Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Brain Changes and Fast Cognitive and Motor Decline in Older Adults

Abstract Background To identify brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) signatures characterizing people with different patterns of decline in cognition and motor function. Methods In the Swedish National Study on Aging and Care in Kungsholmen, Stockholm, 385 participants had available repeated brain MRI examinations, where markers of brain volumes and white matter integrity were assessed. The speed of cognitive and motor decline was estimated as the rate of a Mini-Mental State Examination and gait speed decline over 12 years (linear mixed models), and further dichotomized into the upper (25% fastest rate of decline) versus the lower quartiles. Participants were grouped in slow/no decliners (reference), isolated motor decliners, isolated cognitive decliners, and cognitive and motor decliners. We estimated the associations between changes in brain markers (linear mixed models) and baseline diffusion tensor imaging measures (linear regression model) and the 4 decline patterns. Results Individuals with concurrent cognitive and motor decline (n = 51) experienced the greatest loss in the total brain (β: −12.3; 95% confidence interval [CI]: −18.2; −6.38) and hippocampal (β: −0.25; 95% CI: −0.34; −0.16) volumes, the steepest accumulation of white matter hyperintensities (β: 1.61; 95% CI: 0.54; 2.68), and the greatest ventricular enlargement (β: 2.07; 95% CI: 0.67; 3.47). Compared to the reference, those only experiencing cognitive decline presented with steeper hippocampal volume loss, whereas those exhibiting only motor decline displayed a greater white matter hyperintensities burden. Lower microstructural white matter integrity was associated with concurrent cognitive and motor decline. Conclusion Concurrent cognitive and motor decline is accompanied by rapidly evolving and complex brain pathology involving both gray and white matter. Isolated cognitive and motor declines seem to exhibit brain damage with different qualitative features.
Involvement of caspase-3 in apoptosis of human lymphocytes exposed to cadmium chloride

Background Lymphocytes are a group of white blood cells with a variety of roles their integrity is crucial for the body’s immune responses. Cadmium, a heavy metal and environmental pollutant, is known as a toxicant to exert its adverse effects on some sort of cells including blood cells. Research Design In this study, human lymphocytes were divided into 3 groups: (1) lymphocytes at 0-h, (2) lymphocytes at 24 h (control), (3) lymphocytes treated with cadmium chloride (15 μM). Lymphocyte viability and plasma membrane integrity were assessed in these groups. In addition, the occurrence of apoptosis was investigated by assessment of nucleus diameter and flow cytometry. Activation of caspase-3 was also detected by immunocytochemistry. Results Result showed that lymphocyte’s viability and plasma membrane integrity decreased in lymphocytes treated with cadmium as compared with the control group. Decreased nucleus diameter and result of flow cytometry demonstrated cadmium-induced apoptosis in human lymphocytes. Furthermore, lymphocytes treated with cadmium displayed intensely activated caspase-3 immunoreactivity in their cytoplasm. Conclusion In conclusion, cadmium not only negatively effect on viability and plasma membrane, but also induces caspase-dependent apoptosis in human lymphocytes.
Size‐resolved counting of circulating tumor cells on pinched flow‐based microfluidic cytometry

Precise cell detecting and counting is meaningful in circulating tumor cells (CTCs) analysis. In this work, a simple cyclic olefin copolymer (COC) microflow cytometer device was developed for size‐resolved CTCs counting. The proposed device is constructed by a counting channel and a pinched injection unit having three channels. Through injection flow rate control, microspheres/cells can be focused into the centerline of the counting channel. Polystyrene microspheres of 3, 9, 15, and 20 µm were used for the microspheres focusing characterization. After coupling to laser‐induced fluorescence detection technique, the proposed device was used for polystyrene microspheres counting and sizing. A count accuracy up to 97.6% was obtained for microspheres. Moreover, the proposed microflow cytometer was applied to CTCs detecting and counting. To mimic blood sample containing CTCs and CTCs mixture with different subtypes, an MDA‐MB‐231 (human breast cell line) spiked red blood cells sample and a mixture of MDA‐MB‐231 and MCF‐7 (human breast cell line) sample were prepared, respectively, and then analyzed by the developed pinched flow‐based microfluidic cytometry. The simple fabricated and easy operating COC microflow cytometer exhibits the potential in the point‐of‐care clinical application.
Application of high-frame-rate neutron radiography with a steady thermal neutron beam to two-phase flow measurements in a metallic rectangular duct

