Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Rituximab Biosimilar Prevents Poor Outcomes of Microscopic Polyangiitis and Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis as Effectively as Rituximab Originator

Purpose There has been no extensive study to compare the efficacy between rituximab originator (Mabthera®) and its biosimilar (Truxima®) for microscopic polyangiitis (MPA) and granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA). Here, we investigated the clinical effects of rituximab on poor outcomes of MPA and GPA in Korean patients, and compared those between Mabthera® and Truxima®. Materials and Methods We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of a total of 139 patients, including 97 MPA patients and 42 GPA patients. At diagnosis, antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody positivity and comorbidities were assessed. During follow-up, all-cause mortality, relapse, end-stage renal disease, cerebrovascular accident and acute coronary syndrome were evaluated as poor outcomes. In this study, rituximab was used as either Mabthera® or Truxima®. Results The median age at diagnosis was 60.1 years and 46 patients were men (97 MPA and 42 GPA patients). Among poor outcomes, patients receiving rituximab exhibited a significantly lower cumulative relapse-free survival rate compared to those not receiving rituximab (p=0.002). Nevertheless, rituximab use did not make any difference in other poor outcomes of MPA and GPA except for relapse, which might be a rebuttal to the fact that rituximab use after relapse eventually led to better prognosis. There were no significant differences in variables at diagnosis and during follow-up between patients receiving Mabthera® and those receiving Truxima®. Patients receiving Truxima® exhibited a similar pattern of the cumulative survival rates of each poor outcome to those receiving Mabthera®. Conclusion Truxima® prevents poor outcomes of MPA and GPA as effectively as does Mabthera®.
Prenatal cigarette smoking as a mediator between racism and depressive symptoms: The Biosocial Impact on Black Births Study.

OBJECTIVE This study examined whether cigarette smoking mediated the association of racial discrimination with depressive symptoms among pregnant Black women. DESIGN Cross-sectional. SAMPLE Two hundred Black women at 8-29 weeks gestation. MEASUREMENTS Women completed questionnaires including the Experiences of Discrimination and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression (CES-D) scales, as well as questions about sociodemographic characteristics and cigarette smoking. RESULTS The mean age of the sample was 26.9 ± 5.7 years and the mean gestational age at data collection was 15.6 ± 5.7 weeks. Approximately 17% of women reported prenatal cigarette smoking; 27% had prenatal CES-D scores ≥23, which have been correlated with depression diagnoses; and 59% reported ever (lifetime) experiencing discrimination in at least one situation (e.g., at work). Path analysis results indicated that the standardized indirect effect of experiences of racial discrimination on CES-D scores through prenatal smoking was statistically significant (standardized indirect effect = 0.03; 95% CI: 0.001, 0.094; p = .042). CONCLUSION Cigarette smoking during pregnancy partially mediated the association between lifetime experiences of racial discrimination and prenatal depressive symptoms among pregnant Black women. Smoking cessation programs should focus on identifying and treating depressive symptoms among pregnant Black women.
Physical Parameters, Oleoresin and Volatile Oil Contents of Five Pepper (Pepper nigrum L.) Cultivars as Influenced by Maturity

The experiment was undertaken to identify the appropriate stage of harvesting of berries to prepare quality pepper for whole use or for extraction purpose to get better oleoresin and essential oil yield. Harvesting of berries from five pepper cultivars was carried out at 3.5, 4.5, 5.5, and 6.5 months after 70% set of the berries. The experiment was arranged in a randomized complete block design with three replications at Teppi Agricultural Research Sub-center, South-western Ethiopia. Generally, peppercorn boldness and color improved with delayed harvest; 5.5 months after fruit set being the optimum. Five of the cultivars showed comparable oleoresin and volatile oil contents. The oleoresin content ranged from 13.63 to 16.01% whereas the volatile oil content ranged from 3.18 to 3.53%. Both were found to be within the acceptable ranges. The highest oleoresin (19.41%) and volatile oil (4.95%) yields were obtained from earlier harvest (3.5 months after fruit set) and decreased as harvest stages delayed. In general, it is recommended that the spikes be harvested 3.5 months after 70% fruit set to get higher oleoresin or volatile oil yield and 5.5 months after fruit set if it is intended for use as whole or in ground form. Keywords: Black Pepper; Essential Oil; Oleoresin; Peppercorn; Volatile Oil
Melatonin—A Potent Therapeutic for Stroke and Stroke-Related Dementia

