Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dementia and Alzheimer disease incidence rates do not vary by sex in Rochester, Minn.

BACKGROUND Incidence rates of Alzheimer disease (AD) were higher in women than in men in several recent European and Asian studies. Cohort studies in the United States, on the other hand, have consistently reported no difference in incidence across sex. OBJECTIVE To measure age- and sex-specific incidence rates of dementia and AD for persons aged 50 years and older residing in Rochester, Minn, during 1985 to 1989. SUBJECTS AND METHODS Cases were ascertained through the medical records linkage system of the Rochester Epidemiology Project, which encompasses the records of all medical care providers (including outpatient clinics, hospitals, general practitioners, and nursing homes) in Rochester. Computer indices of clinical diagnoses, histologic diagnoses, and medical procedures were screened for indications of dementia. All medical records of potential cases were reviewed and abstracted by a trained nurse abstractor. A neurologist (E.K.) confirmed the presence of dementia and established a differential diagnosis of AD using the criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, and estimated the year of onset. RESULTS A total of 482 incident cases of dementia were identified; 356 of them (73.9%) had AD. For both dementia and AD, incidence rates increased steeply with age, and there were no consistent differences between men and women. The sex pattern for AD did not change after removing cases with silent bilateral infarcts on imaging. CONCLUSIONS Contrary to observations from European and Asian populations, women were not at increased risk of incident AD in Rochester. Our findings, based on a medical records linkage system, corroborate findings from several other US studies that involved the direct contact of cohort members. The consistency of findings across study designs suggests that sex or sex-related exposures do not consistently play a major role in AD causation in American populations.
BMP-2 delivered from a self-cross-linkable CaP/hydrogel construct promotes bone regeneration in a critical-size segmental defect model of non-union in dogs

Summary Objectives: To determine whether the addition of recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein (rhBMP-2) to a self-crosslinkable cellulosic hydrogel/biphasic calcium phosphate (BCP) granules construct promotes bone healing in critical-size ulnar defects in dogs. Methods: A standardized 2 cm long ulnar ostectomy was performed bilaterally in five dogs to compare bone healing with hydrogel/BCP constructs associated with or without rhBMP-2. Cancellous-bone autografts were used as positive controls in unilateral ulnar defects in five additional dogs. Radiographically, bone healing was evaluated at four, eight, 12, 16 and 20 weeks postoperatively. Histological qualitative analysis with microCT imaging and light and scanning electron microscopy were performed 20 weeks after implantation. Results: All rhBMP-2-loaded constructs induced the formation of well-differentiated mineralized lamellar bone surrounding the BCP granules and bridging bone/implant interfaces as early as eight weeks after surgery. Bone regeneration appeared to develop earlier with the rhBMP-2 constructs than with the cancellous-bone autografts while similar results were obtained at 20 weeks. Constructs without any rhBMP-2 showed osteoconductive properties limited to the bone junctions and a lack of osteoinduction without bone ingrowth within the implantation site. In one dog, the leakage of the hydrogel loaded with rhBMP-2 induced an extensive heterotopic bone formation. Clinical significance: The addition of rhBMP-2 to a self-crosslinkable hydrogel/BCP construct could promote bone regeneration in a critical-size-defect model with similar performance to autologous bone grafts.
Performance and operational characteristics of point-of-care tests for the diagnosis of urogenital gonococcal infections

Background In 2012, there was an estimated 78 million new cases of gonorrhoea globally. Untreated infection may lead to reproductive and neonatal morbidity and facilitate HIV transmission. Diagnosis and treatment are a priority for control and prevention, yet use of point-of-care tests (POCTs) for Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) is limited. Objectives To review the performance and operational characteristics of NG POCTs for diagnosis of urogenital gonorrhoea. Methods We compiled and synthesised findings from two separate systematic reviews which included evaluations published until August 2015. Results Six tests were included: five were immunochromatographic tests (ICTs) or optical immunoassay (OIAs) based on antigen detection; with 5–7 steps and results in 25–40 min, and one (GeneXpert CT/NG) was a ‘near-patient test’ based on nucleic acid amplification technique (NAAT); with three steps, electricity required, and results in 90 min. When compared with laboratory-based NAATs as the reference tests, sensitivities of ICT and OIA-based POCTs ranged from 12.5% to 70% when cervical/vaginal swabs were tested. Specificities ranged from 89% to 99.8%. The near-patient NAAT had sensitivities of >95% and specificities of >99.8% consistently across all specimen types (urine, cervical and vaginal swabs). Conclusions Based on a limited number of evaluations, antigen detection POCTs for NG lacked sufficient sensitivity to be used for screening. A near-patient NAAT has acceptable performance, only involved a few steps, but needs electricity, a temperature-controlled environment and has a 90 min run time. To achieve wider scale up of NG POCTs, we need strong evidence of cost-effectiveness, which should inform guidelines and ultimately increase test development, demand and reduce costs.
Uncertainty Analysis for Biomechanical Injury of Cervical Spine Column

