Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Recurrent serious infections in patients with rheumatoid arthritis—results from the British Society for Rheumatology Biologics Register

Objectives To establish the rate of recurrent infection in RA patients recruited to the British Society for Rheumatology Biologics Register - Rheumatoid Arthritis. Secondary objectives were to establish whether the organ class of index infection predicted future serious infection (SI). Methods Using data from the British Society for Rheumatology Biologics Register - Rheumatoid Arthritis, a prospective observational cohort, we identified patients with at least one episode of SI. Incidence rates of SI, recurrent SI within the same organ class as the index infection and recurrent SI (of any class) were calculated. A Cox proportional hazards model was used to identify predictors of SI. Results In total, 5289 subjects with at least one SI contributing 19 431 patient-years follow-up were studied. The baseline annual rate of first SI was 4.6% (95% CI: 4.5, 4.7), increasing to 14.1% (95% CI: 13.5, 14.8) following an index infection. Respiratory infections were the most frequent (44% of all events). Recurrent infections mirrored the organ class of the index infection. Sepsis, increasing age and polypharmacy were significant predictors of infection recurrence in a fully adjusted model. The system class of index infection was associated with the risk of a recurrent event; subjects who experienced sepsis had the highest risk of subsequent SI within 12 months, 19.7% (95% CI: 15.1, 25.7). Conclusion Recurrent infections in RA are common. Understanding patterns and predictors of recurrent infection together with the differential infection risk associated with immunosuppressive agents will help personalize RA care, tailor treatment choices better and mitigate against episodes of SI.
Cancer and Venous Thromboembolic Disease: A Review.

Venous thromboembolism (VTE), including deep-vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism, represents a major cause of morbidity and mortality in cancer patients. Patients with cancer are six times more likely to develop VTE than their noncancer counterparts, and VTE is the second leading cause of death in cancer patients. Despite the publication of major consensus guidelines setting out recommendations for thromboprophylaxis in cancer patients, there remains a gulf between these guidelines and clinical practice. In general, thromboprophylaxis is recommended for most patients hospitalized with active cancer. Furthermore, outpatient thromboprophylaxis may be used in carefully selected high-risk ambulatory patients. Certain areas of controversy still remain. Although low-molecular-weight heparin has been shown to be superior to vitamin K antagonists in cancer patients, the role of direct oral anticoagulants is still uncertain. Moreover, recurrent thromboembolism, bleeding, and thrombocytopenia are frequently seen in cancer patients. Optimal anticoagulation in such instances presents a major challenge to clinicians. Modern computed tomography techniques have resulted in an increase in the detection of "incidental" VTE. Despite a growing body of evidence promulgating standard anticoagulant treatment in such cases, these cases present further challenges for members of the multidisciplinary team. The Oncologist 2017;22:199-207Implications for Practice: This article discusses venous thromboembolism (VTE) in patients with malignancy. Practical guidance is offered on how to prevent, diagnose, and treat VTE in cancer patients. The management of "challenging" cases of VTE is also discussed.
The Effect of A100 Gel, on Hair Growth and Hair Quality: An Explanatory Study

Male pattern baldness or androgenic alopecia is a great problem for many individuals’ especially young people. A100 is composed of two active ingredients, a pollen extract and pentane-1,5-diol. The pollen extract provides a source of natural nutrients and pentane-1,5-diol acts as a solvent to unplug the hair follicle as well as acts as an enhancer for uptake of nutrients. Other components are claimed to increase blood flow to the hair papilla. A100 has been effective in earlier studies. The aim of this open explanatory study was to investigate the effect of 4 months twice daily application with this commercial pollen gel, A100, in subjects with male androgenic alopecia. Twenty male subjects, between 18 and 40 years with androgenic alopecia were included. A100 gel was applied to the area of the scalp with poor hair growth twice daily for 4 months. The subjects were seen at the start of treatment and then every month. Sixteen subjects fulfilled the whole 4 months of treatment and 2 fulfilled 3 months of treatment. A statistically significant increase in number of hairs was seen after 4 months of treatment with A100 (p < 0.001). This effect was seen for all types of hair. Fifty-six percent of the 16 subjects who fulfilled the 4 months treatment had an increase in hair growth of more than 50%, and 31% had an increase over 100%. No side effects were seen and the subjects found A100 gel a cosmetically attractive treatment. A100 was in this explanatory study an effective and safe treatment for androgenic alopecia or male pattern baldness.
Patients with acute myocardial infarction and non-obstructive coronary arteries: safety and prognostic relevance of invasive coronary provocative tests

