Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Hippocampal and entorhinal structures in subjective memory impairment: a combined MRI volumetric and DTI study

ABSTRACT Background: Subjective memory impairment (SMI) is common among older adults. Increasing evidence suggests that SMI is a risk factor for future cognitive decline, as well as for mild cognitive impairment and dementia. Medial temporal lobe structures, including the hippocampus and entorhinal cortex, are affected in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease. The current study examined the gray matter (GM) volume and microstructural changes of hippocampal and entorhinal regions in individuals with SMI, compared with elderly control participants without memory complaints. Methods: A total of 45 participants (mean age: 70.31 ± 6.07 years) took part in the study, including 18 participants with SMI and 27 elderly controls without memory complaints. We compared the GM volume and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) measures in the hippocampal and entorhinal regions between SMI and control groups. Results: Individuals with SMI had lower entorhinal cortical volumes than control participants, but no differences in hippocampal volume were found between groups. In addition, SMI patients exhibited DTI changes (lower fractional anisotropy (FA) and higher mean diffusivity in SMI) in the hippocampal body and entorhinal white matter compared with controls. Combining entorhinal cortical volume and FA in the hippocampal body improved the accuracy of classification between SMI and control groups. Conclusions: These findings suggest that the entorhinal region exhibits macrostructural as well as microstructural changes in individuals with SMI, whereas the hippocampus exhibits only microstructural alterations.
A Comparative Evaluation of Antibacterial Efficacy of ‘Calcium Hydroxide Plus Points’ , ‘Activ Points’ and ‘Combi Points’ Against Enterococcus Faecalisin Endodontic Therapy: An In Vitro Analysis

The success of endodontic therapy relies on complete eradication of microorganisms from the root canal system. However, there are some resistant strains such as Enterococcus faecalis which persist in the root canals, leading to endodontic failures. Various antimicrobial agents have been tested time to time for their efficiency against this pathogen. The purpose of this study was to compare the antimicrobial efficacy of calcium hydroxide releasing 'Calcium hydroxide plus points'; chlorhexidine releasing 'Activ points', chlorhexidine and calcium hydroxide releasing 'Combi points' against Enterococcus faecalis. By measuring the zone of inhibition, it was concluded that 'Calcium hydroxide plus points were not effective, while both Activ points and Combi points showed results significantly better than Calcium hydroxide plus points. The results indicate the calcium hydroxide alone may not be effective when expecting Enterococcus faecalis in particular endodontic cases and must be replaced or adjuncted by the use of chlorhexidine.
Isolation and identification of fungi associated with some Libyan foods

Cereal and its products can be contaminated with fungi in the field, during drying, processing, transportation and subsequent storage, which may lead to secretion of mycotoxins under favourable condition. The aim of this study was the isolation and identification of some fungi associated with four kinds of Libyan food products of different trademarks. Twenty four (24) samples of couscous, macaroni, wheat flour and rice regularly used for human consumption by Libyan family were collected from local markets in the city of Alzawia, west of Tripoli, Libya. The results reveal isolation of 113 isolates belonging to nine genera: Penicillium, Aspergillus, Fusarium, Paecilomyces, Alternaria, Rhizopus, Mucor, Scopulariopsis and Cladosporum. Approximately 24 species were identified to belong to those isolated genera, several of which are known as main producer of mycotoxins especially A. flavus which are known to produce aflatoxins, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus carbonarious, Penicillium chrysogenum and Penicillium verrucosum known to produce ochratoxin and Fusarium oxysporum and Fusarium chlamydosporum known to produce fumonisins and trichothecenes. Certainly, the occurrence of such types of mycotoxins can pose a health threatening risk for the consumer of those food items. Presence of these fungi in food products could be due to lack of good agriculture and food manufacturing practices throughout the food chain. Key words: Couscous, macaroni, wheat flour, rice, fungi, Libya.
Do Topical Repellents Divert Mosquitoes within a Community? – Health Equity Implications of Topical Repellents as a Mosquito Bite Prevention Tool

