Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
miR-21 in the Extracellular Vesicles (EVs) of Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF): A Platform for Glioblastoma Biomarker Development

Glioblastoma cells secrete extra-cellular vesicles (EVs) containing microRNAs (miRNAs). Analysis of these EV miRNAs in the bio-fluids of afflicted patients represents a potential platform for biomarker development. However, the analytic algorithm for quantitative assessment of EV miRNA remains under-developed. Here, we demonstrate that the reference transcripts commonly used for quantitative PCR (including GAPDH, 18S rRNA, and hsa-miR-103) were unreliable for assessing EV miRNA. In this context, we quantitated EV miRNA in absolute terms and normalized this value to the input EV number. Using this method, we examined the abundance of miR-21, a highly over-expressed miRNA in glioblastomas, in EVs. In a panel of glioblastoma cell lines, the cellular levels of miR-21 correlated with EV miR-21 levels (p<0.05), suggesting that glioblastoma cells actively secrete EVs containing miR-21. Consistent with this hypothesis, the CSF EV miR-21 levels of glioblastoma patients (n=13) were, on average, ten-fold higher than levels in EVs isolated from the CSF of non-oncologic patients (n=13, p<0.001). Notably, none of the glioblastoma CSF harbored EV miR-21 level below 0.25 copies per EV in this cohort. Using this cut-off value, we were able to prospectively distinguish CSF derived from glioblastoma and non-oncologic patients in an independent cohort of twenty-nine patients (Sensitivity=87%; Specificity=93%; AUC=0.91, p<0.01). Our results suggest that CSF EV miRNA analysis of miR-21 may serve as a platform for glioblastoma biomarker development.
Qualitative Analysis of Human Movement

Part 1 An integrated approach to qualitative analysis of human movement introduction and history of qualitative analysis in kinesiology the role of models in qualitative analysis the role of the senses in qualitative analysis the role of information processing in qualitative analysis. Part 2 The four tasks of an integrated qualitative analysis: preparation - the first task of qualitative analysis observation - developing a systematic observational strategy evaluation and diagnosis - the third task of qualitative analysis intervention - strategies for improving performance. Part 3 Practical applications of qualitative analysis: tutorials in qualitative analysis of human movement theory into practice situations videotape replay within qualitative analysis.
IL-1β Suppresses the Formation of Osteoclasts by Increasing OPG Production via an Autocrine Mechanism Involving Celecoxib-Related Prostaglandins in Chondrocytes

Elevated interleukin (IL)-1 concentrations in synovial fluid have been implicated in joint bone and cartilage destruction. Previously, we showed that IL-1β stimulated the expression of prostaglandin (PG) receptor EP4 via increased PGE2 production. However, the effect of IL-1β on osteoclast formation via chondrocytes is unclear. Therefore, we examined the effect of IL-1β and/or celecoxib on the expression of macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF), receptor activator of NF-κB ligand (RANKL), and osteoprotegerin (OPG) in human chondrocytes, and the indirect effect of IL-1β on osteoclast-like cell formation using RAW264.7 cells. OPG and RANKL expression increased with IL-1β; whereas M-CSF expression decreased. Celecoxib blocked the stimulatory effect of IL-1β. Conditioned medium from IL-1β-treated chondrocytes decreased TRAP staining in RAW264.7 cells. These results suggest that IL-1β suppresses the formation of osteoclast-like cells via increased OPG production and decreased M-CSF production in chondrocytes, and OPG production may increase through an autocrine mechanism involving celecoxib-related PGs.
Simultaneous background and foreground modeling for tracking in surveillance video

We present a stochastic tracking algorithm for surveillance video where targets are dim and at low resolution. The algorithm builds motion models for both background and foreground by integrating motion and intensity information. Some other merits of the algorithm include adaptive selection of feature points for scene description and defining proper cost functions for displacement estimation. The experimental results show tracking robustness and precision in a challenging video sequences.
Using Fuzzy Linguistic Representations to Provide Explanatory Semantics for Data Warehouses