Uncertain parameters exist in complex structures, such as the cervical spine, and they may produce unexpected significant influences on the structures. Therefore, for an accurate injury analysis of the cervical spine, it is essential to consider the uncertainties contained in the cervical spine components. For this research, motions segment of finite element C5-C6 motion segment was created and validated based on experimental data under various loading conditions. Young’s moduli of the cervical spine components were considered random variables. Then, based on the sensitivity analysis, Young’s moduli of the disc annulus and nucleus were considered random fields. Each random field was discretized into three and four sets of random variables for the disc annulus and nucleus, respectively. Using sets of random variables discretized from a random field, the sensitivities of the sensitive parameters were reduced to less than 0.05, in which the randomness may be ignored without losing analysis accuracy. The variance for probabilistic injury function was also decreased after random field analysis procedure. Moreover, considering material properties to be a random field, the reliability also increased. Reliability increased by 12.69% when Young’s modulus of both the disc annulus and nucleus were considered random fields.Copyright © 2008 by ASME
Improvement of electric field distribution by integrating composite insulators in a 400 kV AC double circuit line in Algeria

Because of their advantages over glass and porcelain insulators, composite insulators are being used now in power transmission lines for different voltage rating levels. Recently, the 400 kV level is introduced by Société Nationale de l'Electricité et du Gaz, SONELGAZ (Algerian Company of Electric Power and Gas) where glass insulators are installed. For better electrical performances, we propose in this paper to integrate composite insulators in a three phase 400 kV AC double circuit line situated in the northwest of Algeria. A comparison is done between the already existing glass insulators and the proposed composite insulator in terms of electric field distribution. The electric field is studied along the leakage paths of the insulators under different surface conditions (dry and clean, uniformly and non uniformly polluted, and in presence of water droplets). Three composite insulators with different shed configurations are proposed. From these three configurations, we selected the insulator presenting lower electric field magnitude in critical areas mainly on the triple point junction (air — HV end — housing material interface). On the double circuit line, we focused our study on the phase insulator that presents the highest electrical stress. Impact of hardware fittings, tower, phases and conductors on the electric field distribution has been analyzed. Effects of bundled conductors have been also studied. Simulations were carried out by employing 2D Finite Element Method (FEM) using COMSOL Multiphysics® 4.3 software. Results show that electric field is lower in the case of composite insulators. Furthermore, we found that the calculation model can be simplified by not considering all circuit phases. Note that appropriate corona rings are considered on both HV and ground ends for glass and composite insulators and their geometrical parameters (corona ring diameter, corona ring tube diameter and corona ring height) are kept constant throughout the whole study.
Filtered OFDM Systems, Algorithms, and Performance Analysis for 5G and Beyond

Filtered orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (F-OFDM) system is a promising waveform for 5G and beyond to enable the multi-service system and spectrum efficient network slicing. However, the performance for F-OFDM systems has not been systematically analyzed in the literature. In this paper, we first establish a mathematical model for an F-OFDM system and derive the conditions to achieve the interference-free one-tap channel equalization. In the practical cases (e.g., insufficient guard interval, asynchronous transmission, and so on), the analytical expressions for inter-symbol interference, inter-carrier interference, and adjacent-carrier interference are derived, where the last term is considered as one of the key factors for asynchronous transmissions. Based on the framework, an optimal power compensation matrix is derived to make all of the subcarriers having the same ergodic performance. Another key contribution of this paper is that we propose a multi-rate F-OFDM system to enable low-complexity low-cost communication scenarios, such as narrow-band Internet of Things, at the cost of generating inter-subband interference (ISubBI). Low computational complexity algorithms are proposed to cancel the ISubBI. The result shows that the derived analytical expressions match the simulation results, and the proposed ISubBI cancelation algorithms can significantly save the original F-OFDM complexity (up to 100 times) without significant performance loss.
A biosensor for MAPK-dependent Lin28 signaling

Intracellular levels of the RNA-binding protein and pluripotency factor, Lin28a, are tightly controlled to govern cellular and organismal growth. Lin28a is extensively regulated at the posttranscriptional level, and can undergo mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)–mediated elevation from low basal levels in differentiated cells by phosphorylation-dependent stabilizing interaction with the RNA-silencing factor HIV TAR RNA-binding protein (TRBP). However, molecular and spatiotemporal details of this critical control mechanism remained unknown. In this work, we dissect the interacting regions of Lin28a and TRBP proteins and develop biosensors to visualize this interaction. We identify truncated domains of Lin28a and of TRBP that are sufficient to support coassociation and mutual elevation of protein levels, and a requirement for MAPK-dependent phosphorylation of TRBP at putative Erk-target serine 152, as well as Lin28a serine 200 phosphorylation, in mediating the increase of Lin28a protein by TRBP. The phosphorylation-dependent association of Lin28a and TRBP truncated constructs is leveraged to develop fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based sensors for dynamic monitoring of Lin28a and TRBP interaction. We demonstrate the response of bimolecular and unimolecular FRET sensors to growth factor stimulation in living cells, with coimaging of Erk activation to achieve further understanding of the role of MAPK signaling in Lin28a regulation.
Combined Staining Techniques for Demonstration of Staphylococcus aureus Biofilm in Routine Histopathology