Objectives Repellents do not kill mosquitoes - they simply reduce human-vector contact. Thus it is possible that individuals who do not use repellents but dwell close to repellent users experience more bites than otherwise. The objective of this study was to measure if diversion occurs from households that use repellents to those that do not use repellents. Methods The study was performed in three Tanzanian villages using 15%-DEET and placebo lotions. All households were given LLINs. Three coverage scenarios were investigated: complete coverage (all households were given 15%-DEET), incomplete coverage (80% of households were given 15%-DEET and 20% placebo) and no coverage (all households were given placebo). A crossover study design was used and coverage scenarios were rotated weekly over a period of ten weeks. The placebo lotion was randomly allocated to households in the incomplete coverage scenario. The level of compliance was reported to be close to 100%. Mosquito densities were measured through aspiration of resting mosquitoes. Data were analysed using negative binomial regression models. Findings Repellent-users had consistently fewer mosquitoes in their dwellings. In villages where everybody had been given 15%-DEET, resting mosquito densities were fewer than half that of households in the no coverage scenario (Incidence Rate Ratio [IRR]=0.39 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.25-0.60); p<0.001). Placebo-users living in a village where 80% of the households used 15%-DEET were likely to have over four-times more mosquitoes (IRR=4.17; 95% CI: 3.08-5.65; p<0.001) resting in their dwellings in comparison to households in a village where nobody uses repellent. Conclusions There is evidence that high coverage of repellent use could significantly reduce man-vector contact but with incomplete coverage evidence suggests that mosquitoes are diverted from households that use repellent to those that do not. Therefore, if repellents are to be considered for vector control, strategies to maximise coverage are required.
Impaired spliceosomal UsnRNP assembly leads to Sm mRNA down-regulation and Sm protein degradation

Specialized assembly factors facilitate the formation of many macromolecular complexes in vivo. The formation of Sm core structures of spliceosomal U-rich small nuclear ribonucleoprotein particles (UsnRNPs) requires assembly factors united in protein arginine methyltransferase 5 (PRMT5) and survival motor neuron (SMN) complexes. We demonstrate that perturbations of this assembly machinery trigger complex cellular responses that prevent aggregation of unassembled Sm proteins. Inactivation of the SMN complex results in the initial tailback of Sm proteins on the PRMT5 complex, followed by down-regulation of their encoding mRNAs. In contrast, reduction of pICln, a PRMT5 complex subunit, leads to the retention of newly synthesized Sm proteins on ribosomes and their subsequent lysosomal degradation. Overexpression of Sm proteins under these conditions results in a surplus of Sm proteins over pICln, promoting their aggregation. Our studies identify an elaborate safeguarding system that prevents individual Sm proteins from aggregating, contributing to cellular UsnRNP homeostasis.
Graphene oxide-coated stir bar sorptive extraction of trace aflatoxins from soy milk followed by high performance liquid chromatography-laser-induced fluorescence detection

ABSTRACT Mycotoxins are potential food pollutants produced by fungi. Among them, aflatoxins (AFs) are the most toxic. Therefore, AFs were selected as models, and a sensitive, simple and green graphene oxide (GO)-based stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) method was developed for extraction and determination of AFs with high performance liquid chromatography-laser-induced fluorescence detector (HPLC-LIF). This method improved the sensitivity of AFs detection and solved the deposition difficulty of the direct use of GO as adsorbent. Several parameters including a spiked amount of NaCl, stirring rate, extraction time and desorption time were investigated. Under optimal conditions, the quantitative method had low limits of detection of 2.4–8.0 pg/mL, which were better than some reported AFs analytical methods. The developed method has been applied to soy milk samples with good recoveries ranging from 80.5 to 102.3%. The prepared GO-based SBSE can be used as a sensitive screening technique for detecting AFs in soy milk.
Underestimation of Variance of Predicted Health Utilities Derived from Multiattribute Utility Instruments