Secreted by the pineal gland to regulate the circadian rhythm, melatonin is a powerful antioxidant that has been used to combat oxidative stress in the central nervous system. Melatonin-based therapies have been shown to provide neuroprotective effects in the setting of ischemic stroke by mitigating neuroinflammation and accelerating brain tissue restoration. Melatonin treatment includes injection of exogenous melatonin, pineal gland grafting and melatonin-mediated stem cell therapy. This review will discuss the current preclinical and clinical studies investigating melatonin-based therapeutics to treat stroke.
Incidence and Risk Factors of In-Stent Restenosis for Symptomatic Intracranial Atherosclerotic Stenosis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND: In-stent restenosis affects long-term outcome in patients with intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis. PURPOSE: The aim of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the incidence and risk factors of in-stent restenosis. DATA SOURCES: All literature that reported in-stent restenosis was searched on PubMed, Ovid EMBASE and Ovid MEDLINE data bases. STUDY SELECTION: Original articles about stents for symptomatic intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis were selected. DATA ANALYSIS: Meta-analysis was conducted to derive the pooled in-stent restenosis using a random-effects model. Meta-regression was performed to explore the risk factors predisposing to in-stent restenosis. DATA SYNTHESIS: In total, 51 studies with 5043 patients were included. The pooled incidence rate of in-stent restenosis was 14.8% (95% CI, 11.9%–17.9%). Among the lesions with in-stent restenosis, 28.8% of them led to (95% CI, 22.0%–36.0%) related neurologic symptoms. The series in the United States had a higher in-stent restenosis rate (27.0%; 95% CI, 20.6%–33.9%) compared with those from Asia (13.6%; 95% CI, 10.3%–17.2%) and other regions as a whole (7.6%; 95% CI, 1.1%–18.1%) (P < .01). Multiregression analysis revealed that younger patient age was related to high in-stent restenosis rates (P = .019), and vertebrobasilar junction location (P = .010) and low residual stenosis (P = .018) were 2 independent risk factors for symptomatic in-stent restenosis rate. LIMITATIONS: The heterogeneity of most outcomes was high. CONCLUSIONS: Our study showed promising results of in-stent restenosis for symptomatic atherosclerotic stenosis. Studies are needed to further expatiate on the mechanisms by which younger patient age, vertebrobasilar junction location, and low residual stenosis could increase in-stent restenosis and symptomatic in-stent restenosis, respectively.
Quantitative Assessment of Asymmetric Choroidal Outflow in Pachychoroid Eyes on Ultra-Widefield Indocyanine Green Angiography

Purpose To quantitatively demonstrate asymmetric choroidal outflow in pachychoroid (central serous chorioretinopathy [CSC]/pachychoroid pigment epitheliopathy [PPE]) eyes using mid-phase, ultra-widefield indocyanine green angiography (UWF ICGA) images. Methods Eyes with a clinical diagnosis of CSC/PPE were imaged with multimodal imaging including UWF ICGA (Optos California). Quadrant brightness was measured by manually segmenting based on vortex vein location, calculating the brightness “max-min” value to assess nonuniformity between quadrants, and comparing between CSC/PPE and control eyes. A multivariate linear regression was performed to determine, across individual eyes, which specific quadrants have the greatest brightness in pachychoroid eyes, after taking into account patient-eye-specific variability. Results Thirty-three eyes (18 patients) with CSC/PPE along with 16 eyes of 9 controls had a mean age of 51.94 ± 9.72 vs. 53.78 ± 17.92 years (P = 0.731), respectively. Max-min analysis showed significantly increased likelihood of nonuniform drainage between vortex veins in both CSC/PPE and control eyes. Multivariate linear regression in control eyes showed that on average, the inferotemporal quadrant was significantly brighter than the superonasal quadrant (9.72 units, P < 0.001). Among CSC/PPE eyes, adjusting for the preferential, nonuniform drainage in control eyes, the inferonasal and inferotemporal quadrants in CSC/PPE eyes remained significantly brighter than the reference quadrant by 5.36 units (P = 0.034) and 7.51 units (P = 0.008), respectively. Conclusions Asymmetric choroidal venous outflow occurs in both control and CSC/PPE eyes based on UWF ICGA quantitative brightness levels in each quadrant. Increased brightness levels along inferior quadrants in mid-phase ICGA images suggest venous outflow congestion among eyes with CSC or PPE.
Effects of a 30 min nap opportunity on cognitive and short-duration high-intensity performances and mood states after a partial sleep deprivation night

