Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Association of clot burden score with radiographic and clinical outcomes following Solitaire stent retriever thrombectomy: analysis of the SWIFT PRIME trial

Background The clot burden score (CBS) was developed as a tool to evaluate the extent of intracranial thrombus burden in patients with anterior circulation acute ischemic stroke. CBS is based on the presence or absence of contrast opacification on CT angiography (CTA). Its value in predicting radiographic and clinical outcomes in patients given endovascular stroke therapy remains unknown. Objective To evaluate the relationship between CBS and outcomes after stent retriever thrombectomy in the interventional arm of the SWIFT PRIME trial. Methods CBS was calculated for the endovascular arm (IV tissue plasminogen activator plus Solitaire stent retriever) of SWIFT PRIME using baseline CTA. The cohort of 69 patients was divided into three groups according to their CBS values: CBS 0–5 (n=14), CBS 6–7 (n=23), and CBS 8–9 (n=32). Results The mean age of the 69 patients who formed the study cohort was 63.2±13.1 years, mean National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score was 16.8±4.5, and 55% of the patients were male. There was no difference in clinical characteristics among the three groups, except for the baseline Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score (p=0.049). The site of proximal occlusion varied significantly among the three groups (p<0.001). Rates of successful recanalization (TICI 2b/3), complete recanalization (TICI 3 only) and of good clinical outcome at 3 months were similar among the three groups (p=0.24, p=0.35, and p=0.52, respectively). Conclusions The combination of IV thrombolysis and stent retriever thrombectomy with the Solitaire device is highly effective in achieving successful recanalization and a good clinical outcome throughout the entire range of CBS values.
Dynamic Binary Instrumentation Based Defense Solution against Virtual Function Table Hijacking Attacks at C++ Binary Programs

Memory corruption bugs are one of the most critical vulnerabilities in software security, which can be exploited to overwrite virtual tables (vtables) or virtual table pointers (vfptrs) and finally gain control over the programs at virtual function call sites (vtable hijacking). In this paper, we propose a novel approach to detect vtable hijacking attacks against C++ binary executables. We first analyze the programs to get vtable information of each class, and backup the original vtables and vfptrs at runtime, then instrument security checks dynamically before virtual function dispatches to validate vtables' integrity. We implement the proposed approach as a tool and use it to successfully detect vtable hijacking attacks on the version 11 of Microsoft's Internet Explorer.
Two Physical Activity Measures: Paffenbarger Physical Activity Questionnaire Versus Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study as Predictors of Adult-Onset Type 2 Diabetes in a Follow-Up Study

Purpose: To compare 2 self-report methods of measuring weekly minutes of physical activity based on the Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study (ACLS) questionnaire and question 6 of the Paffenbarger Physical Activity Questionnaire (PPAQ) to determine the better predictor of adult-onset type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Design: An observational, prospective study. Setting: Survey data from the Adventist Health Study-2 (AHS-2) collected between 2002 and 2006 (baseline) and the Psychosocial Manifestations of Religion Sub-Study (PsyMRS), an AHS-2 subset collected 1 to 4 years later. Patients: Nine thousand eight hundred seventy-three male and female participants aged 23 to 106 years (mean, 63 years). Three hundred eighty participants reported adult-onset T2DM at follow-up. Measures: Question 6 from the PPAQ and a question adopted from the ACLS were assessed at baseline. Incident diabetes was defined as participants who reported receiving treatment for adult-onset T2DM in the last 12 months in the PsyMRS and not at baseline. Analysis: Multivariate logistic regression analyses controlled for age, gender, ethnicity, education, body mass index (BMI), diet, and sedentary activity. Each exposure variable was compared to nonexercisers. Results: The PPAQ (odds ratio [OR]: 0.998; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.997-1.000) and the ACLS (OR: 0.999; 95% CI: 0.998-1.001) exhibited similar likelihood of predicting incident adult-onset T2DM in a healthy, mixed-gender population when controlling for several confounders. Conclusions: The demonstrative nomenclature of the PPAQ may be more effectual in capturing physically active individuals than the ACLS notwithstanding generalizability and response bias limitations.
Antibiotic resistance trends and mechanisms in the foodborne pathogen, Campylobacter