A data warehouse integrates large amounts of extracted and summarized data from multiple sources for direct querying and analysis. While it provides decision makers with easy access to such historical and aggregate data, the real meaning of the data has been ignored. For example, "whether a total sales amount 1,000 items indicates a good or bad sales performance" is still unclear. From the decision makers' point of view, the semantics rather than raw numbers which convey the meaning of the data is very important. In this paper, we explore the use of fuzzy technology to provide this semantics for the summarizations and aggregates developed in data warehousing systems. A three layered data warehouse semantic model, consisting of quantitative (numerical) summarization, qualitative (categorical) summarization, and quantifier summarization, is proposed for capturing and explicating the semantics of warehoused data. Based on the model, several algebraic operators are defined. We also extend the SQL language to allow for flexible queries against such enhanced data warehouses.
Interactive exploration of movement data: A case study of geovisual analytics for fishing vessel analysis

The analysis of large movement datasets is a challenging task, because of their size and spatial complexity. This paper presents an interactive geovisual analytics approach named Hybrid Spatio-Temporal Filtering that integrates filtering of multiple movement characteristics, geovisual representations of the data, and multiple coordinated views to enable analysts to focus on movement patterns that are of interest. In particular, we propose a novel technique that combines the fractal dimension and velocity of movement paths to filter out uninteresting records through an iterative signature-building process. In order to allow analysts to explore the data at different scales of the movement path length, fractal dimension estimation is performed using an adjustable moving window technique. These tools are provided in conjunction with a probability-based zonal incursion tool to visually represent when the movement nears areas of interest. The outcome is a geovisual analytics system that allows analysts to specify a hybrid filter consisting of the desired movement path complexity, the length of the paths to consider, and the velocity range that represents specific types of behaviors. This filtering of the data supports analysts in identifying movement paths that match their specified interests, resulting in a reduction in the amount of data shown to the analyst. The utility of the approach was validated through field trials, wherein fisheries enforcement officers analyzed and explored fishing vessel movement data using the prototype system. The participants responded positively to the features of the system and the support it provided for their data analysis activities. The combination of fractal dimension, velocity, and temporal filtering helped them to effectively identify subsets of data that conformed to particular behavioral patterns of interest.
Cyclosporine in acute ischemic stroke

Objectives: We examined whether IV administration of cyclosporine in combination with thrombolysis might reduce cerebral infarct size. Methods: Patients aged 18 to 85 years, presenting with an anterior-circulation stroke and eligible for thrombolytic therapy, were enrolled in this multicenter, single-blinded, controlled trial. Fifteen minutes after randomization, patients received either an IV bolus injection of 2.0 mg/kg cyclosporine (Sandimmune, Novartis) or placebo. The primary endpoint was infarct volume on MRI at 30 days. Secondary endpoints included infarct volume according to the site (proximal/distal) of arterial occlusion and recanalization after thrombolysis. Results: From October 2009 to July 2013, 127 patients were enrolled. The primary endpoint was assessed in 110 of 127 patients. The reduction of infarct volume in the cyclosporine compared with the control group was overall not significant (21.8 mL [interquartile range, IQR 5.1, 69.2 mL] vs 28.8 mL [IQR 7.7, 95.0 mL], respectively; p = 0.18). However, in patients with proximal occlusion and effective recanalization, infarct volume was significantly reduced in the cyclosporine compared with the control group (14.9 mL [IQR 1.3, 23.2 mL] vs 48.3 mL [IQR 34.5, 118.2 mL], respectively; p = 0.009). Conclusions: Cyclosporine was generally not effective in reducing infarct size. However, a smaller infarct size was observed in patients with proximal cerebral artery occlusion and efficient recanalization. Classification of evidence: This study provides Class I evidence that in patients with an acute anterior-circulation stroke, thrombolysis plus IV cyclosporine does not significantly decrease 30-day MRI infarct volume compared with thrombolysis alone.
Recent Developments and Future Challenges in Medical Mixed Reality

