Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
BIOMETRIC CORRELATIONS OF CORNEAL THICKNESS

Central corneal thickness, depth of anterior chamber, thickness of lens, length of vitreous, axial length, applanation (Goldmann) and indentation (Schiøtz) tension and rigidity (Friedenwald) were determined in three groups of patients; (1) 16 patients with glaucoma simplex, (2) 25 patients with ocular hypertension, and (3) 26 patients with fibrillopathia epitheliocapsularis (so‐called pseudoexfoliation of the lens). Average data and computed correlations between the parameters are given in tabular form. Corneal thickness was normal in glaucoma simplex, but significantly increased in ocular hypertension. Corneal thickness was positively correlated to applanation tension but not to indentation tension, nor to any other of the studied parameters. It is suggested that corneal thickness can be considered as a biometric parameter which yields new information about the eye not covered by the conventional parameters.
Reverse yeast two-hybrid system to identify mammalian nuclear receptor residues that interact with ligands and/or antagonists.

As a critical regulator of drug metabolism and inflammation, Pregnane X Receptor (PXR), plays an important role in disease pathophysiology linking metabolism and inflammation (e.g. hepatic steatosis)(1,2). There has been much progress in the identification of agonist ligands for PXR, however, there are limited descriptions of drug-like antagonists and their binding sites on PXR(3,4,5). A critical barrier has been the inability to efficiently purify full-length protein for structural studies with antagonists despite the fact that PXR was cloned and characterized in 1998. Our laboratory developed a novel high throughput yeast based two-hybrid assay to define an antagonist, ketoconazole's, binding residues on PXR(6). Our method involves creating mutational libraries that would rescue the effect of single mutations on the AF-2 surface of PXR expected to interact with ketoconazole. Rescue or "gain-of-function" second mutations can be made such that conclusions regarding the genetic interaction of ketoconazole and the surface residue(s) on PXR are feasible. Thus, we developed a high throughput two-hybrid yeast screen of PXR mutants interacting with its coactivator, SRC-1. Using this approach, in which the yeast was modified to accommodate the study of the antifungal drug, ketoconazole, we could demonstrate specific mutations on PXR enriched in clones unable to bind to ketoconazole. By reverse logic, we conclude that the original residues are direct interaction residues with ketoconazole. This assay represents a novel, tractable genetic assay to screen for antagonist binding sites on nuclear receptor surfaces. This assay could be applied to any drug regardless of its cytotoxic potential to yeast as well as to cellular protein(s) that cannot be studied using standard structural biology or proteomic based methods. Potential pitfalls include interpretation of data (complementary methods useful), reliance on single Y2H method, expertise in handling yeast or performing yeast two-hybrid assays, and assay optimization.
Mutational Profile of Homozygous β-Thalassemia in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Abstract β-Thalassemia (β-thal) is a hemolytic anemia that is caused by point mutations in most cases. The Brazilian population is highly heterogeneous and knowledge of the mutations that make up the genotypic profile of individuals can contribute information about the formation of the population and clinical condition of patients. In this study, we evaluated the mutations present in homozygous β-thal patients from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. We analyzed 24 samples of peripheral blood of patients with homozygous β-thal. To identify the mutations, we carried out allele-specific-polymerase chain reaction (AS-PCR) and DNA sequencing. We found 11 different mutations on the β-globin gene. Among the most frequent mutations observed were HBB: c.92 + 6T>C, followed by HBB: c.93-21G>A, HBB: c.118C>T and HBB: c.92 + 1G>A. We also identified the rare mutation HBB: c.75T>A that was reported in an individual carrying Hb S (HBB: c.20A>T)/β-thal (HBB: c.75T>A) but not in Brazilian thalassemic patients, thus, this is the first report of this mutation in Brazilian β-thal patients. For its multiethnic character, Brazil has different mutations that cause β-thal and that are distributed with different frequencies according to the regions of the country. Our findings contribute to the description of the mutational profile of Brazilian thalassemic patients, showing wide heterogeneity and genetic variability.
STARD for Abstracts: essential items for reporting diagnostic accuracy studies in journal or conference abstracts

Many abstracts of diagnostic accuracy studies are currently insufficiently informative. We extended the STARD (Standards for Reporting Diagnostic Accuracy) statement by developing a list of essential items that authors should consider when reporting diagnostic accuracy studies in journal or conference abstracts. After a literature review of published guidance for reporting biomedical studies, we identified 39 items potentially relevant to report in an abstract. We then selected essential items through a two round web based survey among the 85 members of the STARD Group, followed by discussions within an executive committee. Seventy three STARD Group members responded (86%), with 100% completion rate. STARD for Abstracts is a list of 11 quintessential items, to be reported in every abstract of a diagnostic accuracy study. We provide examples of complete reporting, and developed template text for writing informative abstracts.
Emerging new sites for adult neurogenesis in the mammalian brain: a comparative study between the hypothalamus and the classical neurogenic zones

