Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Resilience, burnout and coping mechanisms in UK doctors: a cross-sectional study

Aims This cross-sectional study aimed to assess resilience, professional quality of life and coping mechanisms in UK doctors. It also aimed to assess the impact of demographic variables, such as sex, grade and specialty on these factors. Methods During October and November 2018, medical doctors in the UK were eligible to complete an online survey made up of validated psychological instruments. Royal Colleges and other medical organisations invited their membership to participate via newsletters, email invitations, websites and social media. Results 1651 doctors participated from a wide range of specialties and grades across the UK. The mean resilience score was 65.01 (SD 12.3), lower than population norms. Of those who responded, 31.5% had high burnout (BO), 26.2% had high secondary traumatic stress and 30.7% had low compassion satisfaction (CS). Doctors who responded from emergency medicine were more burned out than any other specialty group (F=2.62, p=0.001, df 14). Those who responded from general practice scored lowest for CS (F=6.43, p<0.001, df 14). 120 (8%) doctors met the criteria for all three of high BO, high STS and low CS. The most frequently reported coping mechanism was the maladaptive strategy of self-distraction. Conclusions One-third of UK doctors who responded are burned out and suffering from STS. Those who responded from emergency medicine and general practice appear to be suffering the most. Over 100 doctors fell into the at-risk category of high BO, high STS and low CS. Future analysis of the free text responses from doctors may help to identify factors that are playing a role in the high levels of BO and STS being reported by medical staff.
Topographic Mapping as a Basic Principle of Functional Organization for Visual and Prefrontal Functional Connectivity

Abstract The organization of region-to-region functional connectivity has major implications for understanding information transfer and transformation between brain regions. We extended connective field mapping methodology to 3-D anatomic space to derive estimates of corticocortical functional organization. Using multiple publicly available human (both male and female) resting-state fMRI data samples for model testing and replication analysis, we have three main findings. First, we found that the functional connectivity between early visual regions maintained a topographic relationship along the anterior-posterior dimension, which corroborates previous research. Higher order visual regions showed a pattern of connectivity that supports convergence and biased sampling, which has implications for their receptive field properties. Second, we demonstrated that topographic organization is a fundamental aspect of functional connectivity across the entire cortex, with higher topographic connectivity between regions within a functional network than across networks. The principle gradient of topographic connectivity across the cortex resembled whole-brain gradients found in previous work. Last but not least, we showed that the organization of higher order regions such as the lateral prefrontal cortex demonstrate functional gradients of topographic connectivity and convergence. These organizational features of the lateral prefrontal cortex predict task-based activation patterns, particularly visual specialization and higher order rules. In sum, these findings suggest that topographic input is a fundamental motif of functional connectivity between cortical regions for information processing and transfer, with maintenance of topography potentially important for preserving the integrity of information from one region to another.
Typhoid in Laos: An 18-Year Perspective

Abstract. Although typhoid is endemic to Southeast Asia, very little is known about the disease in Laos. Typhoid vaccination is not included in the national immunization program. Although sanitation has improved, one million people still do not have access to basic clean water sources. We describe the epidemiology and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi (S. Typhi) infection in Laos based on isolates accrued over 18 years at Mahosot Hospital, Vientiane. All blood cultures collected from patients presenting with fever submitted to the Microbiology Laboratory at Mahosot Hospital (February 2000–December 2018) were included. This included patients from Vientiane and four provincial hospitals and one typhoid outbreak investigation. A total of 913 (1.5%) of 60,384 blood cultures were positive for S. Typhi. The majority of isolates with data available (712/898, 79.3%) were susceptible to all antibiotics tested, with 59 (6.5%) multidrug-resistant (MDR) isolates, mostly from one outbreak. Of 854 isolates, 12 (1.4%) were fluoroquinolone resistant. Patient admissions peaked between March and June at the end of the dry season. Although there are key limitations, these data give the first detailed epidemiological evidence of typhoid in Laos. However, estimates will be greatly influenced by access to blood culture services and health-seeking behavior. Although typhoid multidrug resistance and fluoroquinolone resistance are not currently major issues in Laos, continued surveillance and improved antibiotic stewardship are necessary to forestall worsening of the situation. Cost-effectiveness analysis is needed to inform decisions regarding typhoid vaccine introduction.
Comparative persistence of anti-tumor necrosis factor therapy in ankylosing spondylitis patients: a multicenter international study