Mixed Reality (MR) is of increasing interest within technology- driven modern medicine but is not yet used in everyday practice. This situation is changing rapidly, however, and this paper explores the emergence of MR technology and the importance of its utility within medical applications. A classification of medical MR has been obtained by applying an unbiased text mining method to a database of 1,403 relevant research papers published over the last two decades. The classification results reveal a taxonomy for the development of medical MR research during this period as well as suggesting future trends. We then use the classification to analyse the technology and applications developed in the last five years. Our objective is to aid researchers to focus on the areas where technology advancements in medical MR are most needed, as well as providing medical practitioners with a useful source of reference.
Comparison of measured and predicted reaching movements with a robotic rehabilitation device

As has been frequently observed, single-joint movements are characterized by single-peaked, bell-shaped speed profiles. This findings and the tendency of natural movements to be characteristically smooth and graceful led to suggest that motor coordination can be mathematically modeled by postulating that voluntary movements are made, at least in the absence of any other overriding concerns, to be as smooth as possible. Particularly the goal of the central nervous system (CNS) is to maximize smoothness and one measure of this feature is the integrated mean squared magnitude of jerk. Although in the past have been explored kinematic characteristics of reaching movements recorded with actigrafi or goniometric systems and potentiometers, few studies have evaluated the kinematic characteristics of these movements obtained with the new rehabilitative technologies, such as robot mediated therapy. In this paper we tested the applicability of the minimum-jerk model proposed to one join goal directed horizontal reaching movements performed by healthy subjects with a robotic shoulder rehabilitation device. Results show a good qualitative agreement between the measured trajectories and the predicted ones by the model.
Hierarchical Processing of Horizontal Disparity Information in the Visual Forebrain of Behaving Owls

According to their restricted receptive fields and input-filter characteristics, disparity-sensitive neurons at early processing levels of the visual system perform rather ambiguous computations; they respond vigorously to disparity in false-matched images and show multiple response peaks in their disparity-tuning profiles. On the other hand, the perception of depth from binocular disparity is reliable, thus raising the question as to where and how in the brain additional processing is accomplished leading toward behaviorally relevant disparity detection. To address this issue, tuning data during stimulation with correlated and anticorrelated random-dot stereograms (a-RDS) were obtained from 52 disparity-sensitive visual Wulst neurons in three behaving owls. From the disparity-tuning curves, several quantitative measures were derived that allowed to determine the response ambiguity of a cell. A systematic decline of response ambiguities with increasing response latencies was observed. An increase in response latencies of neurons was correlated with a decrease of the strength of responses to a-RDS. Declining responses to a-RDS are expected for global detectors, because an owl was not able to discriminate depth in psychophysical tests with a-RDS. In addition, suppression of response side peaks was increased and disparity tuning was enhanced with growing response latencies. These results suggest a functional hierarchy of disparity processing in the owl's forebrain, leading from spatial filters to more global disparity detectors that may be able to solve the correspondence problem. Nonlinear threshold operations and inhibition are proposed as candidate mechanisms to resolve coding ambiguities.
Paclitaxel-Coated Balloon Catheter Versus Paclitaxel-Coated Stent for the Treatment of Coronary In-Stent Restenosis

Background— Treatment of in-stent restenosis with paclitaxel-coated balloon catheter as compared with plain balloon angioplasty has shown surprisingly low late lumen loss at 6 months and fewer major adverse cardiac events up to 2 years. We compared the efficacy and safety of a paclitaxel-coated balloon with a paclitaxel-eluting stent as the current standard of care. Methods and Results— One hundred thirty-one patients with coronary in-stent restenosis were randomly assigned to treatment by a paclitaxel-coated balloon (3 &mgr;g/mm2) or a paclitaxel-eluting stent. The main inclusion criteria encompassed diameter stenosis of ≥70% and ≤22 mm in length, with a vessel diameter of 2.5 to 3.5 mm. The primary end point was angiographic in-segment late lumen loss. Quantitative coronary angiography revealed no differences in baseline parameters. At 6 months follow-up, in-segment late lumen loss was 0.38±0.61 mm in the drug-eluting stent group versus 0.17±0.42 mm (P=0.03) in the drug-coated balloon group, resulting in a binary restenosis rate of 12 of 59 (20%) versus 4 of 57 (7%; P=0.06). At 12 months, the rate of major adverse cardiac events were 22% and 9%, respectively (P=0.08). This difference was primarily due to the need for target lesion revascularization in 4 patients (6%) in the coated-balloon group, compared with 10 patients (15%) in the stent group (P=0.15). Conclusions— Treatment of coronary in-stent restenosis with the paclitaxel-coated balloon was at least as efficacious and as well tolerated as the paclitaxel-eluting stent. For the treatment of in-stent restenosis, inhibition of re-restenosis does not require a second stent implantation.
Equivalence of SQL queries in presence of embedded dependencies