Aim: Visualization of Staphylococcus aureus biofilm using histochemical staining and combined histochemistry (HC) and immunohistochemistry (IHC). Methods: The ability of S. aureus S54F9 to form biofilm was tested in vitro. Hereafter, infected bone tissue was collected from two different porcine models of osteomyelitis inoculated with S. aureus strain S54F9. The infection time was five and fifteen days, respectively. Twenty-five different histochemical staining protocols were tested in order to find the stains that could identify extracellular biofilm matrix. Protocols with an optimal visualization of biofilm extracellular matrix were combined with an immunohistochemical protocol based on a specific antibody against S. aureus. The combined protocols were applied to the tissue from the porcine models and to infected bone tissue from a child suffering from chronic staphylococcal osteomyelitis for more than a year. Results: S. aureus S54F9 showed an ability to form biofilm in vitro. Visualization of biofilm, i.e. bacterial cells and extracellular matrix in different colours, was seen when the immunohistochemical protocol was combined with Alcian Blue pH3, Luna and Methyl-pyronin green. The bacterial cells were red to light brown and the extracellular matrix either light blue, blue or orange depending on the histochemical stain. In the porcine models and the human case 10 and 90 percent, respectively, of the bacterial aggregates in a 100x magnification field displayed both the extracellular matrix and the bacterial cells simultaneously in two different colours. Conclusions: A combination of HC and IHC can be used to diagnose and characterise biofilm infections on a routine basis.
Elevated CRP at admission predicts post-stroke cognitive impairment in Han Chinese patients with intracranial arterial stenosis

Abstract Objectives: Elevated C-reactive protein (CRP) levels have been associated with cognitive deficits in certain patient populations, but whether this is also true of ischemic stroke patients is controversial. This study aims to examine the possible association between CRP concentration and post-stroke cognitive impairment (PSCI) in Han Chinese patients and to determine whether this association depends on intracranial arterial stenosis (ICAS). Methods: Patients with mild or moderate stroke admitted to a large regional medical center in Western China were consecutively enrolled in our study. Serum levels of CRP and ICAS severity were assessed at admission and cognitive status was assessed 6 months after stroke using the Six-Item Screener. Results: Of the 1116 patients included in our study, no association was observed between CRP levels at admission and cognitive performance at 6 months. However, among the subgroup of 311 patients with ICAS, a significant association did exist, and it persisted even after adjusting for potential confounders (OR 1.038, 95% CI 1.015–1.061). We did not find the same association in the subgroup of the patients without ICAS. Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is the first study to explore the effects of CRP on PSCI in Han Chinese with ICAS. Our findings indicate that higher CRP levels at admission are associated with subsequent cognitive decline in Han Chinese patients with ICAS following ischemic stroke. Further studies in other ethnic groups are needed to validate the use of CRP to predict dementia in ICAS patients.
The influence on group games on the relationship between children with disabilities and their healthy siblings: An experimental study.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the impact of group game activities among children with disabilities and their siblings. METHODS This case-control study was conducted between July and September, 2015, at a rehabilitation centre in Zonguldak province, Turkey. The experimental group comprised children having disabilities, while the control group had healthy siblings and their mothers. The children were directed to play various games with their siblings over a period of four weeks, after which the instruments were administered once again. The groups were compared using Schaeffer Sibling Behaviour Rating Scale-Sibling's Form. SPSS 21 was used to analyse the data. RESULTS There were eight children each in the two groups with a mean age of 8.50±2.07 years in the experimental group and 8.37±2.32 years in the control group. A significant difference between the experimental (5.62±2.55) and control group (3.12±0.35) was only found in the sub-scale of physical aggression (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS The group activities had a positive effect on the children.
Population Density, Not Host Competence, Drives Patterns of Disease in an Invaded Community