To apply the neutron radiography (NRG) technique to fluid research, high-frame-rate NRG with a steady thermal neutron beam was developed by gathering up-to-date technologies for neutron sources, scintillators, high-speed videos, and image intensifiers. This imaging system has many advantages such as a long recording time, high-frame-rate (up to 1,000 frame/s) imaging, and no need for a triggering signal. Visualization of air water two-phase flow in a metallic rectangular duct was achieved at the recording speeds of 250, 500, and 1,000 frame/s. The qualities of those consecutive images were good enough to observe the flow mechanism and to measure the flow characteristics. It was demonstrated that some characteristics of two-phase flow could be measured by using the current imaging system. To quantify geometric information from NRG images, measurements of flow regime, rising velocity of bubbles and wave height, interfacial length, and interfacial area in annular flow were performed by using the image processing technique. To quantify attenuation characteristics of neutrons in materials, measurements of average void fraction and void profile were conducted. It was confirmed that this new technique may have significant advantages in both visualizing and measuring high-speed fluid phenomena when the ordinary methods such as the optical method andmore » X-ray radiography cannot be applied. « less
Intrastromal Corneal Ring Segments Implantation After Deep Anterior Lamellar Keratoplasty for Astigmatism Correction: Mid-term and Long-term Follow-up

Purpose: The aim of this study was to assess the long-term outcomes of implanting intrastromal corneal ring segments (ICRSs) using a femtosecond laser for correcting astigmatism in patients who had previous deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty (DALK) throughout a 5-year follow-up period. Methods: This retrospective study included 40 eyes of 40 patients with previous DALK and astigmatism ≥3.00 D who underwent Ferrara-type ICRS implantation. The manifest refraction, uncorrected (UDVA) and corrected (CDVA) distance visual acuity (logMAR), and corneal topography were recorded preoperatively and at 6, 12, 36, and 60 months postoperatively. Results: The mean UDVA (logMAR scale) improved from 1.39 ± 0.55 preoperatively to 0.71 ± 0.37 at 6 months postoperatively (P < 0.0001). The mean CDVA (logMAR) significantly improved from 0.36 ± 0.17 to 0.22 ± 0.12 at 6 months after surgery (P < 0.0001). Both UDVA and CDVA remained unchanged throughout the follow-up (P = 0.09). Postoperatively, no eyes lost lines of CDVA compared to preoperatively, and around 80% of the eyes gained lines of CDVA. The safety index remained stable at a value of 1.4 throughout the follow-up. The refractive cylinder decreased from −6.86 ± 2.62 D preoperatively to −2.33 ± 1.09D at 6 months postoperatively (P < 0.0001), and subsequently, it was stable over the postoperative period (P = 0.2). The maximum and minimum keratometry measurements significantly decreased after surgery and remained stable over the postoperative follow-up period (P > 0.07). Conclusions: This study shows the long-term viability of Ferrara-type ICRS implantation using a femtosecond laser as a surgical alternative for astigmatism correction in post-DALK eyes.
Feature Fusion for Efficient Content-Based Video Retrieval

Abstract—Content-based video retrieval is a complex task because of the large amount of information in single items and because databases of videos can be very large. In this paper we explore a possible solution for efficient similar item retrieval. In our experiments we combine relevant feature sets together with a learned Mahalanobis metric while using an efficient nearest neighbor search algorithm. The efficient nearest neighbor algorithms we compare are Locality Sensitive Hashing and Vantage Point trees. The two options are compared to several baseline systems in the general video retrieval framework. We used three sets of features to test the system: SURF features, color histograms and topics. The topics where extracted using a Latent Dirichlet Allocation topic model. We show that fusing the individual feature sets with a learned metric improves the performance upon the best individual feature set. The feature fusion can be combined with an efficient nearest neighbor search algorithm to reduce the number of exact distance computations with limited impact on retrieval performance.
HPV16-E6/E7 Oncogene Mutation and p53 Expression among Indonesian Women with Cervical Cancer