Aims Functional alterations of epicardial coronary arteries or coronary microcirculation represent a frequent cause of myocardial infarction and non-obstructive coronary arteries (MINOCA). We aimed at assessing the prognostic value of intracoronary provocative tests in patients presenting with MINOCA and in which other causes of MINOCA have been excluded. Methods and results We prospectively evaluated patients with a diagnosis of MINOCA, excluding patients with aetiologies other than suspected coronary vasomotor abnormalities. Immediately after coronary angiography, an invasive provocative test using acetylcholine or ergonovine was performed. The incidence of death from any cause, cardiac death, and recurrence of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) was assessed at follow-up. We also assessed angina status using Seattle Angina Questionnaires (SAQ). We enrolled 80 consecutive patients [mean age 63.0 ± 10.7 years, 40 (50%) male]. Provocative test was positive in 37 (46.2%) patients without any complication. Among patients with a positive test, epicardial spasm was detected in 24 (64.9%) patients and microvascular spasm in 13 (35.1%) patients. After a median follow-up of 36.0 (range 12.0-60.0) months, patients with a positive test had a significantly higher occurrence of death from any cause [12 (32.4%) vs. 2 (4.7%); P = 0.002], cardiac death [7 (18.9%) vs. 0 (0.0%); P = 0.005], and readmission for ACS [10 (27.0%) vs. 3 (7.0%); P = 0.015] as well as a worse angina status as assessed by SAQ [Seattle score: 88.0 (33.0-100.0) vs. 100.0 (44.0-100.0); P = 0.001] when compared with patients with a negative test. Conclusions We demonstrate that in patients presenting with MINOCA and suspected coronary vasomotor abnormalities, a positive provocative test for spasm is safe and identifies a high-risk subset of patients.
Experimental Investigation on the Mechanical Properties of Green Hybrid Sisal and Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer Composites

ABSTRAT Composites made from renewable sources have become important alternative materials for designing and manufacturing engineering and industrial products. Natural fiber composites have become superior materials compared to conventional fiber composites, due to their easy manufacturing process, high-fiber content, reduction in the polluting base content, lightweight, and incineration. Environmental cleanliness is an increasing concern to look for sustainable alternative materials that can replace conventional materials that are being used now. Natural fibers constitute a good alternative reinforcement material, since they are readily available in fibrous form, and can be extracted at very low costs. In the present study, environment friendly green composites have been prepared and the mechanical properties of these composites are evaluated. The results indicated a significant improvement in the tensile, flexural, and impact properties of the hybrid composites, and the effect of hybridization reduces the environmental effects. The internal structure of the broken surface, delamination of fibers, and the failure morphology are analyzed using the scanning electron microscopy analysis.
Climacteric ethylene is not essential for initiating chilling injury in tomato ( Solanum lycopersicum ) cv.

Chilling-sensitive fruit often produce a burst of ethylene when reconditioned at ambient temperature after cold storage. This has led some authors to propose that chilling injury (CI) may be induced by post-chilling ethylene production. To test this hypothesis we examined two tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) mutants, non-ripening (nor) and ripening-inhibitor (rin) that do not produce climacteric ethylene. Fruit were stored at 5°C followed by reconditioning at 20°C, during which time a detailed characterisation of respiration, ethylene production, colour analysis, firmness, total soluble solids, starch content and weight loss was done. The response of the mutants to cold-storage at 5°C differed, and was not as extreme as the parent line cv. Ailsa Craig, still, both mutants showed symptoms of chilling stress on the ripening pathways that are initiated upstream of climacteric ethylene production. When the fruit were stored at 2.5°C for 14 days followed by reconditioning at 20°C for 3 weeks, visual evidence of CI such as water-soaking, non-uniform ripening and minimal colour change was noted in both the control and mutant genotypes. We conclude therefore that while ethylene production may influence chilling injury, it is not essential for initiating this process in tomato cv. Ailsa Craig.
Can We Study Titin Properties in Passive Myofibrils

