Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Clinical Usefulness of Free PSA in Early Detection of Prostate Cancer

Objective: Measurement of serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is widely used as an aid in early detection of prostate cancer. Most patients with prostate cancer and a PSA level less than 10.0 ng/ml have early-stage disease. Thus, the detection of prostate cancer in its potentially curable stages requires the use of low PSA cutoffs, inevitably leading to many unnecessary biopsies. The combined use of free PSA and total PSA increases specificity of early detection. To develop risk assessment guidelines and a cutoff value of ratio of free (f) to total (t) PSA with a high predictive value for prostate cancer in men to whom the test would be applied in real life practice, a multicenter early detection trial was initiated. Patients and Methods: In one week in November 1997, 963 urologists prospectively examined 11,644 men between 45 and 75 years by digital rectal examination (DRE) and prostate-specific antigen with 4.0 ng/ml as cutoff. Data of physical examination were collected by questionnaire. At this time participants were not aware of their PSA values. Suspicious findings were further investigated with sextant biopsy. Prostate volume was determined with transrectal ultrasound (TRUS). Different cutoff levels were correlated to age and detection rate. Results: From1,115 biopsied men, the data of 633 men fulfilled the criteria DRE-negative, TRUS-estimated volume, and PSA 4.0–10.0 ng/ml. In that cohort 91 cancers were detected. Percentage of fPSA was significantly more predictive of cancer than tPSA (p < 0.001). The area under the ROC curve was 0.72 for percent fPSA (% fPSA) and 0.62 for total PSA. The cancer risk nearly doubled using a cutoff of 10% fPSA, the median %PSA level of the detected cancers. A better discrimination of cancer and noncancer especially in the age group above 70 years is possible. Using a cutoff of 16% fPSA increases positive predictive value (PPV) to 25% missing only 4% of cancers. Nearly 45% of the biopsies could be avoided. In the age group 45–69 years, a cutoff of 20% fPSA leads to PPV of 15%, missing 6% of cancers. Unnecessary biopsies could be avoided in 12%. Conclusions: Using % fPSA in early detection of prostate cancer reduces the number of unnecessary biopsies, especially in men with negative rectal examination in the PSA range of 4.0–10.0 ng/ml. In order to diminish biopsy rate in men 70 years or older a cutoff of 16% fPSA should be used. A cutoff of 20% fPSA in men younger than 70 years is recommended to increase sensitivity in that age group.
Stereo Odometry Based on Careful Frame Selection

In this paper, we present a novel stereo visual odometry that provides states-of-the-art results. Our method firstly selects stable features by quad-matching testing and grid-based motion statistics. Instead performing odometry by using past consecutive frames as traditional methods, we select a reference frame by tracing the past frames back as far as possible which shares the stable features with the current frame, and odometry is performed using these two frames. In this way, we skip the frames laying between the two frames, and avoid the accumulation of errors across these frames. Experiments results show that our method outperforms other traditional visual odometry methods on KITTI dataset.
Association between GOLGB1 tag‐polymorphisms and nonsyndromic cleft palate only in the Brazilian population

Nonsyndromic oral clefts are common congenital birth defects that exhibit variable prevalence around the world, often influenced by population‐dependent genetic predisposition. Few studies have been performed with nonsyndromic cleft palate only (NSCPO), limiting the knowledge of the genetic risk factors related to this type of oral cleft. Genetic variants in golgin subfamily B member 1 (GOLGB1), a gene that is essential for normal murine palatogenesis, were analyzed in this study to establish its potential association with NSCPO risk in the Brazilian population. Five tag‐single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of GOLGB1 (rs1169, rs7153, rs9968051, rs9819530, and rs6794341), which capture the majority of alleles spanning within gene, were genotyped in a case–control study with 270 patients with NSCPO and 284 unrelated healthy controls. The samples were also genotyped for 40 biallelic polymorphic markers to characterize the genetic ancestry. After adjustment for co‐variants, the GOLGB1 tag‐SNPs and the haplotypes formed by those SNPs were not significantly associated with NSCPO in this Brazilian case–control cohort. Our results suggest that common polymorphisms of GOLGB1 are not associated NSCPO susceptibility in the Brazilian population.
Central nervous system involvement in AIDS‐related lymphomas