Generalist parasites can strongly influence interactions between native and invasive species. Host competence can be used to predict how an invasive species will affect community disease dynamics; the addition of a highly competent, invasive host is predicted to increase disease. However, densities of invasive and native species can also influence the impacts of invasive species on community disease dynamics. We examined whether information on host competence alone could be used to accurately predict the effects of an invasive host on disease in native hosts. We first characterized the relative competence of an invasive species and a native host species to a native parasite. Next, we manipulated species composition in mesocosms and found that host competence results did not accurately predict community dynamics. While the invasive host was more competent than the native, the presence of the native (lower competence) host increased disease in the invasive (higher competence) host. To identify potential mechanisms driving these patterns, we analyzed a two-host, one-parasite model parameterized for our system. Our results demonstrate that patterns of disease were primarily driven by relative population densities, mediated by asymmetry in intra- and interspecific competition. Thus, information on host competence alone may not accurately predict how an invasive species will influence disease in native species.
Identificación de lengua de señas mediante técnicas de procesamiento de imágenes

This work deals with the processing of images obtained from a digital camera in order to characterize them using basic computer vision techniques. The transformations in the frequency domain can be defined as basic techniques. The application of different techniques has as an objective the identification of signs that come from the Mexican Sign Language, in particular signs of the static type as one subset of the alphabet. As a sample of the approach, the development of a prototype is presented in order to help a person in the correct realization of signs.
Dental pulp regeneration via cell homing

The typical treatment for irreversibly inflamed/necrotic pulp tissue is root canal treatment. As an alternative approach, regenerative endodontics aims to regenerate dental pulp-like tissues using two possible strategies: cell transplantation and cell homing. The former requires exogenously transplanted stem cells, complex procedures and high costs; the latter employs the host's endogenous cells to achieve tissue repair/regeneration, which is more clinically translatable. This systematic review examines cell homing for dental pulp regeneration, selecting articles on in vitro experiments, in vivo ectopic transplantation models and in situ pulp revascularization. MEDLINE/PubMed and Scopus databases were electronically searched for articles without limits in publication date. Two reviewers independently screened and included papers according to the predefined selection criteria. The electronic searches identified 46 studies. After title, abstract and full-text examination, 10 articles met the inclusion criteria. In vitro data highlighted that multiple cytokines have the capacity to induce migration, proliferation and differentiation of dental pulp stem/progenitor cells. The majority of the in vivo studies obtained regenerated connective pulp-like tissues with neovascularization. In some cases, the samples showed new innervation and new dentine deposition. The in situ pulp revascularization regenerated intracanal pulp-like tissues with neovascularization, innervation and dentine formation. Cell homing strategies for pulp regeneration need further understanding and improvement if they are to become a reliable and effective approach in endodontics. Nevertheless, cell homing currently represents the most clinically viable pathway for dental pulp regeneration.
Fusion of Compositional Network-based and Lexical Function Distributional Semantic Models

Distributional Semantic Models (DSMs) have been successful at modeling the meaning of individual words, with interest recently shift- ing to compositional structures, i.e., phrases and sentences. Network-based DSMs repre- sent and handle semantics via operators ap- plied on word neighborhoods, i.e., seman- tic graphs containing a target's most similar words. We extend network-based DSMs to address compositionality using an activation model (motivated by psycholinguistics) that operates on the fused neighborhoods of vari- able size activation. The proposed method is evaluated against and combined with the lexi- cal function method proposed by (Baroni and Zamparelli, 2010). We show that, by fusing a network-based with a lexical function model, performance gains can be achieved.
Non-Proximal Renal Tubule-Derived Urinary Exosomal miR-200b as a Biomarker of Renal Fibrosis

Background: Renal fibrosis is a common outcome of nearly all kinds of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and eventually progresses to end-stage renal disease. The identification of an optimal biomarker of renal fibrosis to replace the invasive renal biopsy will have important clinical implications. Methods: We isolated urinary exosomes from 50 participants and examined the exosomal protein content and particle number in 38 CKD patients with different degrees of renal fibrosis and in 12 normal individuals. We examined the levels of exosomal microRNAs (miRNAs), namely, miR-200a, miR-200b, miR-200c, miR-141, miR-429, miR-29a, miR-29b, miR-29c, miR-192, and miR-21, by sorting the exosomes and comparing the levels of proximal tubular, non-proximal tubular, and total exosomal miR-200b. Results: The exosome content was higher in the CKD group, but no differences were evident among the mild, moderate, and severe fibrosis groups. Among the 10 exosomal miRNAs, miR-200b was lower in the CKD group than in the normal group and decreased more significantly with fibrosis progression as well as in IgA nephropathy and diabetic kidney disease. CD13+ CD63+ exosomes constituted 18.6% of all urinary exosomes. Sorting the proximal tubular exosomes with the CD13 protein marker revealed that miR-200b in the CD13+ group was extremely low; however, the result was significantly different in the CD13– group but not in the CD13+ group. The magnitude of the decline was greater in the CD13– groups than in the non-sorted whole groups between the fibrosis and normal patients. Conclusions: Non-proximal renal tubule-derived urinary exosomal miR-200b is a biomarker of renal fibrosis. Exosomes can be used as a liquid biopsy and may replace the traditional invasive renal biopsy in the diagnosis of renal fibrosis.