Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
“Malignant” Left Ventricular Hypertrophy Identifies Subjects at High Risk for Progression to Asymptomatic Left Ventricular Dysfunction, Heart Failure, and Death: MESA (Multi‐Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis)

Background As heart failure (HF)‐associated morbidity and mortality continue to escalate, enhanced focus on prevention is increasingly important. “Malignant” left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy (LVH): LVH combined with an elevated cardiac biomarker reflecting either injury (high‐sensitivity cardiac troponin T), or strain (amino‐terminal pro‐B‐type natriuretic peptide) has predicted accelerated progression to HF. We sought to determine whether malignant LVH identified community‐dwelling adults initially free of cardiovascular disease at high risk of asymptomatic decline in LV ejection fraction or a clinical cardiovascular event. Methods and Results A total of 4985 of 6814 individuals without prevalent cardiovascular disease underwent baseline cardiac magnetic resonance for LVH in combination with measurement of plasma high‐sensitivity cardiac troponin T and amino‐terminal pro‐B‐type natriuretic peptide as part of MESA (Multi‐Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis) and were subsequently divided into 4 groups: (1) No LVH, no elevated biomarkers (n=2206; 44.3%); (2) No LVH, ≥1 elevated biomarkers (n=2275; 45.7%); (3) LVH, no elevated biomarkers (n=153; 3.0%); and (4) LVH, ≥1 elevated biomarkers (malignant LVH; n=351; 7.0%). Cardiac magnetic resonance was repeated 10 years later (n=2831) for assessment of LV ejection fraction <50%. Median follow‐up was 12.2 years. Malignant LVH was associated with 7.0‐, 3.5‐, and 2.6‐fold adjusted increases in incidence of HF, cardiovascular death, and asymptomatic LV dysfunction, respectively, versus group 1. New‐onset HF was predominately HF with reduced ejection fraction (9.5‐fold increase). Conclusions Malignant LVH is predictive of progression to asymptomatic LV dysfunction, HF (particularly HF with reduced ejection fraction), and cardiovascular death. Consequently, malignant LVH represents a high‐risk phenotype among individuals without known cardiovascular disease, which should be targeted for increased surveillance and more‐aggressive therapies.
Personalized Physical Activity Coaching: A Machine Learning Approach

Living a sedentary lifestyle is one of the major causes of numerous health problems. To encourage employees to lead a less sedentary life, the Hanze University started a health promotion program. One of the interventions in the program was the use of an activity tracker to record participants' daily step count. The daily step count served as input for a fortnightly coaching session. In this paper, we investigate the possibility of automating part of the coaching procedure on physical activity by providing personalized feedback throughout the day on a participant’s progress in achieving a personal step goal. The gathered step count data was used to train eight different machine learning algorithms to make hourly estimations of the probability of achieving a personalized, daily steps threshold. In 80% of the individual cases, the Random Forest algorithm was the best performing algorithm (mean accuracy = 0.93, range = 0.88–0.99, and mean F1-score = 0.90, range = 0.87–0.94). To demonstrate the practical usefulness of these models, we developed a proof-of-concept Web application that provides personalized feedback about whether a participant is expected to reach his or her daily threshold. We argue that the use of machine learning could become an invaluable asset in the process of automated personalized coaching. The individualized algorithms allow for predicting physical activity during the day and provides the possibility to intervene in time.
Competitive endogenous RNA networks: integrated analysis of non-coding RNA and mRNA expression profiles in infantile hemangioma