Titin is a giant molecular spring in skeletal and cardiac muscles. It has a variety of important passive, structural, sensing and force-regulatory functions, and thus has been investigated widely (Granzier & Labeit, 2007). Studying the mechanical properties of isolated titin has been difficult because of the enormous size and great instability of this protein. However, the passive properties in single myofibrils are almost exclusively explained by titin, and thus we asked the question if we can study titin properties in intact, passive myofibrils (Bartoo et al., 1997). Single myofibrils were isolated in a standard way (Leonard & Herzog, 2010) and three consecutive stretches of 1.0-3. 5μm/sarcomere magnitude were performed at a nominal stretch speed of 0.1 sarcomere length/sarcomere/s. Sarcomere length were measured using a high resolution photo diode array and forces were measured using micro-electronically machined silicon nitrate levers. Single myofibrils frequently showed a distinct change in stiffness upon stretch at sarcomere length of approximately 3.6-3. 8μm, they showed a decrease in loading energy with repeat stretch cycles and their efficiency decreased for all loading cycles with increasing stretch magnitude. These properties are in agreement with results observed in single titin preparations (Kellermayer et al., 1997). Therefore, we conclude that titin properties can be studied using single myofibrils. This has at least two significant advantages over tests with isolated titin proteins: (i) testing is technically much easier and (ii) titin is arranged in its intact structural arrangement. In the future, we would like to study titin properties in calcium activated myofibrils in which active (actin-myosin based cross-bridges forces) are eliminated either by chemical inhibition or by deletion of regulatory proteins on actin, as we have done before (Joumaa et al., 2008).
phyC: Clustering cancer evolutionary trees

Motivation Multi-regional sequencing provides new opportunities to investigate genetic heterogeneity within or between common tumors from an evolutionary perspective. Several state-of-the-art methods have been proposed for reconstructing cancer sub-clonal evolutionary trees based on multi-regional sequencing data to develop models of cancer evolution. However, the methods developed thus far are not sufficient to characterize and interpret the diversity of cancer sub-clonal evolutionary trees. Results We propose a clustering method (phyC) for cancer sub-clonal evolutionary trees, in which sub-groups of the trees are identified based on topology and edge length attributes. For interpretation, we also propose a method for evaluating the diversity of trees in the clusters, which provides insight into the acceleration of sub-clonal expansion. Simulation showed that the proposed method can detect true clusters with sufficient accuracy. Application of the method to actual multi-regional sequencing data of clear cell renal carcinoma and non-small cell lung cancer allowed for the detection of clusters related to cancer type or phenotype. Availability phyC is implemented with R(>=3.2.2) and is available from https://github.com/ymatts/phyC. Contact ymatsui@med.nagoya-u.ac. jp
STOPGAP: a database for systematic target opportunity assessment by genetic association predictions

Summary: We developed the STOPGAP (Systematic Target OPportunity assessment by Genetic Association Predictions) database, an extensive catalog of human genetic associations mapped to effector gene candidates. STOPGAP draws on a variety of publicly available GWAS associations, linkage disequilibrium (LD) measures, functional genomic and variant annotation sources. Algorithms were developed to merge the association data, partition associations into non‐overlapping LD clusters, map variants to genes and produce a variant‐to‐gene score used to rank the relative confidence among potential effector genes. This database can be used for a multitude of investigations into the genes and genetic mechanisms underlying inter‐individual variation in human traits, as well as supporting drug discovery applications. Availability and implementation: Shell, R, Perl and Python scripts and STOPGAP R data files (version 2.5.1 at publication) are available at https://github.com/StatGenPRD/STOPGAP. Some of the most useful STOPGAP fields can be queried through an R Shiny web application at http://stopgapwebapp.com. Contact: matthew.r. nelson@gsk.com Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Compressive CSIT estimation for multi-user massive MIMO with autonomous adaptation of pilot and feedback