In adult mammalian brain, two main germinative regions located in the subventricular zone of the lateral ventricle and in the subgranular cell layer of the hippocampal dentate gyrus have been considerably documented and are still under intense scrutiny. However, new neuron formation has recently been reported in various other brain areas including the hypothalamus. This central structure, responsible for the control of many major neuroendocrine functions such as reproduction, expresses high levels of PSA‐NCAM and nestin, both proteins being involved in structural and morphological plasticity mechanisms. Cell proliferation and new neuron production have been demonstrated in the adult hypothalamus of numerous species, although not hitherto described in non‐human primates and humans. Similarly to the subventricular zone and in the subgranular cell layer, the adult hypothalamic neurogenesis process is subject to dynamic regulation by various physiological and pharmacological signals. Several pieces of evidence support the hypothesis that a stem cell niche‐like architecture exist in the hypothalamus region lining the third ventricle thereby enabling adult neural stem cells to continuously generate neurons in vivo throughout life. Furthermore, recent data indicating that new hypothalamic neurons may become functionally implicated in sensory information processing endorse the assumption that the hypothalamus might be a neurogenic region.
Realizing Cycle Accurate Processor Memory Simulation via Interface Abstraction

SoC designers typically use a processor simulator to generate a memory trace and apply the generated trace to a memory simulator in order to collect the performance statistics of a complete system. This is an inaccurate process for most applications, making it difficult to optimize the processor and memory configurations. In this paper, we study the problems encountered in the typical simulation approach and propose a methodology which utilizes an interface layer component to link the processor simulator and memory simulator seamlessly. The interface layer component presented in this paper can be used as the connector between the processor module and memory module in building an execution-driven approach which can be applied to process run-time memory requests rather than the traditional trace driven simulation approaches. By applying the proposed interface layer component to link the processor simulator and memory simulator, the estimated performance statistics of the system and the average power consumption of the memory system can be collected with high accuracy. We prove the necessity of our approach by evaluating six benchmarks. Over these benchmarks, there is an 80% variation in the choice of memory latency to achieve the most accurate power consumption and a 16% variation in the choice of memory latency to achieve the most accurate execution time. The increase in accuracy comes at an average increase in simulation time of 13.5%.
Improving neural classifiers for ATR using a kernel method for generating synthetic training sets

An important problem with the use of neural networks in HRR radar target classification is the difficulty in obtaining training data. Training sets are small because of this, making generalization to new data difficult. In order to improve generalization capability, synthetic radar targets are obtained using a novel kernel method for estimating the probability density function of each class of radar targets. Multivariate Gaussians whose parameters are a function of position and data distribution are used as kernels. In order to assess the accuracy of the estimate, the maximum a posteriori criterion has been used in radar target classification, and compared with the k-nearest-neighbour classifier. The proposed method performs better than the k-nearest-neighbour classifier, demonstrating the accuracy of the estimate. After that, the estimated probability density functions are used to classify the synthetic data in order to use a supervised training algorithm for neural networks. The obtained results show that neural networks perform better if this strategy is used to increase the number of training data. Furthermore, computational complexity is dramatically reduced compared with that of the k-nearest neighbour classifier.
I Know What You Saw Last Minute-The Chrome Browser Case

Previous research has shown that information can be extracted from encrypted multimedia streams. This includes video titles classification of non-HTTP adaptive streams (nonHAS). This paper presents an algorithm for encrypted HTTP adaptive video streaming title classification. We evaluated our algorithm on a new YouTube popular videos dataset that was collected from the Internet under real-world network conditions. Our algorithm’s classification accuracy is 98%. We provide the dataset and the crawler for future research.
Construction and analysis of a database representing a neural map

We describe the development and analysis of a quantitative database representing the global structural and functional organization of an entire sensory map. The database was derived from measurements of anatomical characteristics of a statistical sample of typical mechanosensory afferents in the cricket cercal sensory system. Anatomical characteristics of the neurons were measured quantitatively in three dimensions using a computer reconstruction system. The reconstructions of all neurons were aligned and scaled to a common standard set of dimensions, according to a highly reproducible set of intrinsic fiducial marks. The database therefore preserves accurate information about spatial relationships between the neurons within the ensemble.
The HD12 Panel of the German Hodgkin Lymphoma Study Group (GHSG): A Quality Assurance Program Based on a Multidisciplinary Panel Reviewing All Patients’ Imaging