Abstract Campylobacter is a major foodborne pathogen and is commonly present in food producing animals. This pathogenic organism is highly adaptable and has become increasingly resistant to various antibiotics. Recently, both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization have designated antibiotic-resistant Campylobacter as a serious threat to public health. For the past decade, multiple mechanisms conferring resistance to clinically important antibiotics have been described in Campylobacter, and new resistance mechanisms constantly emerge in the pathogen. Some of the recent examples include the erm(B) gene conferring macrolide resistance, the cfr(C) genes mediating resistance to florfenicol and other antimicrobials, and a functionally enhanced variant of the multidrug resistance efflux pump, CmeABC. The continued emergence of new resistance mechanisms illustrates the extraordinary adaptability of Campylobacter to antibiotic selection pressure and demonstrate the need for innovative strategies to control antibiotic-resistant Campylobacter. In this review, we will briefly summarize the trends of antibiotic resistance in Campylobacter and discuss the mechanisms of resistance to antibiotics used for animal production and important for clinical therapy in humans. A special emphasis will be given to the newly discovered antibiotic resistance.
Communal Metabolism of Methane and the Rare Earth Element Switch

ABSTRACT The metabolism of methane is an important part of the biogeochemical cycling of carbon. Methane is also a major contributor to climate change. A specialized group of microbes that consume methane, the methanotrophs, represent a natural filter preventing even faster accumulation of methane in the atmosphere. Methanotrophy can proceed via both anaerobic and aerobic modes. The anaerobic methanotrophs, represented by both archaea and bacteria, all appear to be engaged in syntrophic interdependencies with other species, to overcome the energetic barriers of methane metabolism in the absence of oxygen. In contrast, aerobic methanotrophy can be carried out by pure cultures of bacteria. However, a concept of communal function in aerobic methane oxidation has been gaining momentum, based on data regarding the natural cooccurrence of specific functional guilds and results from laboratory manipulations. The mechanistic details of how and why the methanotrophs share their carbon with other species, and whether and what they gain in return, are still sparse. In this minireview, we highlight recent studies that led to this new concept of community function in aerobic methane oxidation. We first describe stable isotope probing experiments employing heavy-carbon-labeled methane and tracing methane carbon consumption. We then present an analysis of data on microcosm community dynamics. We further discuss the role of a synthetic community approach in elucidating the principles of carbon flow and species cooperation in methane consumption. Finally, we touch on the role of lanthanides, which are rare Earth elements previously thought to be biologically inert, in bacterial metabolism of methane.
Extracellular vesicles from oral squamous carcinoma cells display pro- and anti-angiogenic properties.

BACKGROUND A new intercellular communication mode established by neoplastic cells and tumor microenvironment components is based on extracellular vesicles (EVs). However, the biological effects of the EVs released by tumor cells on angiogenesis are not completely understood. Here, we aimed to understand the biological effects of EVs isolated from two cell lines of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) (SCC15 and HSC3) on endothelial cell tubulogenesis. METHODS OSCC-derived EVs were isolated with a polymer-based precipitation method, quantified using nanoparticle tracking analysis and verified for EV markers by dot blot. Functional assays were performed to assess the angiogenic potential of the OSCC-derived EVs. RESULTS The results showed that EVs derived from both cell lines displayed typical spherical-shaped morphology and expressed the EV markers CD63 and Annexin II. Although the average particle concentration and size were quite similar, SCC15-derived EVs promoted a pronounced tubular formation associated with significant migration and apoptosis rates of the endothelial cells, whereas EVs derived from HSC3 cells inhibited significantly endothelial cell tubulogenesis and proliferation. CONCLUSION The findings of this study reveal that EVs derived from different OSCC cell lines by a polymer-based precipitation method promote pro- or anti-angiogenic effects.
Intrapancreatic Parenchymal Injection of Cells as a Useful Tool for Allowing a Small Number of Proliferative Cells to Grow In Vivo