Infantile hemangioma (IH) is the most common vascular tumour in infants. The pathogenesis of IH is complex and poorly understood. Therefore, achieving a deeper understanding of IH pathogenesis is of great importance. Here, we used the Ribo-Zero RNA-Seq and HiSeq methods to examine the global expression profiles of protein-coding transcripts and non-coding RNAs, including miRNAs and lncRNAs, in IH and matched normal skin controls. Bioinformatics assessments including gene ontology (GO) and kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) pathway analyses were performed. Of the 16370 identified coding transcripts, only 144 were differentially expressed (fold change ≥ 2, P ≤ 0.05), including 84 up-regulated and 60 down-regulated transcripts in the IH samples compared with the matched normal skin controls. Gene ontology analysis of these differentially expressed transcripts revealed 60 genes involved in immune system processes, 62 genes involved in extracellular region regulation, and 35 genes involved in carbohydrate derivative binding. In addition, 256 lncRNAs and 142 miRNAs were found to be differentially expressed. Of these, 177 lncRNAs and 42 miRNAs were up-regulated in IH, whereas 79 lncRNAs and 100 miRNAs were down-regulated. By analysing the Ribo-Zero RNA-Seq data in combination with the matched miRNA profiles, we identified 1256 sponge modulators that participate in 87 miRNA-mediated, 70 lncRNA-mediated and 58 mRNA-mediated interactions. In conclusion, our study uncovered a competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network that could further the understanding of the mechanisms underlying IH development and supply new targets for investigation.
Evidence of Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Autism: Biochemical Links, Genetic-Based Associations, and Non-Energy-Related Mechanisms

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the fastest growing developmental disability in the United States, represents a group of neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by impaired social interaction and communication as well as restricted and repetitive behavior. The underlying cause of autism is unknown and therapy is currently limited to targeting behavioral abnormalities. Emerging studies suggest a link between mitochondrial dysfunction and ASD. Here, we review the evidence demonstrating this potential connection. We focus specifically on biochemical links, genetic-based associations, non-energy related mechanisms, and novel therapeutic strategies.
The effect of triangular cavities on piezoelectric property of graphene

Piezoelectricity is a unique material property that converts mechanical energy to electrical one or vice versa. In order to call a matter as a piezoelectric, it should be in non-centrosymmetric structure and have sufficiently large band gap. Graphene has none of these properties in its natural composition. It is shown that, coaxing the graphene structure can give piezoelectric property to this non-piezoelectric material. In this study, the size effect of the triangular holes and their placements on the structure to the piezoelectricity investigated theoretically via density functional theory based calculations. According to the calculation results, while the size of the cavity effects the piezoelectricity, layout of the similar shaped triangular cavities do not change the piezoelectric coefficient.
UvA-DARE ( Digital Academic Repository ) Can women have children and a career ? IV evidence from IVF treatments

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Just In Time Hashing

In the past few years billions of user passwords have been exposed to the threat of offline cracking attempts. Such brute-force cracking attempts are increasingly dangerous as password cracking hardware continues to improve and as users continue to select low entropy passwords. Key-stretching techniques such as hash iteration and memory hard functions can help to mitigate the risk, but increased key-stretching effort necessarily increases authentication delay so this defense is fundamentally constrained by usability concerns. We introduce Just in Time Hashing (JIT), a client side key-stretching algorithm to protect user passwords against offline brute-force cracking attempts without increasing delay for the user. The basic idea is to exploit idle time while the user is typing in their password to perform extra key-stretching. As soon as the user types in the first character(s) of their password our algorithm immediately begins filling memory with hash values derived from the character(s) that the user has typed thus far. We conduct a user study to guide the development of JIT e.g. by determining how much extra key-stretching could be performed during idle cycles or how many consecutive deletions JIT may need to handle. Our security analysis demonstrates that JIT can substantially increase guessing costs over traditional key-stretching algorithms with equivalent (or less) authentication delay. Specifically an empirical evaluation using existing password datasets demonstrates that JIT increases guessing costs by nearly an order of magnitude in comparison to standard key-stretching techniques with comparable delay. We provide a proof-of-concept implementation of a Just in Time Hashing algorithm by modifying Argon2.
CDX2 expression can predict response to neoadjuvant therapy in gastric carcinoma.