The purpose of this report is to determine the value of a central specialist radiologic review and to determine the image quality of computed tomography (CT) in Hodgkin disease. The HD12 protocol is a multicenter prospective randomized trial of the GHSG for advanced stages of Hodgkin disease. The indication and effectiveness of additional radiotherapy (30 Gy), in the area of initial bulky disease and of residual disease, following intensive chemotherapy using the BEACOPP schema (bleomycin, etoposide, adriamycin, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, procarbazine, prednisone), is to be investigated. A multidisciplinary panel of radiation oncologists, radiologists, and medical oncologists reviews, blinded to treatment arms, the diagnostic imaging with comparison to the documentation forms. For patients with poor response to chemotherapy, the panel recommends radiotherapy independent of the randomization. This procedure guarantees that patients with a poor response to chemotherapy receive additional radiotherapy. Furthermore, the panel evaluates the quality of CT examinations in this multicenter study. Since July 1999, a total of 2607 CT of 371 patients have been evaluated. Helical CT showed significantly higher contrast enhancement and imaging quality than conventional CT (P < 0.001). CT from university hospitals was assessed as superior to that from other institutions (P < 0.001). Compared with the written disease documentation by the study centers, the panel assessed different extensions of disease in 814 of 2607 CT (31%), resulting in a change of stage in 17 of 371 patients (5%). After chemotherapy, 167 of 371 patients (45%) showed residual disease (>1.5 cm), and for 53 of 371 patients (14%) the panel recommended additional radiotherapy independent of the randomization arm. Patients with Hodgkin disease receive high-quality CT imaging. A central independent multidisciplinary panel markedly improves quality assurance for these study patients.
High-Brightness Vertical GaN-Based Light-Emitting Diodes With Hexagonally Close-Packed Micrometer Array Structures

A high-brightness GaN-based vertical light-emitting diode (VLED) was demonstrated by introducing a large-area low-cost direct printing process. A hexagonally close-packed micrometer convex array was fabricated on the n-GaN top layer of the VLED by direct printing using a hydrogen silsesquioxane solution and subsequent inductively coupled plasma etching. To confirm that the enhancement of light extraction by this structure, a conventional wet-chemical-etched structure was also fabricated on the n-GaN top layer of the VLED, yielding randomly oriented pyramid structures on the layer. Both VLEDs showed much stronger electroluminescence emission than an unpatterned VLED. However, the micrometer convex array improved the light extraction significantly more than the random pyramid structure owing to its greater ability to enlarge the light escape cone, attributed to its 50°-tapered profile and large extraction area. After chip packaging with silicone encapsulation, the light output power of the micropatterned VLED was 11.4% and 106% greater than those of the wet-etched and unpatterned VLEDs, respectively, under a 350-mA drive current.
An automatic image segmentation scheme for phalanx and epiphyseal/metaphyseal region of interests

Bone age assessment is usually to diagnose the growth disorders, growth hormone deficiency, and the effect of growth therapy of children in clinic. The crucial role of Bone age assessment is that it is dependent on the accurate bony segmentation from soft tissues on hand radiogram, especially in the separation of phalanx and epiphyseal/metaphyseal region of interests from the background and soft tissue. In this study, our proposed method was to locate and crop the phalanx region of interests for the first step. Next, the integration of a difference in sub-neighborhood technique and average threshold of image processing was applied to segment the epiphyseal/metaphyseal region of interests. The experiments were shown to be successful in the segmentation on different parts of knuckles, i.e. distal, middle, and proximal. In conclusion, the proposed procedure can be implemented in the segmentation of epiphyseal/metaphyseal region of interests automatically and efficiently.
Emergency medical services for children

How can we meet the special needs of children for emergency medical services (EMS) when today's EMS systems are often unprepared for the challenge? This comprehensive overview of EMS for children (EMS-C) provides an answer by presenting a vision for tomorrow's EMS-C system and practical recommendations for attaining it. Drawing on many studies and examples, the volume explores why emergency care for children--from infants through adolescents--must differ from that for adults and describes what seriously ill or injured children generally experience in today's EMS systems. The book points the way to integrating EMS-C into current emergency programs and into broader aspects of health care for children. It gives recommendations for ensuring access to emergency care through the 9-1-1 system; training health professionals, from paramedics to physicians; educating the public; providing proper equipment, protocols, and referral systems; improving communications among EMS-C providers; enhancing data resources and expanding research efforts; and stimulating and supporting leadership in EMS-C at the federal and state levels. For those already deeply involved in EMS efforts, this volume is a convenient, up-to-date, and comprehensive source of information and ideas. More importantly, for anyone interested in improving the emergency services available to children--emergency care professionals from emergency medical technicians to nurses to physicians, hospital and EMS administrators, public officials, health educators, children's advocacy groups, concerned parents and other responsible adults--this timely volume provides a realistic plan for action to link EMS-C system components into a workable structure that will better serve all of the nation's children.
Characteristics of electrohydrodynamic pump of the dissociation type: low and high voltage ranges