In vivo inoculation of cells such as tumor cells and induced pluripotent stem (iPS)/embryonic stem (ES) cells into immunocompromised mice has been considered as a powerful technique to evaluate their potential to proliferate or differentiate into various cell types originating from three germ cell layers. Subcutaneous grafting and grafting under the kidney capsule have been widely used for this purpose, but there are some demerits such as the requirement of a large number of tumor cells for inoculation and frequent failure of tumorigenesis. Therefore, grafting into other sites has been explored, including intratesticular or intramuscular grafting as well as grafting into the cochleae, liver, or salivary glands. In this study, we found that intrapancreatic parenchymal injection of cells is useful for allowing a small number of cells (~15 × 103 cells or ~30 cell clumps μL−1·site−1) to proliferate and sometimes differentiate into various types of cells. It requires only surgical exposure of the pancreas over the dorsal skin and subsequent injection of cells towards the pancreatic parenchyma under dissecting microscope-based observation using a mouthpiece-controlled glass micropipette. We now name this technology “intrapancreatic parenchymal cell transplantation (IPPCT)”, which will be useful, especially when only a small number of cells or colonies are available.
Acculturation and Postpartum Depressive Symptoms among Hispanic Women in the United States: Systematic Review

Purpose: The purpose of this review was to evaluate studies that examined the relationship between acculturation and postpartum depression (PPD) among immigrant and/or refugee women in the United States. Methods: A systematic, computer-assisted search of quantitative, English-language, peer-reviewed, published research articles was conducted in the Scopus, PsycINFO, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), and Maternity and Infant Care databases using the keyword terms of “postpartum depression” and “perinatal depression” in combination with “acculturation. ” Studies were included if they were conducted in the United States. Results: Seven studies met inclusion criteria. Three studies used longitudinal designs and four used cross-sectional designs. All were conducted with Hispanic women. Only one study used a diagnostic tool to measure PPD; the remaining studies used screening tools to measure postpartum depressive symptoms. Most studies used country of birth, country of residence, and language preferences to measure acculturation. Five studies reported acculturation was positively related to risk of postpartum depressive symptoms, and two studies reported no relationship. Clinical Implications: Higher levels of acculturation were related to higher risk of postpartum depressive symptoms in Hispanic women living in the United States. Nurses should have an understanding of stressors of immigrant women to guide their assessment and screening for postpartum depressive symptoms and make appropriate referrals. More research is needed to confirm the relationship between acculturation and PPD among immigrant women from different cultural backgrounds.
The Feniks FPGA Operating System for Cloud Computing

Driven by explosive demand on computing power and slowdown of Moore's law, cloud providers have started to deploy FPGAs into datacenters for workload offloading and acceleration. In this paper, we propose an operating system for FPGA, called Feniks, to facilitate large scale FPGA deployment in datacenters. XFeniks provides abstracted interface for FPGA accelerators, so that FPGA developers can get rid of underlying hardware details. In addtion, Feniks also provides (1) development and runtime environment for accelerators to share an FPGA chip in efficient way; (2) direct access to server's resource like storage and coprocessor over PCIe bus; (3) an FPGA resource allocation framework throughout a datacenter. We implemented an initial prototype of Feniks on Catapult Shell and Altera Stratix V FPGA. Our experiements show that device-to-device communication over PCIe is feasible and efficient. A case study shows multiple accelerators can share an FPGA chip independently and efficiently.
The airway microbiota in early cystic fibrosis lung disease