Abstract Objective To evaluate persistence on conventional DMARDs (cDMARDs) and anti-TNF therapies, and to identify potential determinants of discontinuation among individuals with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) living in Brazil and Quebec, Canada. Methods We conducted a cohort study of AS patients using health administrative data (2010–2015). One-year and 2-year persistence rates were assessed. Cox regression was used to identify potential determinants of therapy discontinuation. Results One-year persistence was less likely in Brazil for both anti-TNF and cDMARDs (Brazil: 62.1 and 30.7%, Quebec: 66.9 and 67.0%). The 2-year persistence rates were lower for both anti-TNF and cDMARD, but remained higher in Quebec (Brazil: 47.9 and 18.1%, Quebec: 51.5 and 53.5%). In multivariate Cox regression analysis, age, sex and comorbidities were associated with persistence in both countries. In Quebec, persistence did not differ between rural and urban regions or with socioeconomic status. While in Brazil, patients in regions with higher Human Development Index and those in cities with lower Gini index were less likely to discontinue therapy. Conclusions Canadian AS patients were more likely to persist on therapy compared to Brazilian patients, although rates were lower at 2 years in both countries. Socioeconomic disparity in persistence was found in Brazil, but not in Quebec.
Prebiotics in the Infant Microbiome: The Past, Present, and Future

The latest definition of a prebiotic is “a substrate that is selectively utilized by host microorganisms conferring a health benefit”; it now includes non-food elements and is applicable to extra-intestinal tissues. Prebiotics are recognized as a promising tool in the promotion of general health and in the prevention and treatment of numerous juvenile diseases. Prebiotics are considered an immunoactive agent, with the potential for long-lasting effects extending past active administration of the prebiotic. Because of its extremely low risk of serious adverse effects, ease of administration, and strong potential for influencing the composition and function of the microbiota in the gut and beyond, the beneficial clinical applications of prebiotics are expanding. Prebiotics are the third largest component of human breast milk. Preparations including galactooligosaccharides (GOS), fructooligosaccharides (FOS), 2'-fucosyllactose, lacto-N-neo-tetraose are examples of commonly used and studied products for supplementation in baby formula. In particular, the GOS/FOS combination is the most studied. Maintaining a healthy microbiome is essential to promote homeostasis of the gut and other organs. With more than 1,000 different microbial species in the gut, it is likely more feasible to modify the gut microbiota through the use of certain prebiotic mixtures rather than supplementing with a particular probiotic strain. In this review, we discuss the latest clinical evidence regarding prebiotics and its role in gut immunity, allergy, infections, inflammation, and functional gastrointestinal disorders.
Mitochondria‐targeted antioxidant mito‐TEMPO alleviate oxidative stress induced by antimycin A in human mesenchymal stem cells