Objective: To characterize HPV16 E6/E7 mutation and its association with p53 expression among Indonesian women with cervical cancer. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study involving 31 Indonesian women with pathologically proven cervical cancer and HPV16 infection. Data about the clinical characteristics of the study population were obtained from the medical records. Biopsy specimen of the cervical cancer mass from each study participant was obtained for DNA isolation. The ORFs of E6 and E7 genes were amplified using specific primer designed according to K02718/HPV16R gene sequence obtained from GenBank. Sequencing was performed using software program MEGA10. HPV16 E6 and E7 prototype sequences for nucleotide alignment (HPv16. P, GenBank Access code: NC_001526) was selected from European variant. The sequence of nucleotide and amino acid was aligned using software program BioEdit. p53 expression was evaluated through immunohistochemistry and quantified using immunoreactivity score (IRS). Results: Twelve subjects (38.7%) present with E6 and E7 mutation. Median age, parity, stage and histologic type of the tumour did not associate with E6/E7 mutation. E6 and E7 mutation rate was 25.8% (8/31) and 12.9% (4/31), respectively. Seven single nucleotide changes were identified within the E6 and E7 oncogenes, including four non-synonymous and three synonymous mutations. E6 T27C was the most prevalent mutation (16.1%). Nonsynonymous mutations were more prevalent within E7 gene (9.6%) (N29T, N29S, and R77C). Median IRS did not differ between HPV16-E6/E7 variants and wildtype (p value = 0.990). There was no association between E6/E7 mutations and p53 expression in Indonesian women with cervical cancer (PR 1.4, 95% CI: 0.29-6.77, p value = 0.704). Conclusions: HPV16 E6 mutation was more prevalent than E7 mutation among Indonesian women. There was no association between E6/E7 mutation and p53 expression level.
Epidemiology and outcomes of bone and joint infections in solid organ transplant recipients

Bone and joint infection (BJI) epidemiology and outcomes in solid organ transplant recipients (SOTr) remain largely unknown. We aim to describe BJI in a multi‐center cohort of SOTr (Swiss Transplant Cohort Study). All consecutive SOTr with BJI (01.05.2008–31.12.2019) were included. A nested case–control study to identify risk factors for BJI was performed. Among 4482 patients, 61 SOTr with 82 BJI were included, at an incidence of 1.4% (95% CI 1.1–1.7), higher in heart and kidney‐pancreas SOTr (Gray's test p < .01). Although BJI were predominately late events (median of 18.5 months post‐SOT), most infections occurred during the first year post‐transplant in thoracic SOTr. Diabetic foot osteomyelitis was the most frequent infection (38/82, 46.3%), followed by non‐vertebral osteomyelitis (26/82, 31.7%). Pathogens included Gram‐positive cocci (70/131, 53.4%), Gram‐negative bacilli (34/131, 26.0%), and fungi (9/131, 6.9%). BJI predictors included male gender (OR 2.94, 95% CI 1.26–6.89) and diabetes (OR 2.97, 95% CI 1.34–6.56). Treatment failure was observed in 25.9% (21/81) patients and 1‐year mortality post‐BJI diagnosis was 14.8% (9/61). BJI remain a rare event in SOTr, associated with subtle clinical presentations, high morbidity and relapses, requiring additional studies in the future.
Coumarins from Sarcandra glabra (Thunb.) Nakai and Acetylcholinesterase Inhibiting Activity

Nine coumarins including a pair of new enantiomers (1a/1b) and seven known compounds (2–8) were isolated from Sarcandra glabra (Thunb.) Nakai. Among them, compounds 1a and 1b were naturally occurring coumarin‐phenylpropanoid conjugate enantiomers. Their structures were identified by NMR and ECD calculations. Compounds 1–8 were tested for acetylcholinesterase (AchE) inhibiting activity. The results of the enzymology experiment showed that compound 3 demonstrated obvious AchE inhibitory activity which showed the IC50 value of 1.982±0.003 μM, and the binding sites were predicted by molecular docking.
Serum Lactate Dehydrogenase Enzyme as a Tumor Marker in Potentially Malignant Disorders: A Systematic Review and Meta–Analysis