PURPOSE Caudal-related homeobox transcription factor 2 (CDX2) has recently been proposed as a prognostic factor for gastric carcinoma. However and to the best of our knowledge, no previous report has analyzed CDX2 expression in patients with gastric adenocarcinoma receiving neoadjuvant therapy (NAT). PATIENTS, MATERIALS AND METHODS This is a retrospective cohort study to analyze the potential role of CDX2 expression to predict response to NAT and prognosis. This study has enrolled 57 patients receiving chemotherapy for locally advanced gastric carcinoma. RESULTS 59.6% of the patients were men; mean age was 64.96 years. Only 8% of the patients showed a complete response to therapy, 10% had grade 1, 28% grade 2, and 54% grade 3 regression, respectively, according to modified Ryan's criteria. On follow-up, 38.6% of the patients showed recurrence of disease (50% distant metastasis) and 28.1% eventually died of it. Twenty-three (40.4%) patients showed intense CDX2 expression. We found a statistically significant association between CDX2 expression and poor regression with NAT, but we found no association with outcome. DISCUSSION Our study indicates that CDX2 expression can predict lack of response to NAT. Our results have not confirmed the association with prognosis shown in previous reports. CONCLUSIONS Despite these preliminary results, furthermore studies are necessary to define the potential use of CDX2 in gastric carcinoma.
Reputation Inflation

A solution to marketplace information asymmetries is to have trading partners publicly rate each other post-transaction. Many have shown these ratings are effective; we show that their effectiveness deteriorates over time. The problem is that ratings are prone to inflation, with raters feeling pressure to leave "above average" ratings, which in turn pushes the average higher. This pressure stems from raters' desire to not harm the rated seller. As the potential to harm is what makes ratings effective, reputation systems, as currently designed, sow the seeds of their own irrelevance.
Three-dimensional analyses of palatal morphology and its relation to upper airway area in obstructive sleep apnea.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the relationship between palatal morphology and pharyngeal airway morphology in patients who have obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and compare with a nonsnoring and nonapneic control group. MATERIALS AND METHODS Three-dimensional maxillary dental cast measurements from 25 OSA patients (6 women, 19 men) with a mean age of 41.5 (4.8) years, and 25 control group participants (14 women, 11 men) without any symptom of OSA with a mean age of 38.3 (3.7) were correlated with an analysis of pharyngeal area evaluated with lateral cephalograms. Intermolar and intercanine widths and palatal volumes were calculated on the dental casts, and the upper airway area measurements were performed on lateral cephalograms. RESULTS OSA patients had smaller oropharyngeal volume and upper airway when compared with controls (P < .001). Palatal area measurements were significantly smaller in OSA (P < .001). OSA patients had significantly narrower maxilla with smaller intermolar and intercanine widths (P < .001). A positive correlation was found between the palatal morphology and pharyngeal dimensions. CONCLUSIONS A significant correlation exists between palatal morphology and pharyngeal airway.
Effect of Hydroxyapatite Bioceramic Bodies on Subcutaneous Soft Tissue Reaction of Laboratory Rats

Hydroxyapatite (HA) is widely used in bioceramic materials for bone grafting. HA scaffolds were synthesized using solid-state reaction method. Scaffolds were prepared by milling the elements of CaCO3 and NH4H2PO4 powders. The obtained powder was pressed with uniaxial pressing into a disc shape with the dimension of 4 mm in thickness and 16.5 mm in diameter under pressures 3 MPa and then sintering the samples at difference temperatures from 1100°C to 1300°C for 3 hours. This research aimed to produce phase HA scaffolds in order to find out the effects of sintering temperature on phase contents, density, porosity, hardness and bending strength, and to use optimized condition samples study with laboratory rats’ soft tissue to evaluate the soft tissue response to the samples. Thirty-two healthy in adults’ on non-gender-specific of Wistar rats were used in this study. Optimized, sintered samples were cut and lathed into a cylindrical shape. Sixty-four samples of optimized condition were implanted and left in subcutaneous tissue for 3, 7, 14, 21, 30, 45, 90 and 180 days. XRD, XRF, Archimedes technique, Vickers hardness and bending strength, as well as light microscopy, were used for analysis. The results of optimized condition have shown the bodies of sintered sample at 1300 °C for 3 hours had the highest content of 91.02 % HA phase, and the remaining phases of 4.51 % b-TCP and 4.47 % CaO, its bulk density and strength increased with increasing temperature, the highest bulk density of 2.006 ± 0.033 g/cm3, hardness of 30.02 ± 3.23 HV, bending strength of 9.07 ± 1.15 MPa. Sample reactions to soft tissues at 180 days were mild inflammatory cells, an absence of cellular infiltration, a presence of calcification, and absence of displacement of ceramic components into surrounding host tissue. Our results concluded that the samples were nontoxic to subcutaneous tissue and biocompatibility
Clinical translation of handheld optical coherence tomography: practical considerations and recent advancements