Acquisition of accurate channel state information (CSI) at the base station (CSIT) is a major challenge of deploying frequency-division duplexing (FDD) massive MIMO systems. Although compressive sensing (CS) based CSIT estimation approaches have been proposed to reduce the pilot training overhead for massive MIMO systems, the existing schemes cannot properly dimension the minimum required pilot symbols to estimate the CSIT of all users at the required CSIT quality, because of the loose bounds on the required number of measurements for successful CS recovery and the unknown sparsity levels of user channels. In this paper, we propose a robust closed-loop compressive CSIT feedback and estimation framework which not only exploits the joint sparsity structure of the multi-user (MU) massive MIMO channels to improve the CSIT estimation performance, but also has the learning capability to adapt to the minimum pilot and feedback resources needed under unknown and time-varying channel sparsity levels. We establish the convergence of the proposed closed-loop adaptation algorithm. Simulations show that the proposed framework has substantial performance gain over conventional open-loop algorithms and is robust to dynamic sparsity and model mismatch.
Antisense Oligonucleotide Tool in Therapy for Polyglutamine Neurodegenerative Disorders

Genome Engineering | www.smgebooks. com Copyright  Fawzy A.This book chapter is open access distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which allows users to download, copy and build upon published articles even for commercial purposes, as long as the author and publisher are properly credited. Antisense Oligonucleotide Tool in Therapy for Polyglutamine Neurodegenerative Disorders
An algebraic analysis approach to certain classes of nonlinear partial differential systems

Many partial differential systems appearing in mathematical physics, engineering sciences and mathematical biology are nonlinear. Unfortunately, the algebraic analysis approach, based on module theory, can only handle linear partial differential systems. This paper is a first step toward a generalization of this approach to certain classes of nonlinear partial differential systems. In particular, we show how constructive methods of differential algebra and algebraic analysis can be used to extend recent results on internal symmetries, conservation laws and the decomposition problem to these classes of nonlinear partial differential systems.
Study of mineral filler effect on asphalt mixtures properties

The mineral filler in asphalt mixture is an important component of the mixture as it plays an important role in stiffening and toughening an asphalt binder. In addition to affecting the mechanical properties of asphalts, mineral fillers are also important with respect to stripping or moisture damage. The paper presents mechanical properties of asphalt concrete AC 11 with paving grade bitumen 50/70 and polymer modified bitumen Sealoflex with two mineral limestone fillers according to empirical requirements. The produced and compacted mixtures were tested to determine voids characteristics (Vm, VFB), water sensitivity (ITSR) and resistance to permanent deformation (WTSAIR, PRDAIR). The certain amount of filler in asphalt concrete was also substituted with hydrated lime. Laboratory research results support the benefit of adding hydrated lime to asphalt mixtures. Hydrated lime as an active mineral filler better moisture sensitivity and rutting resistance that contribute to extending the life cycle of asphalt pavement. The properties of the filler determine its interaction with bitumen and its contribution to the mixture ́s performance. The paper presents the positive effect of hydrated lime on affinity between bitumen and aggregate and the stiffening effect when it is mixed with bitumen.
The Role of Doppler Imaging in the Assessment of Right Ventricular Function: a Case-control Study of Acute Inferior Wall Infarction

Background Right ventricular infarction (RVI) develops in 30-50% of patients with inferior wall infarction (IWI). The rates of mortality, morbidity, and complications in these patients are greater than in the patients without RVI. We compared the tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) indices between a group of patients with IWI and RVI, with a similar group of patients who had IWI alone to investigate the application of TDI indices in the evaluation and detection of right ventricular function. Material and Methods We studied 49 patients with first acute IWI in two groups. Group 1 (N=24) were patients with IWI and RVI while group 2 consisted of patients with IWI alone (N=25), based on standard electrocardiogram criteria. The peak systolic (Sm), peak early (Em) and late (Am) diastolic velocities, and Em/Am ratio were obtained from the apical four chamber view, at the lateral side of the tricuspid annulus. We measured trans-tricuspid early (ET) and peak (AT) filling velocity, ET/AT ratio, right ventricular end diastolic diameter (RVEDD), and tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE) by M-mode TDI projected at the long axis of parasternal view. Results The RVEDD and E/Em ratio were increased, while the TAPSE was significantly decreased in the patients with RVI as compared to those without RVI (4.7± 0.6 vs. 3.1±0.2 cm; p < 0.005, 5.6±2.21 Vs 4.5±1.2; p<0.006 and 1.7±0.4 vs. 2.3±0.5 cm; p <0.0001, respectively). However, the other statistically measured parameters were not significantly different between these groups. Conclusion The measurement of RVEDD, E/Em ratio, and TAPSE, as right ventricular myocardial systolic and diastolic parameters by pulse wave TDI could be used to objectively assess the status of RV condition in patients with first acute IWI.
Molybdenum-supported amorphous MoS3 catalyst for efficient hydrogen evolution in solar-water-splitting devices

