16 patients (18%) at 1-year follow-up had a comorbid psychiatric disorder. The strongest predictor of post-operative psychiatric disorder was pre-operative psychiatric disorder, odds ratio of 27.7 (95% CI for EXP (B) 3.2–239.8, P =0.003). Pre-operative level of shame (higher than 50-point ISS score) was also a significant predictor for post-operative psychiatric disorders, odds ratio of 9.1 (95% CI for EXP (B) 1.8–44.4, P =0.007). Conclusion: There was a significant reduction in prevalence of psychiatric disorders from pre-operative assessment to follow-up 1 year after surgery. Level of shame at pre-operative assessment was associated with maintenance of psychiatric problems. This finding is of clinical importance, since psychiatric disorders persisting after bariatric surgery have strong impact on the course of weight loss and quality of life.
Exact likelihood-free Markov chain Monte Carlo for elliptically contoured distributions

Abstract Recent results in Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) show that a chain based on an unbiased estimator of the likelihood can have a stationary distribution identical to that of a chain based on exact likelihood calculations. In this paper we develop such an estimator for elliptically contoured distributions, a large family of distributions that includes and generalizes the multivariate normal. We then show how this estimator, combined with pseudorandom realizations of an elliptically contoured distribution, can be used to run MCMC in a way that replicates the stationary distribution of a likelihood based chain, but does not require explicit likelihood calculations. Because many elliptically contoured distributions do not have closed form densities, our simulation based approach enables exact MCMC based inference in a range of cases where previously it was impossible.
Diagnosing Mental Health Disorders in Primary Care: Evaluation of a New Training Tool

i ABSTRACT Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) are highly prevalent illnesses that can result in profound impairment (Alegria et al., 2006; CTPTSD, 2007). While many patients with these disorders present in primary care, research suggests that physicians under-detect and suboptimally manage MDD and PTSD in their patients (Olfson et al., 2005; Satter et al., 2012). The development of more effective training interventions to aid primary care providers in diagnosing mental health disorders is of the utmost importance. This research focuses on evaluating computer-based training tools (Avatars) for training family physicians to better diagnose MDD and PTSD. Three interventions are compared: a "choice" avatar simulation training program, a "fixed" avatar simulation training program, and a text-based training program for training physicians to improve their diagnostic interviewing skills in detecting and diagnosing MDD and PTSD. Two one-way ANCOVAs were used to analyze the differences between the groups on diagnostic accuracy while controlling for mental health experience. In order to assess specifically how prior mental health experience affected diagnostic accuracy the covariate of prior mental health experience was then used as an independent variable and simple main effects and pairwise comparisons were evaluated. Results indicated that for the MDD case both avatar treatment groups significantly outperformed the text-based treatment in diagnostic accuracy regardless of prior mental health experience. For the PTSD case those receiving the fixed avatar simulation training more accurately diagnosed PTSD than the text-based training group and the choice-avatar training ii group regardless of prior mental health experience. Confidence ratings indicated that the majority of participants were very confident with their diagnoses for both cases. Discussion focused on the utility of avatar technology in medical education. The findings in this study indicate that avatar technology aided the participants in diagnosing MDD and PTSD better than traditional text-based methods employed to train PCPs to diagnose. Regardless of experience level the fixed avatar group outperformed the other groups for both cases. Avatar technology used in diagnostic training can be user-friendly and cost-effective. It can also have a worldwide reach. Additional educational benefit could be provided by using automated text analysis to provide physicians with feedback based on the extent to which their case diagnostic summaries cover relevant content. In conclusion, avatar technology can offer robust training that could be potentially transferred to real environment performance. iii DEDICATION I dedicate this solely to my amazing husband Chris for his unyielding …
Relationship Among Political Instability, Stock Market Returns and Stock Market Volatility

Abstract This study investigated the relationship of political instability with the stock prices. Results of the study indicated the negative relationship of stock prices with political instability. Moreover, results of suggested that instable political system ultimately leads decline in stock prices. Inflation has shown negative relationship with stock prices whereas, industrial production and Exports have positive relationship with stock prices.
Bayesian prediction of treatment outcome in anorexia nervosa: A preliminary study