The cell therapy of damaged tissue, which is linked to hypoxia condition might fail, in large part due to the emergence of oxidative stress (OS) and/or mitochondrial dysfunctions. Thus, the invigoration of stem cells against oxidative stress could be a reliable strategy to improve the cell therapy outcome. Of various antioxidants, mito‐Tempo (mito‐T) is one of the potent antioxidants that could target and neutralize the mitochondrial oxidative stress. In this study, for the induction of hypoxia and oxidative stress in mitochondria of the mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) isolated from human adipose tissue, antimycin A (AMA) was used and then several parameters were analyzed, including cell viability and cell cycle arrest of MSCs exposed to AMA, mito‐T, antioxidant potential, redox homeostasis, and signaling pathways in MSCs under oxidative stress. Based on our findings, the treated MSCs were found to impose a high resistance to the OS‐induced apoptosis, which correlated with the nuclear factor erythroid 2‐related factor 2 (Nrf2) pathway required to manage OS. Upon exposure of the MSCs to high oxidative stress conditions using AMA, the cells failed to scavenge. The use of mito‐T was found to alleviate the damage induced by oxidative stress through both direct functions of the free radical scavenging and the interplay in terms of cell signaling pathways including the upregulation of the Nrf2 pathway. These findings may pave the way in the stem cell therapy for the hypoxia‐mediated tissue damage.
CRISPR/Cas9‐mediated mutagenesis to validate the synergy between PARP1 inhibition and chemotherapy in BRCA1‐mutated breast cancer cells

Abstract For patients carrying BRCA1 mutations, at least one‐third develop triple negative breast cancer (TNBC). Not only is TNBC difficult to treat due to the lack of molecular target receptors, but BRCA1 mutations (BRCA1m) also result in chemotherapeutic resistance, making disease recurrence more likely. Although BRCA1m are highly heterogeneous and therefore difficult to target, BRCA1 gene's synthetic lethal pair, PARP1, is conserved in BRCA1m cancer cells. Therefore, we hypothesize that targeting PARP1 might be a fruitful direction to sensitize BRCA1m cancer cells to chemotherapy. We used CRISPR/Cas9 technology to generate PARP1 deficiency in two TNBC cell lines, MDA‐MB‐231 (BRCA1 wild‐type) and MDA‐MB‐436 (BRCA1m). We explored whether this PARP1 disruption (PARP1m) could significantly lower the chemotherapeutic dose necessary to achieve therapeutic efficacy in both a 2D and 3D tumor‐on‐a‐chip model. With both BRCA1m and PARP1m, the TNBC cells were more sensitive to three representative chemotherapeutic breast cancer drugs, doxorubicin, gemcitabine and docetaxel, compared with the PARP1 wild‐type counterpart in the 2D culture environment. However, PARP1m did not result in this synergy in the 3D tumor‐on‐a‐chip model, suggesting that drug dosing in the tumor microenvironment may influence the synergy. Taken together, our results highlight a discrepancy in the efficacy of the combination of PARP1 inhibition and chemotherapy for TNBC treatment, which should be clarified to justify further clinical testing.
Neuroprotective Effect of the Inhibitor Salubrinal after Cardiac Arrest in a Rodent Model

Cardiac arrest (CA) yields poor neurological outcomes. Salubrinal (Sal), an endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress inhibitor, has been shown to have neuroprotective effects in both in vivo and in vitro brain injury models. This study investigated the neuroprotective mechanisms of Sal in postresuscitation brain damage in a rodent model of CA. In the present study, rats were subjected to 6 min of CA and then successfully resuscitated. Either Sal (1 mg/kg) or vehicle (DMSO) was injected blindly 30 min before the induction of CA. Neurological status was assessed 24 h after CA, and the cortex was collected for analysis. As a result, we observed that, compared with the vehicle-treated animals, the rats pretreated with Sal exhibited markedly improved neurological performance and cortical mitochondrial morphology 24 h after CA. Moreover, Sal pretreatment was associated with the following: (1) upregulation of superoxide dismutase activity and a reduction in maleic dialdehyde content; (2) preserved mitochondrial membrane potential; (3) amelioration of the abnormal distribution of cytochrome C; and (4) an increased Bcl-2/Bax ratio, decreased cleaved caspase 3 upregulation, and enhanced HIF-1α expression. Our findings suggested that Sal treatment improved neurological dysfunction 24 h after CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation), possibly through mitochondrial preservation and stabilizing the structure of HIF-1α.
Dynamic Access Control Framework for Internet of Things