We consider the problem of finding equivalent minimal-size reformulations of SQL queries in presence of embedded dependencies [1]. Our focus is on select-project-join (SPJ) queries with equality comparisons, also known as safe conjunctive (CQ) queries, possibly with grouping and aggregation. For SPJ queries, the semantics of the SQL standard treats query answers as multisets (bags), whereas the stored relations are treated either as sets, which is called bag-set semantics, or as bags, which is called bag semantics. (Under set semantics, both query answers and stored relations are treated as sets.) In the context of the above Query-Reformulation Problem, we develop a comprehensive framework for equivalence of CQ queries under bag and bag-set semantics in presence of embedded dependencies, and make a number of conceptual and technical contributions. Specifically, we develop equivalence tests for CQ queries in presence of arbitrary sets of embedded dependencies under bag and bag-set semantics, under the condition that chase [10] under set semantics (set-chase) on the inputs terminates. We also present equivalence tests for CQ queries with grouping and aggregation in presence of embedded dependencies. We use our equivalence tests to develop sound and complete (whenever set-chase on the inputs terminates) algorithms for solving instances of the Query-Reformulation Problem with CQ queries under each of bag and bag-set semantics, as well as for instances of the problem with aggregate queries. Our contributions are clearly applicable beyond the Query-Reformulation Problem considered in this paper. Specifically, the results of this paper can be used in developing algorithms for rewriting CQ queries and queries in more expressive languages (e.g., including grouping and aggregation, or arithmetic comparisons) using views in presence of embedded dependencies, under bag or bag-set semantics for query evaluation.
Salience Signals in the Right Temporoparietal Junction Facilitate Value-Based Decisions

Value-based decisions optimize the relation of costs and benefits. Costs and benefits confer not only value but also salience, which may influence decision making through attentional mechanisms. However, the computational and neurobiological role of salience in value-based decisions remains elusive. Here we develop and contrast two formal concepts of salience for value-based choices involving costs and benefits. Specifically, global salience (GS) first integrates costs and benefits and then determines salience based on this overall sum, whereas elemental salience (ES) first determines the salience of costs and benefits before integrating them. We dissociate the behavioral and neural effects of GS and ES from those of value using a value-based decision-making task and fMRI in humans. Specifically, we show that value guides choices and correlates with neural signals in the striatum. In contrast, only ES but not GS impacts decision making by speeding up reaction times. Moreover, activity in the right temporoparietal junction (RTPJ) reflects only ES and correlates with its response-accelerating behavioral effects. Finally, we report an ES-dependent change in functional connectivity between the RTPJ and the locus ceruleus, suggesting noradrenergic processes underlying the response-facilitating effects of ES on decision making. Together, these results support a novel concept of salience in value-based decision making and suggest a computational, anatomical, and neurochemical dissociation of value- and salience-based factors supporting value-based choices.
Predicting return to work following treatment of chronic pain disorder.

