Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Diagnostic Yield of Combined Lumbar Puncture and Brain MRI in Critically Ill Patients With Unexplained Acute Encephalopathy: A Retrospective Cohort Study

IMPORTANCE: Critically ill patients frequently experience acute encephalopathy, often colloquially termed “altered mental status” (AMS); however, there are no consensus guidelines or criteria about performing lumbar puncture (LP) and advanced neuroimaging in medical ICU patients with unexplained encephalopathy. OBJECTIVES: We sought to characterize the yield of combined LP and brain MRI (bMRI) in such patients as determined by both the frequency of abnormal results and the therapeutic efficacy of these investigations, that is, how often results changed management. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Retrospective cohort study of medical ICU patients admitted to a tertiary academic center between 2012 and 2018 who had documented diagnoses of “AMS” and/or synonymous terms, no clear etiology of encephalopathy, and had undergone both LP and bMRI. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The primary outcome was the frequency of abnormal diagnostic testing results determined objectively for LP using cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) findings and subjectively for bMRI through team agreement on imaging findings deemed significant through retrospective chart review. We subjectively determined the frequency of therapeutic efficacy. Finally, we analyzed the effect of other clinical variables on the likelihood of discovering abnormal CSF and bMRI findings through chi-square tests and multivariate logistic regression. RESULTS: One hundred four patients met inclusion criteria. Fifty patients (48.1%) had an abnormal CSF profile or definitive microbiological or cytological data by LP, 44 patients (42.3%) had bMRI with significant abnormal findings, and 74 patients (71.2%) had abnormal results on at least one of these investigations. Few clinical variables were associated with the abnormal findings in either investigation. We judged 24.0% (25/104) of bMRI and 26.0% (27/104) of LPs to have therapeutic efficacy with moderate interobserver reliability. CONCLUSIONS: Determining when to perform combined LP and bMRI in ICU patients with unexplained acute encephalopathy must rely on clinical judgment. These investigations have a reasonable yield in this selected population.
Nonlinear instability and chaos in plasma wave-wave interactions. II. Numerical methods and results

In Part I of this work and Physics of Plasmas, June 1995, the behavior of linearly stable, integrable systems of waves in a simple plasma model was described using a Hamiltonian formulation. It was shown that explosive instability arises from nonlinear coupling between modes of positive and negative energy, with well-defined threshold amplitudes depending on the physical parameters. In this concluding paper, the nonintegrable case is treated numerically. Several sets of waves are considered, comprising systems of two and three degrees of freedom. The time evolution is modelled with an explicit symplectic integration algorithm derived using Lie algebraic methods. When initial wave amplitudes are large enough to support two-wave decay interactions, strongly chaotic motion destroys the separatrix bounding the stable region for explosive triplets. Phase space orbits then experience diffusive growth to amplitudes that are sufficient for explosive instability, thus effectively reducing the threshold amplitude. For initial amplitudes too small to drive decay instability, small perturbations might still grow to arbitrary size via Arnold diffusion. Numerical experiments do not show diffusion in this case, although the actual diffusion rate is probably underestimated due to the simplicity of the model.
Prognostic value of pretreatment systemic immune-inflammation index in Chinese esophageal squamous cell carcinoma patients receiving radical radiotherapy: A meta-analysis

Background: The association between pretreatment systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) and long-term survival among Chinese esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) patients who received radical radiotherapy remains unclear. The aim of this study was to identify the prognostic role of pretreatment SII in Chinese ESCC patients receiving radical radiotherapy based on current evidence. Methods: The PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science and CNKI databases were searched up to March 18, 2023. Primary and secondary outcomes were overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS), respectively. The hazard ratios (HRs) with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were combined to assess the predictive role of pretreatment SII for long-term survival of Chinese ESCC patients receiving radiotherapy. All statistical analyses were conducted by STATA 15.0 software. Results: A total of 8 eligibility studies involving 2101 cases were included in this meta-analysis. The pooled results demonstrated that elevated pretreatment SII was significantly related to worse OS (HR = 1.59, 95% CI: 1.24–2.02, P < .001) and PFS (HR = 1.33, 95% CI: 1.13–1.57, P < .001). Besides, subgroup based on TNM stage showed similar results. Conclusion: Pretreatment SII could serve as a novel prognostic factor in Chinese ESCC patients receiving definitive radiotherapy and patients with an elevated SII may experience poorer survival.
PERCEPTION MINING AND SENTIMENT ANALYSIS OF POLITICAL SOCIALIZATION AMONG TWITTER USERS IN THE 2023 NIGERIA GENERAL ELECTION