In the near future, IoT ecosystems will enable billions of smart things to interconnect and communicate information about themselves and their physical environments. The high density of smart things in these environments allows for fine-grained data acquisition, enabling the development of advanced services and new kinds of applications ranging from wearable devices to air conditioners to fully automated cars. However, the dense and pervasive collection, processing and dissemination of data can unleash sensitive information about individuals, raising non-trivial security and privacy concerns. One solution for IoT security and privacy is to restrict access to sensitive data using access control and authorization techniques. Although many basic principles of standard access control models continue to apply, the high dynamic nature of IoT environments, resources limitation of IoT devices and vulnerability to physical and virtual attacks present unique challenges that render existing access control schemes unfit for IoT. This research introduces a holistic and dynamic access control framework for IoT environments. The framework consists of three components: an automatic and context-aware policy specification method, continuous policy enforcement mechanism and an adaptive policy adjustment technique. In response to access requests, the automatic policy specification component dynamically generates access control rules that grant access permissions based on predefined primitive facts. The
Leveraging the Transductive Nature of e-Discovery in Cost-Sensitive Technology-Assisted Review

MINECORE is a recently proposed algorithm for minimizing the expected costs of review for topical relevance (a.k.a. “responsiveness”) and sensitivity (a.k.a. “privilege”) in e-discovery. Given a set of documents that must be classiﬁed by both responsiveness and privilege, for each such document and for both classiﬁcation criteria MINECORE determines whether the class assigned by an automated classiﬁer should be manually reviewed or not. This determination is heavily dependent on the (“posterior”) probabilities of class membership returned by the automated classiﬁers, on the costs of manually reviewing a document (for responsiveness, for privilege, or for both), and on the costs that diﬀerent types of misclassiﬁcation would bring about. We attempt to improve on MINECORE by leveraging the trans-ductive nature of e-discovery, i.e., the fact that the set of documents that must be classiﬁed is ﬁnite and available at training time. This allows us to use EMQ, a well-known algorithm that attempts to improve the quality of the posterior probabilities of unlabelled documents in transductive settings, with the goal of improving the quality (a) of the posterior probabilities that are input to MINECORE, and thus (b) of MINECORE’s output. We report experimental results obtained on a large ( ≈ 800K) dataset of textual documents.
Impact of Debiasing Word Embeddings on Information Retrieval

Word embeddings are a core technology in neural methods for information retrieval. However, previous work has suggested undesirable biases in word embeddings, in particular against gender. In this paper, we look at the extent of the bias in diﬀerent cases. Presumably, not all biased analogies are ‘robust’ and can sometimes give unexpected results. We discuss some ways in which bias in word embeddings could aﬀect systems in information retrieval, which is the topic of our future research.
On the Development of a Non-Invasive Pathologies Identification System by Qualitative and Quantitative Characterization of Infant Crying and the Application of Intelligent Classification Models to be Used in Rural Environments

— The detection of pathologies in the early stages of a baby's life has been one of the major challenges to overcome for the medical sciences. Lack of means of interpretation of this normal physical manifestation of the child has made this task extremely complicated. The discovery that the crying wave, as the sole initial means of communication of babies, contains information about their neurophysiological state, has opened the possibility of interpreting that state and to diagnose diseases from a few days of birth. In this paper we present the efforts to develop a practical integral system to automatically identify pathologies in newborn babies by selecting quantitative features and which also highlights different types of qualitative characteristics on the newborn infant crying through appropriate acoustic processes. And, in each case, after the features are selected or identified uses them to recognize the inherent pathology. Once the system is complete and fully tested we pretend to offer rural nurses, general doctors, researchers and scholars a tool as a mean to make noninvasive diagnostics and as an information support to allow them to have a solid perspective on relevant crying events, and to facilitate the development and unification of standards for the assessment or comprehensive description of the crying wave.
Exploiting Open IE for Deriving Multiple Premises Entailment Corpus