Background: Oral cancer is often preceded by Potentially Malignant Disorders (PMDs) and important role of biochemical markers for early diagnosis has been well documented; however, there is limited evidence of Serum lactate dehydrogenase (SLDH) as an effective biochemical marker in diagnosis of PMDs. The present meta-analysis was conducted to assess if serum LDH can be a used as standard biomarker for PMDs and consequently aid in diagnosis of oral cancer. Methods: A comprehensive search was conducted in Medline, Scopus, Web of Science, EBSCO host, Cochrane databases and Google Scholar for studies evaluating estimation of SLDH in PMDs. Search strategy included all types of studies evaluating level of SLDH in patients with PMDs. PRISMA guidelines were followed for the meta-analysis. Fixed-effects model was used to assess the mean differences in SLDH levels between healthy controls and PMDs. Results: A total number of nine studies were included in meta-analysis after screening for inclusion and exclusion criteria. Potentially malignant disorder was significantly associated with increased serum LDH level compared to healthy controls (pooled SMD: 1.83 (95% CI, 1.52, 2.15) (P < 0.00001; Subgroup analysis of OSMF (Oral Submucous Fibrosis) studies showed significant association with increased serum LDH level compared to healthy controls (pooled SMD: 2.57 (95% CI, 2.16, 2.98; P < 0.00001). Sensitivity analysis for the five studies reflected a significant reduction in I2 values to 24 % (P=0.26). Funnel plots were derived for any evidence of publication bias among the studies. Conclusion: Meta-analysis suggests that SLDH is increased in potentially malignant disorders compared to healthy controls. The results of this metanalysis should encourage use of SLDH as a biomarker in diagnosis of PMDs.
Interactions between Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Replication and Major Respiratory Viruses in Human nasal Epithelium

Abstract The emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), along with extensive non-pharmacological interventions, have profoundly altered the epidemiology of major respiratory viruses. Some studies have described virus-virus interactions, particularly manifested by viral interference mechanisms at different scales. Still, our knowledge of the mutual interactions between SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory viruses remains incomplete. Here, we studied the interactions between SARS-CoV-2 and several respiratory viruses (influenza, RSV, hMPV, and hRV) in a reconstituted human epithelial airway model, exploring different scenarios affecting the sequence and timing of co-infections. We show that the virus type and the sequence of infections are key parameters of virus-virus interactions, having the impact of primary infections on the regulation of the immune response a determinant role in the outcome of secondary infections.
Analysis of Metabolic Regulators PGC1-α and PGC1-β in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma with and without Hyperglycemia

Aim: To assess the expression of PGC1-α and PGC1-β in Oral squamous cell carcinoma in the presence and absence of hyperglycemia. Materials and Methods: Fresh tissue samples were collected from 14 well differentiated OSCC patients with hyperglycemia, 14 OSCC patients without hyperglycemia and 14 healthy controls and subjected to quantitative real-time PCR to assess expression of PGC1-α and PGC1-β. The relative gene expression of PGC1-α and PGC1-β was calculated using the double delta Ct method. A two-fold difference was defined as over or under- expression. To further evaluate clinicopathological association, Independent t-test was employed. Results: The expression of both PGC1-α and PGC1-β were increased in OSCC patients when compared to healthy controls and similar findings were observed on calculating the fold change healthy controls and OSCC study groups. On assessing the expression of target genes within study groups, they did not present with significant fold change and the hyperglycemic status of the individual did not contribute to the expression of the target genes as P value obtained for PGC1-α and PGC1-β were >0.05. Conclusion: The hyperglycemic status of the individual does not influence the expression of PGC1-α and PGC1-β in OSCC tissues and the cause for over-expression of the study targets in OSCC tissues must be further evaluated to assess their potential as possible candidates for targeted therapy in OSCC patients.
THz Rectennas and Their Design Rules

The increasing demand for more efficient energy harvesting solutions has urged research for better harvesting solutions than the presently-available ones. While p-n junction solar cells have become commercially widespread, they are expensive and suffer from poor efficiency figures hardly reaching 20%. Other radiation-electricity converters such as rectennas have a theoretical limit in excess of 80%. However, no efficient rectenna solution for the terahertz frequency band has been commercialized or presented in the academic literature. In fact, there are many obstructions to an efficient solution. The aim of this paper is to address the key points towards an efficient and commercially-available solution by briefly reviewing the relevant literature and so identifying five factors that should be addressed in order to reach an efficient solution.
SFTSV infection in rodents and their ectoparasitic chiggers