Infection plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of cystic fibrosis (CF) lung disease. Over the past two decades, the application of molecular and extended culture‐based techniques to microbial analysis has changed our understanding of the lungs in both health and disease. CF lung disease is a polymicrobial disorder, with obligate and facultative anaerobes recovered alongside traditional pathogens in varying proportions, with some differences observed to correlate with disease stage. While healthy lungs are not sterile, differences between the lower airway microbiota of individuals with CF and disease‐controls are already apparent in childhood. Understanding the evolution of the CF airway microbiota, and its relationship with clinical treatments and outcome at each disease stage, will improve our understanding of the pathogenesis of CF lung disease and potentially inform clinical management. This review summarizes current knowledge of the early development of the respiratory microbiota in healthy children and then discusses what is known about the airway microbiota in individuals with CF, including how it evolves over time and where future research priorities lie.
Five year results of the prospective randomized controlled prostatic urethral L.I.F.T. study.

INTRODUCTION To report the five year results of a prospective, multi-center, randomized, blinded sham control trial of the Prostatic Urethral Lift (PUL) in men with bothersome lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) due to benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). MATERIALS AND METHODS At 19 centers in North America and Australia, 206 subjects ≥ 50 years old with International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS ) > 12, peak flow rate (Qmax) ≤ 12 mL/s, and prostate volume 30 cc-80 cc were randomized 2:1 to the PUL procedure or blinded sham control. In PUL permanent UroLift implants are placed to hold open the lateral lobes of the prostate to reduce urinary obstruction. After randomized comparison at 3 months and the only opportunity to add more PUL implants, PUL patients were followed to 5 years. LUTS severity (IPSS), quality of life (QOL), BPH Impact Index (BPHII), Qmax, sexual function, and adverse events were assessed throughout follow up. RESULTS IPSS improvement after PUL was 88% greater than that of sham at 3 months. LUTS and QOL were significantly improved by 2 weeks with return to preoperative physical activity within 8.6 days. Improvement in IPSS, QOL, BPHII, and Qmax were durable through 5 years with improvements of 36%, 50%, 52%, and 44% respectively. No difference was seen between Intent to Treat and Per Protocol populations. Surgical retreatment was 13.6% over 5 years. Adverse events were mild to moderate and transient. Sexual function was stable over 5 years with no de novo, sustained erectile or ejaculatory dysfunction. CONCLUSIONS PUL offers rapid improvement in symptoms, QOL and flow rate that is durable to 5 years. These improvements were achieved with minimal use of a postoperative urinary catheter, rapid return to normal, and preservation of both erectile and ejaculatory function. Symptom improvement was commensurate with patient satisfaction. PUL offers a minimally invasive option in the treatment of LUTS due to BPH.
Somatic Mutations and Clonal Hematopoiesis in Aplastic Anemia

n engl j med 373;17 nejm.org october 22, 2015 1673 and we will be updating efficacy and safety data. The first updated data, which were collected in March 2015 with a median follow-up of 8.9 months, showed that the rate of pulmonary embolism remained low (0.9%) among patients treated with palbociclib. Moreover, the discontinuation rate because of adverse effects among patients receiving palbociclib remained at 4.0%, as compared with a rate of 1.7% for those receiving fulvestrant alone. These findings support the long-term safety of palbociclib that was reported in the smaller PALOMA1 study.1 Nicholas C. Turner, M.D., Ph.D. Royal Marsden Hospital London, United Kingdom nicholas.turner@icr.ac. uk Cynthia Huang Bartlett, M.D.
Maintenance of Serum Ionized Calcium During Exercise Attenuates Parathyroid Hormone and Bone Resorption Responses