Central nervous system (CNS) involvement is reportedly more common in acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)‐related lymphomas (ARL). We describe factors and outcomes associated with CNS involvement at baseline (CNSB) and relapse (CNSR) in 886 patients with newly diagnosed ARL. Of 886 patients, 800 received either intrathecal (IT) therapy for CNSB or IT prophylaxis. CNSB was found in 13%. CNSB was not associated with reduced overall survival (OS). There was no difference in the prevalence of CNSB between the pre‐combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) and cART eras. 5·3% of patients experienced CNSR at a median of 4·2 months after diagnosis (12% if CNSB; 4% if not). Median OS after CNSR was 1·6 months. On multivariate analysis, only CNSB [hazard ratio (HR) 3·68, P = 0·005] and complete response to initial therapy (HR 0·14, P < 0·0001) were significantly associated with CNSR. When restricted to patients without CNSB, IT CNS prophylaxis with 3 vs. 1 agent did not significantly impact the risk of CNSR. Despite IT CNS prophylaxis, 5% of patients experienced CNSR. Our data confirms that CNSR in ARL occurs early and has a poor outcome. Complete response to initial therapy was associated with a reduced frequency of CNSR. Although CNSB conferred an increased risk for CNSR, it did not impact OS.
Size-dependent Young’s modulus in ZnO nanowires with strong surface atomic bonds

The mechanical properties of size-dependent nanowires are important in nano-electro-mechanical systems (NEMSs), and have attracted much research interest. Characterization of the size effect of nanowires in atmosphere directly to broaden their practical application instead of just in high vacuum situations, as reported previously, is desperately needed. In this study, we systematically studied the Young’s modulus of vertical ZnO nanowires in atmosphere. The diameters ranged from 48 nm to 239 nm with a resonance method using non-contact atomic force microscopy. The values of Young’s modulus in atmosphere present extremely strong increasing tendency with decreasing diameter of nanowire due to stronger surface atomic bonds compared with that in vacuum. A core–shell model for nanowires is proposed to explore the Young’s modulus enhancement in atmosphere, which is correlated with atoms of oxygen occurring near the nanowire surface. The modified model is more accurate for analyzing the mechanical behavior of nanowires in atmosphere compared with the model in vacuum. Furthermore, it is possible to use this characterization method to measure the size-related elastic properties of similar wire-sharp nanomaterials in atmosphere and estimate the corresponding mechanical behavior. The study of the size-dependent Young’s modulus in ZnO nanowires in atmosphere will improve the understanding of the mechanical properties of nanomaterials as well as providing guidance for applications in NEMSs, nanogenerators, biosensors and other related areas.
The Pelvis and Beyond: Musculoskeletal Tender Points in Women With Chronic Pelvic Pain

Objective:To determine the feasibility of a detailed pain sensitivity assessment using body-wide musculoskeletal tender points (TPs) in women with different types of chronic pelvic pain (CPP) and compare phenotypic differences. Materials and Methods:Seventy women with CPP and 35 pain-free women underwent musculoskeletal evaluation of TPs in the pelvic floor, abdomen, groin, inner thigh, and all 18 fibromyalgia TPs. Patients scored elicited pain on a numeric rating scale. TP pain scores were used for intergroup comparison and intragroup correlation. Results:Women with CPP were grouped as having either bladder pain syndrome (BPS, n=24) or myofascial pelvic pain (MPP, n=11) singularly or both concomitantly (BPS+MPP, n=35). TP pain scores for all evaluations were higher in women with CPP compared with healthy women (P<0.001). Women with BPS+MPP had elevated TP pain for each evaluation compared with women with BPS alone. Pelvic floor and fibromyalgia TP scores correlated strongly in the MPP group, moderately in the BPS+MPP group, and weakly in the BPS alone group. Although some moderate and strong correlations between different body locations were present in all 3 groups, only the BPS+MPP group showed moderate to strong correlations between all body TPs. Conclusions:Detailed musculoskeletal evaluation of women with CPP is feasible and well tolerated. Careful phenotyping differentiated BPS, MPP, and BPS+MPP groups. Attending to the differences between these groups clinically may lead to more effective treatment strategies and improved outcomes for patients with CPP.
Prenatal Exposure to the Pesticide Dieldrin or the GABAA Receptor Antagonist Bicuculline Differentially Alters Expression of GABAA Receptor Subunit mRNAs in Fetal Rat Brainstem