ABSTRACT This study evaluated the effects of partial-sleep-deprivation (SDN) and a 30 min nap opportunity on physical and cognitive performances and mood states. Fourteen physically active students (BMI = 232.8 ± 0.4 kg/m2) performed the reaction time, the number cancellation (i.e., assessing vigilance) and the 5-m shuttle run tests and responded to the Profile of Mood States (POMS-f) questionnaire at 18h00 after a normal-sleep (NSN) and a SDN) and after two nap conditions (Nap and no-Nap) realized between 13h00 and 13h30. Vigilance and the reaction time were better after Nap compared to no-Nap opportunity following NSN and SDN and during NSN compared to SDN only during no-Nap. Total and peak distance during the 5-m shuttle run test were higher and the fatigue index was lower during Nap compared to no-Nap condition after NSN and SDN and during NSN compared to SDN during Nap and no-Nnap. Anxiety, fatigue, confusion, and depression were lower and vigour was higher during Nap compared to no-Nap after NSN and SDN and during NSN compared to SDN during Nap and no-Nap. In conclusion, a 30-min of nap opportunity helps to overcome the negative effect of SDN on mood states as well as physical and cognitive performances.
Results from the WHO external quality assessment for the respiratory syncytial virus pilot, 2016‐17

External quality assessments (EQAs) for the molecular detection of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are necessary to ensure the provision of reliable and accurate results. One of the objectives of the pilot of the World Health Organization (WHO) Global RSV Surveillance, 2016‐2017, was to evaluate and standardize RSV molecular tests used by participating countries. This paper describes the first WHO RSV EQA for the molecular detection of RSV.
Doses for experiments with microbeams and microcrystals: Monte Carlo simulations in RADDOSE‐3D

Increasingly, microbeams and microcrystals are being used for macromolecular crystallography (MX) experiments at synchrotrons. However, radiation damage remains a major concern since it is a fundamental limiting factor affecting the success of macromolecular structure determination. The rate of radiation damage at cryotemperatures is known to be proportional to the absorbed dose, so to optimize experimental outcomes, accurate dose calculations are required which take into account the physics of the interactions of the crystal constituents. The program RADDOSE‐3D estimates the dose absorbed by samples during MX data collection at synchrotron sources, allowing direct comparison of radiation damage between experiments carried out with different samples and beam parameters. This has aided the study of MX radiation damage and enabled prediction of approximately when it will manifest in diffraction patterns so it can potentially be avoided. However, the probability of photoelectron escape from the sample and entry from the surrounding material has not previously been included in RADDOSE‐3D, leading to potentially inaccurate does estimates for experiments using microbeams or microcrystals. We present an extension to RADDOSE‐3D which performs Monte Carlo simulations of a rotating crystal during MX data collection, taking into account the redistribution of photoelectrons produced both in the sample and the material surrounding the crystal. As well as providing more accurate dose estimates, the Monte Carlo simulations highlight the importance of the size and composition of the surrounding material on the dose and thus the rate of radiation damage to the sample. Minimizing irradiation of the surrounding material or removing it almost completely will be key to extending the lifetime of microcrystals and enhancing the potential benefits of using higher incident X‐ray energies.
What Predicts Software Developers’ Productivity?