BACKGROUND The care of injured workers with chronic pain remains an important public health issue given its increasing prevalence. The consequences often include loss of self-esteem and stress in family relationships. AIMS To report our interdisciplinary approach to the care of chronic pain disorder (CPD) and describe the predictors associated with a successful return to work (RTW). METHODS Relevant covariates, including demographic data, time from injury, and functional scores were recorded for clients injured at work in Ontario, Canada. Our primary outcome, RTW, was assessed at 3 months post-discharge. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression were used to identify those factors predicting a successful RTW. RESULTS Of the injured workers who participated in the interdisciplinary CPD treatment programme, 1002 clients met our inclusion criteria and were included in the study. Fifty-five per cent were male with a mean age of 46 years. Median time from injury to treatment was 720 days. At 3 months post-treatment, 136 (14%) of the participants were working. Multivariable logistic regression revealed that earlier time since injury (OR = 0.71, 95% CI 0.55-0.92) and presence of an RTW coordinator (RTWC) (OR = 3.42, 95% CI 2.08-5.63) were significant predictors of successful RTW. There was also a significant interaction between RTWC involvement and time since injury. The latter did not appear to influence the likelihood of RTW when an RTWC was present. CONCLUSIONS Workers compensation boards should refer injured workers with CPD to treatment programmes as early as possible to achieve a successful RTW. Additionally, RTWCs play an important role in improving work outcomes.
On Sparse Discretization for Graphical Games

Graphical games are one of the earliest examples of the impact that the general field of graphical models have had in other areas, and in this particular case, in classical mathematical models in game theory. Graphical multi-hypermatrix games, a concept formally introduced in this research note, generalize graphical games while allowing the possibility of further space savings in model representation to that of standard graphical games. The main focus of this research note is discretization schemes for computing approximate Nash equilibria, with emphasis on graphical games, but also briefly touching on normal-form and polymatrix games. The main technical contribution is a theorem that establishes sufficient conditions for a discretization of the players’ space of mixed strategies to contain an approximate Nash equilibrium. The result is actually stronger because every exact Nash equilibrium has a nearby approximate Nash equilibrium on the grid induced by the discretization. The sufficient conditions are weaker than those of previous results. In particular, a uniform discretization of size linear in the inverse of the approximation error and in the natural game-representation parameters suffices. The theorem holds for a generalization of graphical games, introduced here. The result has already been useful in the design and analysis of tractable algorithms for graphical games with parametric payoff functions and certain game-graph structures. For standard graphical games, under natural conditions, the discretization is logarithmic in the game-representation size, a substantial improvement over the linear dependency previously required. Combining the improved discretization result with old results on constraint networks in AI simplifies the derivation and analysis of algorithms for computing approximate Nash equilibria in graphical games.
Prognostic value of plasma N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide concentration in patients with normal and impaired left ventricular systolic function undergoing surgery for abdominal aortic aneurysm

Introduction Implantation of an aortic-bifemoral prosthesis is characterised by a high (> 5%) rate of perioperative cardiovascular events. The main aim of the study is to demonstrate the usefulness of the determination of NT-proBNP concentration as a method of risk stratification of left ventricular dysfunction in patients subjected to surgery for aortic-bifemoral prosthesis implantation. Material and methods Forty consecutive patients were examined and subjected to aortic-bifemoral prosthesis implantation. The examined patients were divided into two groups: 1) with normal left ventricular systolic function and EF ≥ 58% (group I), 2) with left ventricular systolic dysfunction and EF < 58% (group II). Results In group I the median EF before surgery was 69.5% and the concentration of NT-proBNP 141.5 pg/ml. On day 7 after surgery respective values were EF 65.5%, NT-proBNP 498.55 pg/ml. In group II the median EF before surgery was 54%, and NT-proBNP concentration 303.9 pg/ml. Conclusions The concentration of plasma NT-proBNP before surgery well correlated with left ventricular ejection fraction. The values of NT-proBNP > 303.9 pg/ml strongly correlated with increased risk of left ventricular systolic dysfunction after surgery and they seem to have high prognostic value for the occurrence of cardiovascular events in this group of patients. The determination of NT-proBNP level on day 7 after surgery strongly correlated with the decrease of left ventricular ejection fraction in patients after the prosthesis implantation. It is a valuable diagnostic and prognostic factor of circulatory system efficiency before making a decision to discontinue hospitalization.