Background. Parameter uncertainty in value sets of multiattribute utility-based instruments (MAUIs) has received little attention previously. This false precision leads to underestimation of the uncertainty of the results of cost-effectiveness analyses. The aim of this study is to examine the use of multiple imputation as a method to account for this uncertainty of MAUI scoring algorithms. Method. We fitted a Bayesian model with random effects for respondents and health states to the data from the original US EQ-5D-3L valuation study, thereby estimating the uncertainty in the EQ-5D-3L scoring algorithm. We applied these results to EQ-5D-3L data from the Commonwealth Fund (CWF) Survey for Sick Adults (n = 3958), comparing the standard error of the estimated mean utility in the CWF population using the predictive distribution from the Bayesian mixed-effect model (i.e., incorporating parameter uncertainty in the value set) with the standard error of the estimated mean utilities based on multiple imputation and the standard error using the conventional approach of using MAUI (i.e., ignoring uncertainty in the value set). Result. The mean utility in the CWF population based on the predictive distribution of the Bayesian model was 0.827 with a standard error (SE) of 0.011. When utilities were derived using the conventional approach, the estimated mean utility was 0.827 with an SE of 0.003, which is only 25% of the SE based on the full predictive distribution of the mixed-effect model. Using multiple imputation with 20 imputed sets, the mean utility was 0.828 with an SE of 0.011, which is similar to the SE based on the full predictive distribution. Conclusion. Ignoring uncertainty of the predicted health utilities derived from MAUIs could lead to substantial underestimation of the variance of mean utilities. Multiple imputation corrects for this underestimation so that the results of cost-effectiveness analyses using MAUIs can report the correct degree of uncertainty.
Identification of midbrain neurones mediating defensive behaviour in the rat by microinjections of excitatory amino acids.

Unilateral microinjections (0.20 microliter) of excitatory amino acids were made into the midbrain of freely moving rats. Injections made within the midbrain periaqueductal grey matter (PAG) consistently elicited reactions characteristic of defensive behaviour (i.e. explosive jumps, freezing, upright postures), whereas injections made in the tegmentum bordering the PAG did not as reliably elicit such behaviour. As injections of excitatory amino acids depolarize cell bodies but not axons, the results suggest that a population of neurones whose excitation elicits these reactions is found primarily within the midbrain PAG of the rat. Furthermore, the data suggested that such neurones may be localized preferentially within the caudal half of the midbrain PAG. Injections of the GABA antagonist, bicuculline methiodide, at many of the same midbrain sites produced behaviour similar to that elicited by excitatory amino acids indicating a possible GABAergic modulation of these same PAG-mediated reactions. It also was observed following unilateral injection into the PAG, of either the excitatory amino acid, L-aspartic acid or bicuculline, that defensive behaviour was elicited by touching the rat on the body or snout contralateral but not ipsilateral to the injection site. This suggests that the induction of defensive behaviour by unilateral PAG stimulation is due, at least in part, to lateralized alterations in sensorimotor responsiveness.
Robotic solutions and mechanisms for a semi-autonomous endoscope

In this paper the authors illustrate the development of a semi-autonomous robot for colonoscopy. In particular they focus on two problems: the generation of an effective and reliable advancement in the colon, and the possibility to steer the robot in order to overcome acute intestinal bends. Both problems are present also during traditional colonoscopy, but they can be solved with an external pushing action produced by the endoscopist. The main feature of this work is the attempt to replicate the effects of external forces (generated by the medical doctors) by using just internal actions (generated by the robotic devices). The robotic solutions and the mechanisms illustrated in this paper could be in principle integrated in an "all inside" device, with electrical wires and service tubes, but without structural cables or rigid tails which are currently used for the advancement and orientation of traditional colonoscopes.
Development and Validation of a Clinical and Computerised Decision Support System for Management of Hypertension (DSS-HTN) at a Primary Health Care (PHC) Setting