Organizations have a variety of options to help their software developers become their most productive selves, from modifying office layouts, to investing in better tools, to cleaning up the source code. But which options will have the biggest impact? Drawing from the literature in software engineering and industrial/organizational psychology to identify factors that correlate with productivity, we designed a survey that asked 622 developers across 3 companies about these productivity factors and about self-rated productivity. Our results suggest that the factors that most strongly correlate with self-rated productivity were non-technical factors, such as job enthusiasm, peer support for new ideas, and receiving useful feedback about job performance. Compared to other knowledge workers, our results also suggest that software developers’ self-rated productivity is more strongly related to task variety and ability to work remotely.
New population estimates of a critically endangered species, the Balearic Shearwater Puffinus mauretanicus , based on coastal migration counts

Summary The Balearic Shearwater Puffinus mauretanicus is considered one of the most threatened seabirds in the world, with the breeding population thought to be in the range of 2 , 000 – 3 , 200 breeding pairs, from which global population has been inferred as 10 , 000 to 15 , 000 birds. To test whether the actual population of Balearic Shearwaters is larger than presently thought, we analysed the data from four land-based census campaigns of Balearic Shearwater post-breeding migration through the Strait of Gibraltar (mid-May to mid-July 2007 – 2010 ). The raw results of the counts, covering from 37 % to 67 % of the daylight time throughout the migratory period, all revealed figures in excess of 12 , 000 birds, and went up to almost 18 , 000 in two years. Generalised Additive Models were used to estimate the numbers of birds passing during the time periods in which counts were not undertaken (count gaps), and their associated error. The addition of both counted and estimated birds reveals figures of between 23 , 780 and 26 , 535 Balearic Shearwaters migrating along the north coast of the Strait of Gibraltar in each of the four years of our study. The effects of several sources of bias suggest a slight potential underestimation in our results. These figures reveal the urgent need to reformulate the population viability analysis for the species, and then if necessary reconsider its conservation status.
Classifying Smart IoT Devices for Running Machine Learning Algorithms

Tiny computers called System-on-a-Chip like Raspberry Pi have revolutionized the development of applications for Smart Home and Smart City. Some Machine Learning algorithms have been used to process a large amount of data produced by these Internet of Things (IoT) devices. An important issue in the context of processing IoT data is the decision on where the machine learning algorithm will run. To support this decision, it is necessary to classify the IoT devices according to their capabilities to run these algorithms, in terms of CPU performance, required memory, and energy demand. The aim of this paper is to classify IoT devices according to their capabilities to run machine learning algorithms, and reporting real experiments that validate the proposed classification.
IDDF2018-ABS-0257 Detecting and segmenting polyps using a deep learning-based model

Background Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer in the world, which developed from untreated polyps. Detecting polyps in their early stage have become a serious medical issue. Wireless capsule endoscopy (WCE) was designed to examine the intestinal diseases without surgery and can give a direct visualisation of intestines, in which the time cost is to analyse lots of images to capture the abnormal parts. The doctors will be wearied with about 25 000 images per person produced by WCE. This study aims to build a computer-aided diagnosis system to help doctors analyse WCE images and detect polyps. Methods We use a deep learning-based model to build a computer-aided diagnosis system of WCE images for the assignment of detecting and segmenting polyps. The U-Net network with both dices loss and cross entropy loss is employed in this work, which is considered as an encoding and decoding model. The data used were available from CVC-Colon and CVC-Clinic, it has 992 images with polyps totally. The data is shown in table 1. Comparison to other algorithms, the U-Net model can learn more features automatically and is a high-efficient method for our assignment. Results The performance of polyp segmentation was evaluated by Dice’s coefficient (also known as the Dice coefficient), which presents the degree of similarity between prediction and ground truth. The Dice’s coefficient in our study is 84.15%. The segmentation results are shown in IDDF2018-ABS-0257 figure 1. Abstract IDDF2018-ABS-0257 Table 1 Data are divided into training data, validation data, and test data Abstract IDDF2018-ABS-0257 Figure 1. Segmentation results, showing the results of different size and number of polyps Conclusions WCE plays an essential role in diagnosis and prevention of colorectal cancer. However, distinguishing abnormal WCE images with polyps is a significant challenge because it needs high time cost. The results show that our method can help physicians analyse the WCE images and reduce their pressure. This method could be further utilised in the clinical trials to help physicians from the tedious image analysing work.
TIF1 Proteins in Genome Stability and Cancer