SFTSV, a tick-borne bunyavirus causing a severe hemorrhagic fever termed as severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS). To evaluate the potential role of rodents and its ectoparasitic chiggers in the transmission of SFTSV, we collected wild rodents and chiggers on their bodies from a rural area in Qingdao City, Shandong Province, China in September 2020. PCR amplification of the M and L segments of SFTSV showed that 32.3% (10/31) of rodents and 0.2% (1/564) of chiggers (Leptotrombidium deliense) from the rodents were positive to SFTSV. Our results suggested that rodents and chiggers may play an important role in the transmission of SFTSV, although the efficiency of chiggers to transmit SFTSV needs to be further investigated experimentally.
C h a p t e r 5 Prognostic significance of geriatric assessment in combination with laboratory parameters in elderly patients with aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma

The age-adjusted International Prognostic Index (IPI) is an important prog nostic factor for patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). We investigated whether a geriatric assessment (GA) is of additional prognostic value in NHL. In this prospective cohort study of 44 patients aged 70 years or older with NHL receiving R-CHOP, a GA was administrated before the start of chemotherapy. GA was composed of Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA), Groningen Frailty Indica tor (GFI), Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly (IQCODE), Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) and levels of albumin, creatinine, lactate-dehydrogenase (LDH) and hemoglobin. Multivariate analyses were performed using logistic regression and the cox regression model. After adjustment for sex, age, comorbidity and univariate laboratory values with p ≤ 0.1, abnormal MNA and GFI scores and low hemoglobin level were associated with not being able to complete the intended chemotherapy: odds ratio (OR) 8.29 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.24-55.6; p = 0.03), 9.17 (95% CI: 1.51-55.8; p = 0.02) and 5.41 (95% CI: 0.99-29.8; p = 0.05), respectively. Adjusted for sex, age, comorbidity, age-adjusted IPI and univariate laboratory values with p ≤ 0.1, frailty by GFI and low hemoglobin were associated with worse survival with hazard ratio (HR) of mortality of 2.55 (95% CI: 1.07-6.10; p = 0.04) and 4.90 (95% CI: 1.76-13.7; p = 0.002), respectively. We conclude that (risk of) malnutrition, measured with the MNA, frailty, measured with the GFI, and low hemoglobin level had additional predictive value for early treatment withdrawal, and GFI and hemoglobin were, independent of the age-adjusted IPI, predictive for an increased mortality risk.
Reestablishment of individual sleep structure during a single 14-hour recovery sleep episode after 58 hours of wakefulness Sleep before and after 58 h of wakefulness

Sleep structure is highly stable within individuals but different between individuals. The present study investigated robustness of the individual sleep structure to extended total sleep deprivation. Seventeen healthy men spent a baseline night (23:00–7:00 h), 58 h of sleep deprivation and a 14-h recovery night (17:00–7:00 h) in the laboratory. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) showed that the agreement between baseline and recovery with respect to the proportion of the different sleep stages increased as a function of recovery sleep duration. High values were reached for most of the sleep stages at the end of 14 h of recovery sleep (ICCs between .38 - .76). If sleep duration of the recovery night is extended to 14 h, sleep stage distribution resembles that of a baseline night underlining the robustness of the individual sleep structure.
IoT Solutions for Maintenance and Evaluation of Photovoltaic Systems

: The effective operation of photovoltaic systems depends on many factors and parameters that must be continuously monitored. The factors listed in the article are frequently variable, which makes it very difﬁcult to predict the amount of radiation that will reach photovoltaic panels and can be converted into electricity. Therefore, to optimize the operating point of a photovoltaic power plant, it is necessary to track the changes in these quantities. IoT systems may help in controlling and managing a power plant, storage, and energy ﬂow to the power grid. The results recorded at the hybrid power plant of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering of the Bialystok University of Technology are useful for a comprehensive analysis of the operation of the plant and ways of its optimization. It is shown that implementation of a comprehensive maintenance system may deliver extensive important information regarding the PV plant installation.