Background Hypertension remains the top global cause of disease burden. Decision support systems (DSS) could provide an adequate and cost-effective means to improve the management of hypertension at a primary health care (PHC) level in a developing country, nevertheless evidence on this regard is rather limited. Methods Development of DSS software was based on an algorithmic approach for (a) evaluation of a hypertensive patient, (b) risk stratification (c) drug management and (d) lifestyle interventions, based on Indian guidelines for hypertension II (2007). The beta testing of DSS software involved a feedback from the end users of the system on the contents of the user interface. Software validation and piloting was done in field, wherein the virtual recommendations and advice given by the DSS were compared with two independent experts (government doctors from the non-participating PHC centers). Results The overall percent agreement between the DSS and independent experts among 60 hypertensives on drug management was 85% (95% CI: 83.61 - 85.25). The kappa statistic for overall agreement for drug management was 0.659 (95% CI: 0.457 - 0.862) indicating a substantial degree of agreement beyond chance at an alpha fixed at 0.05 with 80% power. Receiver operator curve (ROC) showed a good accuracy for the DSS, wherein, the area under curve (AUC) was 0.848 (95% CI: 0.741 - 0.948). Sensitivity and specificity of the DSS were 83.33 and 85.71% respectively when compared with independent experts. Conclusion A point of care, pilot tested and validated DSS for management of hypertension has been developed in a resource constrained low and middle income setting and could contribute to improved management of hypertension at a primary health care level.
Corino de Andrade disease: mechanisms and impact on reproduction

Familial amyloid polyneuropathy was first described by Corino de Andrade in 1952 in Northern Portugal. It is a fatal autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disorder characterized by a progression of neurologic symptoms, beginning early in the reproductive life. The Transthyretin gene mutation originates a mutated protein that precipitates in the connective tissue as amyloid deposits. This disease is presently named Transthyretin-related hereditary amyloidosis. We performed an extensive review on this disease based on searches in Medical databases and in paper references. In this review, we briefly summarize the epidemiology and the mechanisms involved on amyloid deposition; we detailed how to evaluate the mechanisms implicated on the development of the major signs and symptoms associated with reproductive dysfunction; and we discuss the mechanisms involved in secondary sexual dysfunction after psychological treatments. Treatment of the disease is directed towards relieving specific symptoms in association with liver transplant, and molecular and genetic therapeutics. Although the current clinical trials indicate symptoms relief, no data on the reproductive function was reported. Thus, preimplantation genetic diagnosis is presently the only available technique that eradicates the disease as it avoids the birth of new patients.
Abrasive Machining under Wet Condition and Constant Pressure using Chaotic Rotation.

The purpose of the study is to propose new abrasive machining under wet condition and constant pressure by using chaos. Rotation of an abrasive motor is statically controlled to become chaotic. The following facts are revealed by experiments : (1) A period 1.06 s of a chaotic rotational change is superior than other periods in removed volume and abrasive efficiency. (2) Chaotic rotation of a period 1.06 s is twice as good as maximum and constant 12000 rpm in abrasive efficiency. (3) A chaotic rotational change is superior than changes generated by a sine wave or a random signal in both of removed volume and abrasive efficiency. (4) Reduced percentage of final surface roughness is 96.5-99.5 %, when a plane (Ra 2.3-2.7 μm) machined by WEDM is selected as a target. (5) Rotational change is not so serious that the influence in surface roughness is within 0.1-0.2 μm (P-V). (6) The best surface roughness is determined by size of grains and is 50-100 m (P-V), when #120 grains are used under wet condition and constant pressure.
A depinning approach of amorphous plasticity and dewetting