Abstract Background: Knowledge of the prognostic factors predicting treatment outcome in anorexia nervosa (AN) measured with health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is limited. Aims: We performed a novel statistical analysis to identify factors predicting treatment outcome in AN. Methods: 39 patients entering treatment of an ICD-10-defined AN completed the 15D HRQoL survey, the Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI) and a questionnaire evaluating self reported health status and eating habits before and 2 years after the start of treatment. The analysis was based on a Bayesian approach, which allows analyses of small data sets, and was performed using a naïve Bayes classifier. Results: An impaired follow-up HRQoL score was associated with three baseline risk factors: low self-reported vitality, high scores in eating control and a poor reported health status. Low baseline body mass index (BMI) and a high score in the eating dimension of the 15D predicted low follow-up BMI. Conclusions: In our preliminary study, we identified a set of variables predicting poor HRQoL in AN. An effort to treat these symptoms effectively in the beginning of AN treatment may influence the outcome.
Prognostic factors associated with clinical pregnancy in in vitro fertilization using pituitary down-regulation with depot and daily low-dose luteal phase gonadotropin releasing hormone agonists: A single center's experience

Aim: To review the experience on depot-dose, and daily low-dose gonadotropin releasing hormone agonist (GnRHa) long protocols and identify prognostic factors. Setting And Design: A chart review was conducted on 2106 depot and 1299 daily low-dose cycles at a university hospital. Methods: Clinical parameters were summarized, and prognostic factors of clinical pregnancy for each protocol were identified by logistic regressions. Missing data were imputed using multiple imputations (MI) and the regression models were rerun after MI. Results: Clinical pregnancy rate was 57.5% and 46.9% in the depot and daily low-dose groups, respectively. Logistic regressions with MI identified age (odds ratio [OR]: 0.95, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.92-0.98), serum progesterone (OR: 0.62, 95% CI: 0.45-0.84) and endometrial thickness (OR: 1.06, 95% CI: 1.02-1.12) on human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) day, number of oocytes retrieved (OR: 1.04, 95% CI: 1.01-1.06), fertilization rate (OR: 2.66, 95% CI: 1.46-4.87) and ratio of good-quality D3 embryos (OR: 4.31, 95% CI: 2.79-6.67) as prognostic factors in the depot group. Age (OR: 0.95, 95% CI: 0.92-0.98), endometrial thickness on hCG day (OR: 1.09, 95% CI: 1.03-1.15), ratio of good quality D3 embryos (OR: 2.56, 95% CI: 1.59-4.13) and the number of cryopreserved embryos (OR: 1.07, 95% CI: 1.003-1.15) are prognostic for the daily low-dose protocol. Some regression coefficients that are significant under model-wise deletion become nonsignificant after MI. Conclusions: Age, embryo quality and endometrial thickness on hCG day are important prognostic factors for both 1.0/1.3 mg depot and 0.05/0.1 mg daily low-dose luteal phase GnRHa long protocols. MI is a valuable tool to gauge and address bias caused by missing data in reproductive medicine.
Levels of HIV1 gp120 3D B-cell Epitopes Mutability and Variability: Searching for Possible Vaccine Epitopes

We used a DiscoTope 1.2 (http://www.cbs.dtu.dk/services/DiscoTope/), Epitopia (http://epitopia.tau.ac.il/) and EPCES (http://www.t38.physik.tu-muenchen.de/programs.htm) algorithms to map discontinuous B-cell epitopes in HIV1 gp120. The most mutable nucleotides in HIV genes are guanine (because of G to A hypermutagenesis) and cytosine (because of C to U and C to A mutations). The higher is the level of guanine and cytosine usage in third (neutral) codon positions and the lower is their level in first and second codon positions of the coding region, the more stable should be an epitope encoded by this region. We compared guanine and cytosine usage in regions coding for five predicted 3D B-cell epitopes of gp120. To make this comparison we used GenBank resource: 385 sequences of env gene obtained from ten HIV1-infected individuals were studied (http://www.barkovsky.hotmail.ru/Data/Seqgp120.htm). The most protected from nonsynonymous nucleotide mutations of guanine and cytosine 3D B-cell epitope is situated in the first conserved region of gp120 (it is mapped from 66th to 86th amino acid residue). We applied a test of variability to confirm this finding. Indeed, the less mutable predicted B-cell epitope is the less variable one. MEGA4 (standard PAM matrix) was used for the alignments and “VVK Consensus” algorithm (http://www.barkovsky.hotmail.ru) was used for the calculations.
The Role of Water Reabsorption by the Gallbladder in the Mechanism of Nonvisualization at Cholecystography