We have previously shown that GABA acts as a trophic signal for monoamine neurons in embryonic day 14 (E14) rat brainstem cultures [Liu et al., J Neurosci 1997a;17:2420–2428]. The organochlorine pesticide dieldrin and the classical GABAA receptor antagonist bicuculline interfere with the trophic actions of GABA and alter expression of several GABAA receptor subunit mRNA transcripts in these cultures [Liu et al., J Neurosci Res 1997b;49:645–653]. In the present study, we investigated whether prenatal exposure to dieldrin or bicuculline from E12–17 would alter mRNA expression of α1, β3, γ1, γ2S and γ2L GABAA receptor subunits in fetal (E17) rat brainstem using competitive RT-PCR to absolutely quantify these transcripts. The effects of dieldrin and bicuculline on expression of GABAA receptor subunit transcripts were similar across subunits. Dieldrin and bicuculline decreased expression of α1, β3 and γ1 transcripts compared to vehicle-injected controls, but did not significantly alter expression of γ2S and γ2L transcripts. Taken together, these studies indicate that in utero exposure to organochlorine pesticides acting as GABAA receptor antagonists may alter the expression and subunit composition of developing GABAA receptors. If these changes persist, they could have long-lasting effects on developing GABAergic neural circuitry, GABAA receptor function and GABA-mediated behaviors.
Anharmonic enhancement of superconductivity in metallic molecular Cmca  −  4 hydrogen at high pressure: a first-principles study

First-principles calculations based on density-functional theory including anharmonicity within the variational stochastic self-consistent harmonic approximation are applied to understand how the quantum character of the proton affects the candidate metallic molecular Cmca − 4 structure of hydrogen in the 400–450 GPa pressure range, where metallization of hydrogen is expected to occur. Anharmonic effects, which become crucial due to the zero-point motion, have a large impact on the hydrogen molecules by increasing the intramolecular distance by approximately a 6%. This induces two new electron pockets at the Fermi surface opening new scattering channels for the electron–phonon interaction. Consequently, the electron–phonon coupling constant and the superconducting critical temperature are approximately doubled by anharmonicity and Cmca − 4 hydrogen becomes a superconductor above 200 K in all the studied pressure range. Contrary to many superconducting hydrides, where anharmoncity tends to lower the superconducting critical temperature, our results show that it can enhance superconductivity in molecular hydrogen.
Relevance of Infection in Children with Urachal Cysts

Objective: To assess the role of infection in the management of children with urachal cysts.Methods: A retrospective study on 10 children with urachal cysts operated on over an 11–year period (from 1987 to 1998) was performed. Uncomplicated urachal cysts were found in 2 children who underwent primary cyst removal. The remaining 8 were admitted with severe sepsis due to the presence of a urachal abscess; they were managed by a staged approach including percutaneous drainage and delayed cyst removal. The diagnosis of urachal cyst was readily made by ultrasound in all the 10 patients (100%). In 1 patient with urachal abscess, computed tomography provided additional information.Results: The postoperative course was uneventful in 9 of 10 children (90%). A 5–year–old female patient developed peritonitis following urachal abscess rupture into the peritoneal cavity, which resulted in additional surgery and prolonged hospitalization.Conclusions: (1) Ultrasound is an excellent diagnostic tool for patients with urachal cysts. (2) A renal screening ultrasound must be included in the preoperative work–up. (3) A thorough urological assessment is indicated in patients with abnormal renal ultrasound of recurrent urinary infections. (4) At present, a staged surgical procedure still remains the most effective surgical option in children with urachal cyst.
Adenylyl cyclase 1 as a major isoform to generate cAMP signaling for apoA-1-mediated cholesterol efflux pathway