We report molybdenum (Mo) metal-supported amorphous molybdenum sulfide (a-MoS3) catalysts with a porous and nanostructure nature, which exhibit excellent catalytic activity for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in wired solar-water-splitting devices. Mo-supported a-MoS3 catalysts were prepared by wet chemically synthesizing a-MoS3 nanoparticles at room-temperature and then loading with Earth-abundant and scalable Mo metals sputtered at low temperature (100 °C). Electrochemical studies and applications in wired photoelectrochemical/photovoltaic (PEC–PV) solar-water-splitting devices reveal that the HER performance of wired PEC–PV solar-water-splitting devices can be efficiently enhanced with the proposed highly conductive Mo-supported a-MoS3 catalysts by enlarging the electrochemically active areas, accelerating the electron transport to active sites, and improving the charge transfer at the catalysts/electrolyte interfaces. The low-temperature preparation of highly active Mo-supported a-MoS3 catalysts paves the way to integrating them into various high-performance PV devices to develop highly efficient, scalable, low-cost, and monolithic PEC–PV solar-water-splitting devices.
Right ventricular function during exercise in children after heart transplantation

Aims Right ventricular (RV) dysfunction is a common problem after heart transplant (HTx). In this study, we used semi-supine bicycle ergometry (SSBE) stress echocardiography to evaluate RV systolic and diastolic reserve in paediatric HTx recipients. Methods and results Thirty-nine pediatric HTx recipients and 23 controls underwent stepwise SSBE stress echocardiography. Colour tissue doppler imaging (TDI) peak systolic (s') and peak diastolic (e') velocities, myocardial acceleration during isovolumic contraction (IVA), and RV free wall longitudinal strain were measured at incremental heart rates (HR). The relationship with increasing HR was evaluated for each parameter by plotting values at each stage of exercise versus HR using linear and non-linear regression models. At rest, HTx recipients had higher HR with lower TDI velocities (s': 5.4 ± 1.7 vs. 10.4 ± 1.8 cm/s, P < 0.001; e': 6.4 ± 2.2 vs.12 ± 2.4 cm/s, P < 0.001) and RV IVA values (IVA: 1.2 ± 0.4 vs. 1.6 ± 0.8 m/s2, P = 0.04), while RV free wall longitudinal strain was similar between groups. At peak exercise, HR was higher in controls and all measurements of RV function were significantly lower in HTx recipients, except for RV free wall longitudinal strain. When assessing the increase in each parameter vs. HR, the slopes were not significantly different between patients and controls except for IVA, which was lower in HTx recipients. Conclusion In pediatric HTx recipients RV systolic and diastolic functional response to exercise is preserved with a normal increase in TDI velocities and strain values with increasing HR. The blunted IVA response possibly indicates a mildly decreased RV contractile response but it requires further investigation.
Kinematic modeling of a bio-inspired robotic fish

This paper proposes a kinematic modeling method for a bio-inspired robotic fish based on single joint. Lagrangian function of freely swimming robotic fish is built based on a simplified geometric model. In order to build the kinematic model, the fluid force acting on the robotic fish is divided into three parts: the pressure on links, the approach stream pressure and the frictional force. By solving Lagrange's equation of the second kind and the fluid force, the movement of robotic fish is obtained. The robotic fish's motion, such as propelling and turning are simulated, and experiments are taken to verify the model.