Abstract To determine the role of water reabsorption by the gallbladder in the mechanism of nonvisualization and unpaired visualization on cholecystography, the functional capacity of 43 diseased human gallbladders obtained at surgery was determined. A perfusion apparatus was devised to determine the gallbladder's ability to absorb water in vitro. There was no correlation between the presence of absorptive function in vitro and the degree of radiographic visualization on preoperative cholecystograms. An alternate mechanism such as reabsorption of the contrast material from the gallbladder mucosa may play a role in nonvisualization.
Akuttherapie des Schlaganfalls

Zusammenfassung Die aktuellen Konzepte zur Behandlung der akuten zerebralen Ischämie sowie der Hirnblutung werden dargestellt. Die Indikationsstellung zur Thrombolyse im Standardfall und in besonderen Situationen, die Anwendung moderner MRT-Diagnostik und differenzialtherapeutische Überlegungen werden dargelegt. Bei der Therapie der Hirnblutung wird auf die Indikationsstellung zur neurochirurgischen Hämatomevakuation eingegangen und die akute hämostatische Therapie besprochen.
PTU-018 Automatic Detection Of ‘suspicious’ Capsule Endoscopy Video Segments

Introduction Manual review and annotation of a capsule endoscopy (CE) video requires a considerable amount of reviewing time. The diagnostic accuracy of this process may decrease over time due to reviewer tiredness. Recent studies showed an average detection rate – for the clinically significant findings – as low as 40%. 1 We present a generic computational framework for automatic detection of abnormalities in CE videos. Methods A CE video (MiroCam®, InrtoMedic Co Ltd, Seoul, Korea), depicting inflammatory changes (aphthae, mucosal breaks, ulcers, erythema) was reviewed and manually annotated by experienced CE reviewer. A total of 1984 frames, containing any pathology, were thumbnailed. The proposed framework considers video frames as members of a vector space represented by their colour information. An unsupervised data reduction algorithm,2 which does not require any prior knowledge about the data, was then applied on each segment. This algorithm clusters together frames that exhibit similar characteristics e.g., colour distributions. Its output is a subset of video frames extracted from each cluster by applying a threshold to the clustering result. The extracted frames are characteristic of the particular video segment and as a result representative of possible lesions. Results The evaluation of the proposed framework aimed to determine its accuracy, in terms of the ratio of the neighbourhoods represented by at least one frame in the system’s output and the neighbourhoods that were manually annotated as suspicious for containing lesions. The parameters considered include clustering from 2 to 6 clusters and thresholds2 varying from 0.004 to 0.6. The obtained accuracy ranged between 76% to 98% depending on the desired sensitivity level of the algorithm, controlled by the threshold. Furthermore, the automatic selection of the representative CE video segments performed by the proposed approach, the number of video frames to be thoroughly examined can be reduced from 30% to 60% of the original video, depending on the clustering and threshold settings. Conclusion The application of the proposed framework to the evaluation of CE videos may reduce the rate of false negative evaluations by attracting the attention of the reviewer to automatically identified video segments (or single frames) of interest which are likely to contain lesions. References Zheng Y, Hawkins L, Wolff J, Goloubeva O, Goldberg E. Detection of lesions during capsule endoscopy: physician performance is disappointing. Am J Gastroenterol. 2012;107:554–60 Iakovidis DK, Tsevas S, Polydorou A. Reduction of capsule endoscopy reading times by unsupervised image mining. Comput. Med. imaging Graph. Off. J. Comput. Med. Imaging Soc. 2010;34(6):471–478 Disclosure of Interest None Declared.
Akt2 Gene is Associated with Anxiety and Neuroticism in Humans