HDL apoA-1-mediated cholesterol efflux pathway requires multiple cellular proteins and signal transduction processes, including adenylyl cyclase (AC)/cAMP signaling. Due to the existence of multiple transmembrane AC isoforms, it was not known how many AC isoforms are expressed and which ones are essential for cholesterol efflux in macrophage foam cells. These questions were investigated in THP-1 macrophages in this study. Quantitative RT-PCR detected mRNAs for all nine transmembrane AC isoforms, but only the mRNA and protein of the AC1 isoform were consistently upregulated by cholesterol loading and apoA-1. AC1 shRNA interference decreased AC1 mRNA and protein levels, resulting in reduction of apoA-1-mediated cAMP production and cholesterol efflux, while the intracellular cholesterol levels remained high. Confocal microscopy showed that apoA-1 promoted translocation of cholesterol and formation of cholesterol-apoA-1 complexes (protrusions) on the cholesterol-loaded macrophage surface. AC1 shRNA-interfered macrophages showed no translocation of cholesterol to the cell surface. AC1 shRNA interference also disrupted cellular localization of the intracellular cholesterol indicator protein adipophillin, and the expression as well as surface translocation of ABCA1. Together, our results show that AC1 is a major isoform for apoA-1-activated cAMP signaling to promote cholesterol transport and exocytosis to the surface of THP-1 macrophage foam cells.
Traffic sign recognition based on SVM and convolutional neural network

In this paper, we propose a traffic sign recognition algorithm based on support vector machine (SVM) and convolutional neural network (CNN) for the traffic sign recognition of intelligent transportation and unmanned vehicle. In the detection of traffic signs, by using color features, firstly we convert the RGB color space to HSV color space, which can get the regions of interest (ROI). Then extract the Histogram of Oriented Gradient (HOG) features, and determine whether it is traffic sign by support vector machine (SVM). This algorithm can successfully detect traffic signs with a high detecting rate. The following is the classification of the detected traffic signs, by using a kind of convolutional neural network, which fuse the RGB information of a picture. In the end, the ‘German traffic signs’ dataset is used to verify the accuracy. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm can effectively recognize traffic signs, achieving high accuracy and the algorithm complexity is lower.
Are There Potential Non-Lipid-Lowering Uses of Statins in the Kidney?

Numerous recent clinical and experimental studies have suggested that hyperlipidemia and atherogenic lipoproteins are involved in the onset and progression of atherosclerotic disease. These lipidic and lipoproteic abnormalities are involved in the physiopathologic mechanisms that accelerate the progression of renal failure [1]. With this observation as a starting point, in many experimental models of progressive renal damage, the inhibitors of the 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase have been found to reduce glomerulosclerosis [2]. HMG-CoA reductase, the main limiting enzyme in the biosynthesis of cholesterol [3], converts HMG-CoA into mevalonate, which is an early precursor of cholesterol, and the precursor of nonsteroidal complexes essential to cellular activity. In 1976, an antibiotic isolated from Phytium ultimum seemed to inhibit cholesterol synthesis [4]. Mevastatin and compactin were isolated from Penicillium citrium [5] and Penicillium brevicompactum, respectively [6]. A series of cholesterol-lowering drugs that are all competitive inhibitors of HMG-CoA reductase has appeared since this original discovery. Lovastatin and simvastatin are lactones and are enzymatically hydrolyzed in the liver into the active form, an open-ring hydroxy acid [5, 7]. Pravastatin and fluvastatin are already in the active open-ring configuration. Fluvastatin is the first fully synthetic compound and is different from other compounds in its lipophilic moiety [8]. Recently the family of lipophilic statins has further grown with the arrival of two new molecules: cerivastatina and atorvastatina. Although the exact mechanism by which statins improve experimental renal damage is unknown, recent studies suggest that HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors may have a direct effect on the mechanisms underlying progressive renal failure [9, 10]. Possible ‘key features’ underlying the protective activity of statins, independent of their hypocholesterolizing activity, are: the cellular proliferation/apoptosis balance; the production of inflammatory cytokines, and the pathways of transduction of intracellular signals.
Polymorphisms in MX2 Gene Are Related with SCS in Chinese Dairy Cows