The study analyzes the applicability and political use of Twitter using sentiments and content (textual) analysis with the purpose of examining the pattern of online communications among Nigerian voters during the run up to the 2023 Nigerian General Elections (NGE23) to make prediction for winners. Naive Bayes, Support Vector Machine, and Random Forest were utilized to determine sentiment analysis for English tweets, while ICT specialists were employed to determine content analysis for the three key Nigerian languages – Igbo, Hausa
Automatic selection of a subset size at vector Helds construction

An algorithm for selection of the size of a correlation kernel at displacement vector field construction by the method of digital image correlation has been proposed. The algorithm has been tested on simulated and experimental optical images having different texture. The influence of the correlation kernel size and image texture on nose immunity at determining displacements has been studied. It is shown that the proposed algorithm allows to find this size providing the minimum error when determination of displacements and estimation of deformation.
Effect reduction of spurious fringes in interferometric measurement system

为了抑制杂散条纹的影响,提出了一种简单实用的单幅三表面干涉条纹傅里叶分析法,它根据三表面干涉时各个表面干涉的条纹调制度不同,从三表面干涉图的频谱中提取测试面的频谱,从而准确地恢复测试面的面形. 模拟结果证明了该方法的有效性,准确度可以达到λ/1 000. 实验表明:单幅三表面干涉条纹傅里叶分析法得到的面形形状与波长调谐时域傅里叶变化法和涂消光漆法得到的结果基本一致,PV值和RMS值与波长调谐时域傅里叶变化法相差分别为0. 001λ和0. 004λ,与涂消光漆法相差分别为0. 042λ和0. 019λ. 通过7次单幅三表面干涉条纹傅里叶分析法测量,得到PV和RMS值的重复性分别为0. 007 8λ和0. 002 6λ.
The species Dyschirius (Dyschiriodes) heydeni Fleischer, 1899 (Coleoptera: Carabidae) at both sides of the Strait of Gibraltar: update of its taxonomy, chorology and autoecology, with description of a new subspecies

Summary We report the first records of Dyschirius (Dyschiriodes) heydeni Fleischer, 1899 for the Iberian Peninsula. After comparative study of North African collection material, a new subspecies is proposed for Iberian populations: Dyschirius (Dyschiriodes) heydeni transcolumnalis n. ssp. We provide (re)descriptions and diagnoses of D. heydeni and its two subspecies, an update of the distribution range of the species and discussion on its autoecology. In addition, we assessed published data on the resembling species Dyschirius (Eudyschirius) globosus Herbst, 1784 in North Africa, and concluded that they result from incorrect identifications of D. heydeni. Reasons and implications of this finding are discussed.
Decision Tree Classification Based on Naive Bayesian and ID3 Algorithm

This paper proposes an improved decision tree classification algorithm based on naive Bayes algorithm and ID3 algorithm.It introduces objective attribute importance parameter,gives a kind of conditional independence assumption that is weaker than naive Bayesian algorithm,and uses the weighted independent information entropy as splitting attribute's selection criteria.Theoretical analysis and experimental results show that the improved algorithm,to a certain extent well overcomes ID3 algorithm's shortcoming of multi-value tendency,and improves algorithm's implementation efficiency and classification accuracy.
Sparsity-Based Multipath Exploitation for Through-the-Wall Radar Imaging

In this PhD thesis sparsity-based multipath exploitation methods are developed for through-the-wall radar imaging. This imaging modality uses the radar principle to reveal targets in a scene obscured by, for example, a building wall. The scattered electromagnetic wave returning from a target may reach the receiver via different propagation paths which is called multipath. This creates ambiguities in the measurements provoking unwanted ghost targets in the image. For image reconstruction, the aforementioned issue can be resolved by utilizing the sparsity of the scene. Hence, compressive sensing is employed to recover the positions of valid targets while suppressing ghosts. As an additional benefit, fewer measurements are required for image reconstruction. An additive multipath signal model is developed that includes returns from the targets of interest and the building structure. Incorporating the model in the image reconstruction methods allows exploitation of additional energy contained in secondary reflections. Multipath exploitation of stationary and moving targets employs compressive sensing. Therein, both sparsity and the structure originating from multipath propagation are utilized in the reconstruction problem. Moreover, the Doppler information contained in indirect propagation paths is investigated. A computationally efficient two-step approach is proposed that localizes the targets first. As a second step, the velocity vector is estimated from multipath Doppler. The scenario is extended to multiple compact radar modules, distributed around the scene. The reconstruction performance for closely-spaced and widely-separated placement is analyzed. This work also deals with adverse effects on the imaging results caused by signal interaction with the building structure. Returns from the front wall, so-called wall clutter, are normally suppressed using a pre-processing step. A joint wall signal and target image reconstruction approach is proposed that renders prior wall clutter mitigation unnecessary. Furthermore, the case of imperfect prior knowledge of the building layout is discussed. It is shown that errors in the position of interior walls lead to complete failure of multipath exploitation. The proposed joint wall position estimation and image reconstruction procedure can deal with uncertainties in the building layout. All proposed methods are evaluated using simulated as well as measured data from semi-controlled laboratory experiments.
Implementation of a four quadrant optic fibre bundle as a deflection sensor to get rid of heat sources in an AFM head