Background: The exact cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the pathophysiology, successful treatment and prevention of the highly associated anxiety and depressive disorders have not been identified. Akt2 is a key protein in the Phosphatidylinositide-3 (PI3K)/ Glycogen Synthase 3 kinase (GSK3) signaling pathway. This pathway is involved in Brain-Derived Neurotropic Factor (BDNF) signaling, fear memory, mood stabilization and action of several antidepressant drugs. In this study, we examined whether Akt2 Single Nuclear Polymorphisms (SNP) are associated with anxiety and depression associated personality traits. Methods: Four hundred and sixty-three healthy participants completed a self-rating scale for anxiety traits (Spielberger Trait-Anxiety Inventory, STAI) and depressive personality traits (NEO-FFI). Four SNPs of the Akt2 gene (rs7247515, rs3730256, rs892118, rs11671439) were examined. Results: The ANCOVA showed that the dependent variable anxiety trait score was significantly affected by all four genotypes. The anxiety state score was a significant covariate in three genotypes. Neuroticism was influenced by three of the four examined genotypes. Conclusion: We found a connection between different genotypes of the Akt2 gene and personality traits concerning anxiety and depression. These findings may be of importance for the understanding of the pathophysiology of depressive and anxiety disorders. Furthermore, Akt2 might be a potential novel therapeutic target in the treatment of those devastating mood disorders.
Therapeutic potential of FtsZ inhibition: a patent perspective

Introduction: Filamentous temperature sensitive mutant Z (FtsZ), an essential protein for bacterial cell division, has emerged as an attractive therapeutic target for the development of efficacious antibacterial agents active against drug-sensitive and drug-resistant bacterial strains. Recently, FtsZ has garnered special attention in the antibacterial research field, which is evident by the amount of research papers and patents disclosed in the public domain. Because of the significance of FtsZ as a highly promising target for the development of novel antibacterial agents, it is timely to review the patents on this subject so far published to date. Areas covered: This review article covers the patent literature on FtsZ-targeting potential antibacterial agents up to November 2010, including their pharmacological findings. Expert opinion: Since FtsZ is well preserved in various bacteria, the FtsZ-targeting agents would act as novel broad-spectrum antibacterial drugs in addition to their use against particular bacteria, especially drug-resistant strains. Based on the increasing interest and advancement in this field of research, it looks almost certain that a good number of clinical candidates targeting FtsZ will emerge in the near future.
Vitreous Proteomics and Diabetic Retinopathy

Diabetic retinopathy is the major cause of acquired blindness in working-age adults. Studies of the vitreous proteome have provided insights into the etiology of diabetic retinopathy and suggested potential molecular targets for treatments. Further characterization of the protein changes associated with the progression of this disease may suggest additional therapeutic approaches as well as reveal novel factors that may be useful in predicting risk and functional outcomes of interventional therapies. This article provides an overview of the various techniques used for proteomic analysis of the vitreous and details results from various studies evaluating vitreous of diabetic patients using the proteomic approach.
Review of Combination Therapies for Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration

While angiogenesis is one of the factors associated with the development of CNV due to age-related macular degeneration (AMD), inflammation and oxidative stress also appear to play a role. Treatment of CNV with intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor monotherapy is currently the standard of care. However, not all patients respond to monotherapy, and combination therapy may target the CNV through multiple mechanisms, thus reducing treatment frequency or improving visual outcome. Photodynamic therapy (with regular or reduced fluence), as well as intravitreal steroids are used in combination with anti-VEGF therapy. This paper reviews the many clinical trials that have been performed utilizing several combinations of double and triple therapy. While combination therapy is biologically justifiable, further study is required to determine correct combinations and dosage.