ABSTRACT Viral infections can play direct or indirect roles in the etiology of the bovine mastitis. Mx dynamin-like GTPase 2 (MX2) gene is a main effector of the antiviral innate immune defense mediated by type I interferon (IFN I), which was demonstrated to confer positive antiviral responses to many viruses. Given the importance of the MX2 in modulating the host immune response, MX2 gene may be a suitable candidate gene for studying disease resistance in dairy cattle. Here, we scanned the sequence variation of the MX2 gene in Chinese indigenous cattle breeds. Twenty-three previously reported SNPs were identified. To further analyze the effects of SNPs detected on mastitis disease, analysis of two SNPs (g.787527 C > T and g.787610 T > C) from 297 Chinese Holstein cows revealed a significant association with somatic cell score (SCS). Although functional studies are necessary to ascertain whether these two SNPs are causal polymorphisms or merely in linkage with the true causal SNPs, implementation of these two SNPs as genetic markers in the dairy industry may be beneficial in selecting individuals with lower SCS.
Scientific Evidence for the Addictiveness of Tobacco and Smoking Cessation in Tobacco Litigation

Smokers keep smoking despite knowing that tobacco claims many lives, including their own and others’. What makes it hard for them to quit smoking nonetheless? Tobacco companies insist that smokers choose to smoke, according to their right to self-determination. Moreover, they insist that with motivation and willpower to quit smoking, smokers can easily stop smoking. Against this backdrop, this paper aims to discuss the addictive disease called tobacco use disorder, with an assessment of the addictiveness of tobacco and the reasons why smoking cessation is challenging, based on neuroscientific research. Nicotine that enters the body via smoking is rapidly transmitted to the central nervous system and causes various effects, including an arousal response. The changes in the nicotine receptors in the brain due to continuous smoking lead to addiction symptoms such as tolerance, craving, and withdrawal. Compared with other addictive substances, including alcohol and opioids, tobacco is more likely to cause dependence in smokers, and smokers are less likely to recover from their dependence. Moreover, the thinning of the cerebral cortex and the decrease in cognitive functions that occur with aging accelerate with smoking. Such changes occur in the structure and functions of the brain in proportion to the amount and period of smoking. In particular, abnormalities in the neural circuits that control cognition and decision-making cause loss of the ability to exert self-control and autonomy. This initiates nicotine dependence and the continuation of addictive behaviors. Therefore, smoking is considered to be a behavior that is repeated due to dependence on an addictive substance, nicotine, instead of one’s choice by free will.
Mandarin electrolaryngeal voice conversion with combination of Gaussian mixture model and non-negative matrix factorization

Electrolarynx (EL) is a speaking-aid device that helps laryngectomees who have their larynx removed to generate voice. However, the voice generated by EL is unnatural and unintelligible due to its flat pitch and strong vibration noise. Targeting these challenges, previous works show that the electrolaryngeal speech can be enhanced using Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM) based voice conversion (VC). Although effective in improving the naturalness, it degrades the intelligibility of the converted speech. To address this issue, we propose a hybrid approach using both Non-negative Matrix Factorization (NMF) and GMM methods. For better intelligibility, we apply the NMF to estimate the high quality spectral features. For better naturalness, we use the GMM with dynamic trajectory constraint to recover a smoothed F0. Additionally, to suppress the EL vibration noise, we include the 0th MCC coefficient in the GMM-based VC. The proposed method significantly increases the F0 dynamic range, reduces vibration noise, and improves both speech naturalness and intelligibility. One hundred pairs of the normal and electrolaryngeal speech in daily mandarin are recorded as our evaluation data. Experimental results show that our proposed hybrid method reduces the mel-cepstral distortion by 7.1 dB and increases the F0 correlation coefficient to 0.54.