In the present thesis, two disordered systems are investigated from the depinning perspective. In both of them, the dynamics is governed by the competition between elastic interactions and a disordered landscape. In the first part, we use a simplified mesoscopic model to investigate the generic properties of amorphous plasticity. The yielding of amorphous materials shows universal properties similar to the depinning transition. As such, it is often described by mean field approaches. Here we show that the soft modes present in the interaction kernel (based on the Eshelby solution for a plastic inclusion in an elastic matrix) have a dramatic impact on localization and result in diffusively increasing plastic strain fluctuations. This additional phenomenology is absent in standard depinning and, despite its important consequences, is disregarded in mean field descriptions. We show that shear bands are soft modes of the Eshelby interaction kernel and, besides localization, they affect the universal properties as well. At the same time, we found by testing two extreme cases that the form of the disordered landscape has no considerable impact on the universal properties. As an application, we show that the reinforcement of amorphous materials by hard inclusions is related to the percolation of shear bands in between the inclusions. In the second part of the thesis, we study the morphology of a receding dewetting line on inhomogeneous surfaces. Unlike in standard depinning models, here we developed a method suitable to describe the large deformation regime of the contact line and tearing up of the layer. We show the existence of a threshold concentration of inhomogeneities. Above this concentration the line stops within at finite distance, and around the critical concentration it features critical-like properties.
Orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) Remember Old Acquaintances

Many social animals can discriminate between familiar and unfamiliar faces. Orangutans, however, lead a semi-solitary life and spend much of the day alone. As such, they may be less adept at recognizing conspecifics and are a good model for determining how social structure influences the evolution of social cognition such as facial recognition. The present study is the first report of whether orangutans can distinguish among individual faces. We adopted a preferential looking method and found that orangutans used facial discrimination to identify known conspecifics. This suggests that frequent and intense social interaction is not necessary for facial discrimination, although our findings were limited by the small number of stimuli and the unequal numbers of male and female orangutans depicted in the stimuli.
Variability Support in Architecture Knowledge Management Approaches: A Systematic Literature Review

Research on software architecture knowledge management (SAKM) within the last 10 years has focused on capturing and storing design decisions and their underlying rationales. Recent attempts have tried to combine SAKM with variability management to support the capture of knowledge for a set of related products. To assess the current state of the art of variability management in the context of SAKM, we conducted a systematic literature review to identify the characteristics of the existing approaches for combining variability and SAKM and the gaps related to their application in practice. We further identified the main elements of SAKM models related to variability management, which can serve as a first step towards a commonly agreed approach for documenting architecture knowledge in the context of software product line engineering.
Workarounds and Test Results Follow-up in Electronic Health Record-Based Primary Care

Summary Background Electronic health records (EHRs) have potential to facilitate reliable communication and follow-up of test results. However, limitations in EHR functionality remain, leading practitioners to use workarounds while managing test results. Workarounds can lead to patient safety concerns and signify indications as to how to build better EHR systems that meet provider needs. Objective To understand why primary care practitioners (PCPs) use workarounds to manage test results by analyzing data from a previously conducted national cross-sectional survey on test result management. Methods We conducted a secondary data analysis of quantitative and qualitative data from a national survey of PCPs practicing in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and explored the use of workarounds in test results management. We used multivariate logistic regression analysis to examine the association between key sociotechnical factors that could affect test results follow-up (e.g., both technology-related and those unrelated to technology, such as organizational support for patient notification) and workaround use. We conducted a qualitative content analysis of free text survey data to examine reasons for use of workarounds. Results Of 2554 survey respondents, 1104 (43%) reported using workarounds related to test results management. Of these 1028 (93%) described the type of workaround they were using; 719 (70%) reported paper-based methods, while 230 (22%) used a combination of paper- and computer-based workarounds. Primary care practitioners who self-reported limited administrative support to help them notify patients of test results or described an instance where they personally (or a colleague) missed results, were more likely to use workarounds (p=0.02 and p=0.001, respectively). Qualitative analysis identified three main reasons for workaround use: 1) as a memory aid, 2) for improved efficiency and 3) for facilitating internal and external care coordination. Conclusion Workarounds to manage EHR-based test results are common, and their use results from unmet provider information management needs. Future EHRs and the respective work systems around them need to evolve to meet these needs.