The paper presents the computer simulation results for a single section of electrohydrodynamic (EHD) conduction pump with and without taking into account the enhancement of the dissociation rate under the action of the strong electric field (the Wien effect). The computations were carried out on the basis of the complete set of EHD equations using commercial software package COMSOL Multiphysics. The behavior of EHD flow inside the pump was investigated for different ratios between positive and negative ion mobilities and the effect of the latter on the pumping efficiency was estimated. The features of the pump operation in the case of the Wien effect presence were investigated. It was shown that the enhancement of the dissociation rate can lead to the reversion of EHD flow direction with increasing voltage. Besides, the results for the present computer model were compared to those for the simplified one (based on the hydrostatic approach), and considerable discrepancy between the calculated pressure drops was revealed.
Intradiscal electrothermal therapy in the treatment of chronic low back pain: Experience with 93 patients

Background: Low back pain (LBP) has become a main cause of absenteeism and disability in industrialized societies. Chronic LBP is an important health issue in modern countries. Discogenic LBP is one of the causes of chronic low back pain. The management of chronic discogenic LBP has been limited to either conservative treatment or operative treatment. Intradiscal electrothermal therapy (IDET) is now being performed as an alternative treatment. Methods: Ninety-three consecutive patients undergoing IDET at 134 disc levels from October 2004 to January 2007 were prospectively evaluated. All patients had discogenic disease with chronic LBP, as determined by clinical features, physical examination and image studies, and had failed to improve with conservative treatment for at least 6 months. Follow-up period was from 1 week to 3 or more years postoperatively. Results: There were 50 male and 43 female patients, with a mean age of 46.07 years (range, 21-65 years). The results were classified as symptom free (100% improvement), better (≥50% improvement), slightly better (<50% improvement), unchanged and aggravated. Eighty-nine patients were followed up in the first week; of them, 77 (86.52%) patients had improvement (4, symptom free; 45, better; and 28, slightly better). The improvement rate gradually decreased to 80.90% in 1 year; and 73.91%, in 3 years. Conclusions: In conclusion, IDET offers a safe, minimally invasive therapy option for carefully selected patients with chronic discogenic LBP who have not responded to conservative treatment. Although IDET appears to provide intermediate-term relief of pain, further studies with long-term follow-up are necessary.
Marburg I polymorphism of factor VII-activating protease and risk of recurrent venous thromboembolism

Summary Whether a single nucleotide polymorphism (1601 G>A) in the factor VII-activating protease gene (FSAP Marburg I) is a risk factor for venous thromboembolism (VTE) is unclear. We investigated the relevance of the variant with respect to recurrent VTE. 854 patients with a first unprovoked VTE were followed for an average of 41 months after discontinuation of anticoagulation. Study endpoint was symptomatic recurrent VTE. VTE recurred in 7 of 41 patients (17%) with and in 106 of 813 patients (13%) without the variant. After3 years, the probability of recurrence was 20.0% (95% CI, 5.3% to 34.6%) among patients with and 12.2% (95% CI, 9.6% to 14.8%) among those without FSAP MarburgI (p = 0. 5). The relative recurrence risk among carriers of the variant was 1.3 (95% CI, 0.6 to 2.8; p = 0.5) before and 1.5 (95% CI, 0.7 to 3.3; p = 0. 3) after adjustment for potentially confounding factors. We conclude that FSAP Marburg I is, if at all, only a mild factor for recurrent VTE. Patients with FSAP Marburg I most probably will not benefit from extended anticoagulation.
Nonparametric estimation in an “illness‐death” model when all transition times are interval censored

We develop nonparametric maximum likelihood estimation for the parameters of an irreversible Markov chain on states {0,1,2} from the observations with interval censored times of 0 → 1, 0 → 2 and 1 → 2 transitions. The distinguishing aspect of the data is that, in addition to all transition times being interval censored, the times of two events (0 → 1 and 1 → 2 transitions) can be censored into the same interval. This development was motivated by a common data structure in oral health research, here specifically illustrated by the data from a prospective cohort study on the longevity of dental veneers. Using the self‐consistency algorithm we obtain the maximum likelihood estimators of the cumulative incidences of the times to events 1 and 2 and of the intensity of the 1 → 2 transition. This work generalizes previous results on the estimation in an “illness‐death” model from interval censored observations.
Automatic Vocabulary Generation by Latent Semantic Analysis and a Recommender System

In this thesis we developed a system that generates vocabulary lists for a desired semantic field. The user can select the field by just naming a few sample terms. The system uses Wikipedia as the text corpus and runs Probabilistic Latent Semantic Analysis on the corpus to represent the meanings of terms as vectors in a semantic space. A user’s query is processed by searching for the nearest neighbors around the centre of his sample terms. Then, a clustering algorithm is run on the terms of the resulting list to assess their quality. Even though the presented semantic relatedness model is static, the user can provide feedback on generated vocabulary lists. The feedback is used by an integrated Recommender System to steadily improve existent lists and lists generated in the future.