Abstract. Since the inception of optical coherence tomography (OCT), advancements in imaging system design and handheld probes have allowed for numerous advancements in disease diagnostics and characterization of the structural and optical properties of tissue. OCT system developers continue to reduce form factor and cost, while improving imaging performance (speed, resolution, etc.) and flexibility for applicability in a broad range of fields, and nearly every clinical specialty. An extensive array of components to construct customized systems has also become available, with a range of commercial entities that produce high-quality products, from single components to full systems, for clinical and research use. Many advancements in the development of these miniaturized and portable systems can be linked back to a specific challenge in academic research, or a clinical need in medicine or surgery. Handheld OCT systems are discussed and explored for various applications. Handheld systems are discussed in terms of their relative level of portability and form factor, with mention of the supporting technologies and surrounding ecosystem that bolstered their development. Additional insight from our efforts to implement systems in several clinical environments is provided. The trend toward well-designed, efficient, and compact handheld systems paves the way for more widespread adoption of OCT into point-of-care or point-of-procedure applications in both clinical and commercial settings.
Interpersonal Synergies

We present the perspective that interpersonal movement coordination results from establishing interpersonal synergies. Interpersonal synergies are higher-order control systems formed by coupling movement system degrees of freedom of two (or more) actors. Characteristic features of synergies identified in studies of intrapersonal coordination – dimensional compression and reciprocal compensation – are revealed in studies of interpersonal coordination that applied the uncontrolled manifold approach and principal component analysis to interpersonal movement tasks. Broader implications of the interpersonal synergy approach for movement science include an expanded notion of mechanism and an emphasis on interaction-dominant dynamics.
Distributed Change Detection Based on a Consensus Algorithm

In this paper a novel distributed recursive algorithm is proposed for real time change detection using sensor networks. The algorithm is based on a combination of geometric moving average control charts generating local statistics and a global consensus strategy; it does not require any fusion center, so that the final decision is made by testing the state of any node in the network with respect to a given common threshold. The mean-square error with respect to the centralized solution defined by a weighted sum of the local statistics is analyzed in the case of constant asymmetric consensus matrices with constant and time varying forgetting factors in the underlying recursions, assuming spatially and temporally correlated data. These results are consistently extended to the case of time varying random consensus matrices, encompassing asymmetric gossip schemes, lossy networks and intermittent measurements, proving that the algorithm can be an efficient tool for practice. The given simulation results illustrate the main characteristics of the proposed algorithm, including the consensus matrix design, the mean square error with respect to the centralized solution as a function of the forgetting factor, the obtained detection quality expressed using deflection and estimation of the instant of parameter change.
Effects of static magnetic fields on bone regeneration of implants in the rabbit: micro‐CT, histologic, microarray, and real‐time PCR analyses

OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of static magnetic fields (SMFs) on bone regeneration around titanium implants by μCT, histologic analysis, microarrays, and quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). MATERIALS AND METHODS Neodymium magnets provided the source of SMFs, the specimens were grade 5 titanium implants, and the animals were twenty-seven adult male New Zealand white rabbits. These implants were divided into six groups according to the presence of a magnet and predetermined healing period (1, 4, and 8 weeks). Each group comprised six specimens for μCT (n = 6) and histologic examination, and three specimens (n = 3) for microarrays and qRT-PCR, yielding a total of 54 specimens. RESULTS The μCT data showed that SMFs increased bone volume fraction (bone volume/total volume, BV/TV), trabecular number (Tb.N), and trabecular thickness (Tb.Th). Histologic observation indicated that SMFs promoted new bone formation and direct bony contact with implants. Microarray analysis identified 293 genes upregulated (>twofold) in response to SMFs. The upregulated genes included extracellular matrix (ECM)-related genes (COL10A1, COL9A1, and COL12A1) and growth factor (GF)-related genes (CTGF and PDGFD), and the upregulation was confirmed by qRT-PCR. Gene Ontology (GO) and pathway analysis revealed the involvement of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), Wnt, and PPAR-gamma signaling pathways in implant healing. CONCLUSIONS μCT, histology, microarrays, and real-time PCR indicate that SMFs could be an effective approach to improving bone regeneration around dental implants.
PCBs IN SEWAGE SLUDGE FROM WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANTS

Recycling of sludge from wastewater treatment plants by agricultural land, presents a major interest. It is known that municipal sludge contains toxic organic compounds for human health and for environment. Among these, in the list of European Community Council polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are included. Therefore, their determination in sludge is absolutely necessary. The present work shows the results of a study about the content of PCBs in sewage sludge coming from wastewater treatments plants located in Pitesti, Curtea de Arges, Câmpulug and Mioveni. 24 samples of sludge were collected and the PCBs residues were extracted with organic solvents. Determination was performed by gas chromatography after a preliminary purification of the extract. The determined compounds were PCBs with IUPAC numbers: 28, 52, 101, 138, 153, 180 which are mentioned by the actual legislation. The results show that the total content of PCB compounds are ranged between 0.0031 mg/kg and 0.0610 mg/kg, so values which are 10100 times smaller than the maximum limit (0.8 mg/kg). So, the sludge samples of this study show contents of PCBs which are permitted in agricultural use according to guidelines of our country.
Statistical Modeling of Disease Progression for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Using Data from the ECLIPSE Study

Background. To develop statistical models predicting disease progression and outcomes in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), using data from ECLIPSE, a large, observational study of current and former smokers with COPD. Methods. Based on a conceptual model of COPD disease progression and data from 2164 patients, associations were made between baseline characteristics, COPD disease progression attributes (exacerbations, lung function, exercise capacity, and symptoms), health-related quality of life (HRQoL), and survival. Linear and nonlinear functional forms of random intercept models were used to characterize these relationships. Endogeneity was addressed by time-lagging variables in the regression models. Results. At the 5% significance level, an exacerbation history in the year before baseline was associated with increased risk of future exacerbations (moderate: +125.8%; severe: +89.2%) and decline in lung function (forced expiratory volume in 1 second [FEV1]) (–94.20 mL per year). Each 1% increase in FEV1 % predicted was associated with decreased risk of exacerbations (moderate: –1.1%; severe: –3.0%) and increased 6-minute walk test distance (6MWD) (+1.5 m). Increases in baseline exercise capacity (6MWD, per meter) were associated with slightly increased risk of moderate exacerbations (+0.04%) and increased FEV1 (+0.62 mL). Symptoms (dyspnea, cough, and/or sputum) were associated with an increased risk of moderate exacerbations (+13.4% to +31.1%), and baseline dyspnea (modified Medical Research Council score ≥2 v. <2) was associated with lower FEV1 (–112.3 mL). Conclusions. A series of linked statistical regression equations have been developed to express associations between indicators of COPD disease severity and HRQoL and survival. These can be used to represent disease progression, for example, in new economic models of COPD.