Exercise can cause a decrease in serum ionized calcium (iCa) and increases in parathyroid hormone (PTH) and bone resorption. We used a novel intravenous iCa clamp technique to determine whether preventing a decline in serum iCa during exercise prevents increases in PTH and carboxy‐terminal collagen crosslinks (CTX). Eleven cycling‐trained men (aged 18 to 45 years) underwent two identical 60‐min cycling bouts with infusion of Ca gluconate or saline. Blood sampling for iCa, total calcium (tCa), PTH, CTX, and procollagen type 1 amino‐terminal propeptide (P1NP) occurred before, during, and for 4 hours after exercise; results are presented as unadjusted and adjusted for plasma volume shifts (denoted with subscript ADJ). iCa decreased during exercise with saline infusion (p = 0.01 at 60 min) and this was prevented by Ca infusion (interaction, p < 0.007); there were abrupt decreases in Ca content (iCaADJ and tCaADJ) in the first 15 min of exercise under both conditions. PTH and CTX were increased at the end of exercise (both p < 0.01) on the saline day, and markedly attenuated (–65% and –71%; both p < 0.001) by Ca. CTX remained elevated for 4 hours after exercise on the saline day (p < 0.001), despite the return of PTH to baseline by 1 hour after exercise. P1NP increased in response to exercise (p < 0.001), with no difference between conditions, but the increase in P1NPADJ was not significant. Results for PTHADJ and CTXADJ were similar to unadjusted results. These findings demonstrate that bone resorption is stimulated early in exercise to defend serum iCa. Vascular Ca content decreased early in exercise, but neither the reason why this occurred, nor the fate of Ca, are known. The results suggest that the exercise‐induced increase in PTH had an acute catabolic effect on bone. Future research should determine whether the increase in PTH generates an anabolic response that occurs more than 4 hours after exercise. © 2018 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.
Fast, robust, and versatile event detection through HMM belief state gradient measures

Event detection is a critical feature in data-driven systems as it assists with the identification of nominal and anomalous behavior. Event detection is increasingly relevant in robotics as robots operate with greater autonomy in increasingly unstructured environments. In this work, we present an accurate, robust, fast, and versatile measure for skill and anomaly identification. A theoretical proof establishes the link between the derivative of the log-likelihood of the HMM filtered belief state and the latest emission probabilities. The key insight is the inverse relationship in which gradient analysis is used for skill and anomaly identification. Our measure showed better performance across all metrics than all but one related state-of-the-art works. The result is broadly applicable to domains that use HMMs for event detection. Supplemental information, code, data, and videos can be found at [1].
Grassland biodiversity can pay

Significance Ecological research suggests that greater biodiversity could lead to greater economic value, even for private owners of “working” land. However, the studies from which such a conclusion might be inferred do not account for all relevant information in a coherent economic framework. Our paper applies standard economic theory to rigorously account for costs, quality, and risk. Results indicate that higher levels of biodiversity than are typically observed on commercial grasslands would maximize landowner value in the experimental grassland we study. Greater private benefits from biodiversity could encourage private investment in biodiversity and reduce the cost of public conservation efforts. The biodiversity–ecosystem functioning (BEF) literature provides strong evidence of the biophysical basis for the potential profitability of greater diversity but does not address questions of optimal management. BEF studies typically focus on the ecosystem outputs produced by randomly assembled communities that only differ in their biodiversity levels, measured by indices such as species richness. Landholders, however, do not randomly select species to plant; they choose particular species that collectively maximize profits. As such, their interest is not in comparing the average performance of randomly assembled communities at each level of biodiversity but rather comparing the best-performing communities at each diversity level. Assessing the best-performing mixture requires detailed accounting of species’ identities and relative abundances. It also requires accounting for the financial cost of individual species’ seeds, and the economic value of changes in the quality, quantity, and variability of the species’ collective output—something that existing multifunctionality indices fail to do. This study presents an assessment approach that integrates the relevant factors into a single, coherent framework. It uses ecological production functions to inform an economic model consistent with the utility-maximizing decisions of a potentially risk-averse private landowner. We demonstrate the salience and applicability of the framework using data from an experimental grassland to estimate production relationships for hay and carbon storage. For that case, our results suggest that even a risk-neutral, profit-maximizing landowner would favor a highly diverse mix of species, with optimal species richness falling between the low levels currently found in commercial grasslands and the high levels found in natural grasslands.