Genomic instability is a hallmark of cancer cells which results in excessive DNA damage. To counteract this, cells have evolved a tightly regulated DNA damage response (DDR) to rapidly sense DNA damage and promote its repair whilst halting cell cycle progression. The DDR functions predominantly within the context of chromatin and requires the action of chromatin-binding proteins to coordinate the appropriate response. TRIM24, TRIM28, TRIM33 and TRIM66 make up the transcriptional intermediary factor 1 (TIF1) family of chromatin-binding proteins, a subfamily of the large tripartite motif (TRIM) family of E3 ligases. All four TIF1 proteins are aberrantly expressed across numerous cancer types, and increasing evidence suggests that TIF1 family members can function to maintain genome stability by mediating chromatin-based responses to DNA damage. This review provides an overview of the TIF1 family in cancer, focusing on their roles in DNA repair, chromatin regulation and cell cycle regulation.
Local anesthesia in piglets undergoing castration—A comparative study to investigate the analgesic effects of four local anesthetics on the basis of acute physiological responses and limb movements

Surgical castration of male piglets without analgesia is a painful procedure. This prospective, randomized and double-blinded study aimed to evaluate the analgesic effects of four different local anesthetics for piglet castration during the first week of life. In total, 54 piglets aged 3 to 7 days were distributed into 6 treatment groups: handling (H); castration without pain relief (sodium chloride, NaCl); and castration with a local anesthetic: 4% procaine (P), 2% lidocaine (L), 0.5% bupivacaine (B) or 20 mg/ml mepivacaine (M). By excluding stress and fear as disruptive factors via a minimum anesthesia model, all piglets received individual minimum alveolar concentration (MAC) isoflurane anesthesia. Twenty minutes before castration, all treatment groups except group H received one injection per testis. Then, 0.5 ml of a local anesthetic or NaCl was injected intratesticularly (i.t.), and 0.5 ml was administered subscrotally. Acute physiological responses to noxious stimuli at injection and castration were evaluated by measuring blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR), cortisol, epinephrine, norepinephrine and chromogranin A (CgA); limb movements were quantified. The results confirm that castration without analgesia is highly painful. Surgical castration without pain relief revealed significant changes in mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) and HR. Local anesthetic administration significantly reduced changes in BP and HR associated with castration. Piglets receiving a preoperative local anesthetic exhibited the fewest limb movements during castration, while the NaCl group exhibited the most. Injection itself was not associated with significant changes in MAP or HR. However, many piglets exhibited limb movements during injection, indicating that the injection itself causes nociceptive pain. No significant differences were found between groups regarding parameters of plasma cortisol, catecholamines and CgA. In conclusion, all four local anesthetics administered are highly effective at reducing signs of nociception during castration under light isoflurane anesthesia. However, injection of a local anesthetic seems to be painful.
Fast HUB Floating-Point Adder for FPGA

Several previous publications have shown the area and delay reduction when implementing real number computation using half-unit biased (HUB) formats for both floating-point and fixed-point. In this brief, we present an HUB floating-point adder for field-programmable gate array (FPGA) which greatly improves the speed of previous proposed HUB designs for these devices. Our architecture is based on the double path technique which reduces the execution time since each path works in parallel. We also deal with the implementation of unbiased rounding in the proposed adder. Experimental results are presented showing the goodness of the new HUB adder for FPGA.