Natural language inference (NLI) is a key part of natural language understanding. The NLI task is defined as a decision problem whether a given sentence – hypothesis – can be inferred from a given text. Typically, we deal with a text consisting of just a single premise/single sentence, which is called a single premise entailment (SPE) task. Recently, a derived task of NLI from multiple premises (MPE) was introduced together with the first annotated corpus and corresponding several strong baselines. Nevertheless, the further development in MPE field requires accessibility of huge amounts of annotated data. In this paper we introduce a novel method for rapid deriving of MPE corpora from an existing NLI (SPE) annotated data that does not require any additional annotation work. This proposed approach is based on using an open information extraction system. We demonstrate the application of the method on a well known SNLI corpus. Over the obtained corpus, we provide the first evaluations as well as we state a strong baseline.
A Mobile Online Platform for Aged Men's Prostate Hypertrophy Monitoring Based on Linea Nigra Images Analysis

Aged men generally have a hypertrophied prostate. This hypertrophy can evolve in cancer or can just be a benign hyperplasia. Some recent studies revealed that a linear hyperpigmentation of skin called Linea nigra (LN), can appear in men developing prostate cancer or benign prostatic hyperplasia. LN’s prevalence is higher in the case of prostate cancer. It has been established that when a LN appears on someone’s suprapubic region and has a length greater than ten centimeters, it indicates a metastasized or metastasizing tumor. Based on this, we developed in a previous work a method of LN segmentation. From segmented images, we can calculate descriptive values such as length, width, area, texture and color. These values are LN characteristics that can be used by specialists to make diagnosis. In this paper, we propose an implementation of those methods in an Android mobile application. The aim is to connect patients to their specialists for distant monitoring purpose based on images taken with their mobile phones. The specific architecture of the platform also helps in providing more precision in detection thanks to a deep learning program. Keywords— linea nigra images analysis; mobile application; aged persons distant health monitoring
The Algorithmic Expansion of Stories

This research examines how the contents and structure of a story may be enriched by computational means. A review of pertinent semantic theory and previous work on the structural analysis of folktales is presented. Merits and limitations of several content-generation systems are discussed. The research develops three mechanisms – elaboration, interpolation, and continuity fixes – to enhance story content, address issues of rigid structure, and fix problems with the logical progression of a story. Elaboration works by adding or modifying information contained within a story to provide detailed descriptions of an event. Interpolation works by adding detail between high-level story elements dictated by a story grammar. Both methods search for appropriate semantic functions contained in a lexicon. Rules are developed to ensure that the selection of functions is consistent with the context of the story. Control strategies for both mechanisms are proposed that restrict the quantity and content of candidate functions. Finally, a method of checking and correcting inconsistencies in story continuity is proposed. Continuity checks are performed using semantic threads that connect an object or character to a sequence of events. Unexplained changes in state or location are fixed with interpolation. The mechanisms are demonstrated with simple examples drawn from folktales, and the effectiveness of each is discussed. While the thesis focuses on folktales, it forms the basis for further work on the generation of more complex stories in the greater realm of fiction.
Building a Comprehensive Romanian Knowledge Base for Drug Administration

Information on drug administration is obtained traditionally from doctors and pharmacists, as well as leaflets which provide in most cases cumbersome and hard-to-follow details. Thus, the need for medical knowledge bases emerges to provide access to concrete and well-structured information which can play an important role in informing patients. This paper introduces a Romanian medical knowledge base focused on drug-drug interactions, on representing relevant drug information, and on symptom-disease relations. The knowledge base was created by extracting and transforming information using Natural Language Processing techniques from both structured and unstructured sources, together with manual annotations. The resulting Romanian ontologies are aligned with larger English medical ontologies. Our knowledge base supports queries regarding drugs (e.g., active ingredients, concentration, expiration date), drug-drug interaction, symptom-disease relations, as well as drug-symptom relations.