In the frame of developing a thermally passive atomic force microscope head, a new kind of 2D displacement sensor based on a four quadrant optic fibre bundle has been implemented. The aim is to replace the quad cell photodiode used in the optical beam deflection method to detect cantilever deflection. The use of the bundle as a position sensor has already been modelled and experimentally evaluated in a previous work. This article reports on the implementation of the bundle as a deflection sensor for atomic force microscopy. The main motivation for such a development was to reduce the heat sources in the instrument. To reach this goal the photodiode and its conditioning circuit used for the measurement of cantilever deflection has been externalized from the AFM head. For the same reason, the laser diode and its electronic driver have been deported using optic fibre. To test the AFM head prototype in real conditions, approach curves and AFM images have been performed. The results show that the bundle is very well suited for AFM applications that require very low heat sources such as metrological AFM where each error source has to be managed.
FORECASTING NIGERIAN ECONOMIC GROWTH BASED CORPORATE INCOME TAX

Developing countries like Nigeria have been hit hard by recent economic crises, and uncertainty is one of the characteristics that all prices and revenues share. A forecast of Nigerian economic growth was attempted using an artificial neural network (ANN) and statistical model to analyse the contribution of non-oil income tax generation to Nigerian economic development. While the primary objective is to develop and implement the proposed models capable of simulating a real non-oil income tax and evaluate their performances. The dataset (Corporate Income Tax) from 2015–2020 was obtained from the National Bureau of Statistics of Nigeria (NBSN). Three training algorithms for ANN were adopted, such as conjugate gradient back-propagation with Fletcher-Reeves restarts, Bayesian regularisation, and gradient descent with an adaptive learning rate, whereas in the statistical part, multiple linear regressions were applied. Comparing all the models revealed that the Bayesian regularisation produced more accurate results than the other models.
Follicular Lymphoma Microenvironment Traits Associated with Event-Free Survival

The majority of patients with Follicular Lymphoma (FL) experience subsequent phases of remission and relapse, making the disease “virtually” incurable. To predict the outcome of FL patients at diagnosis, various clinical-based prognostic scores have been proposed; nonetheless, they continue to fail for a subset of patients. Gene expression profiling has highlighted the pivotal role of the tumor microenvironment (TME) in the FL prognosis; nevertheless, there is still a need to standardize the assessment of immune-infiltrating cells for the prognostic classification of patients with early or late progressing disease. We studied a retrospective cohort of 49 FL lymph node biopsies at the time of the initial diagnosis using pathologist-guided analysis on whole slide images, and we characterized the immune repertoire for both quantity and distribution (intrafollicular, IF and extrafollicular, EF) of cell subsets in relation to clinical outcome. We looked for the natural killer (CD56), T lymphocyte (CD8, CD4, PD1) and macrophage (CD68, CD163, MA4A4A)-associated markers. High CD163/CD8 EF ratios and high CD56/MS4A4A EF ratios, according to Kaplan–Meier estimates were linked with shorter EFS (event-free survival), with the former being the only one associated with POD24. In contrast to IF CD68+ cells, which represent a more homogeneous population, higher in non-progressing patients, EF CD68+ macrophages did not stratify according to survival. We also identify distinctive MS4A4A+CD163-macrophage populations with different prognostic weights. Enlarging the macrophage characterization and combining it with a lymphoid marker in the rituximab era, in our opinion, may enable prognostic stratification for low-/high-grade FL patients beyond POD24. These findings warrant validation across larger FL cohorts.
Efficacy of post‑mastectomy radiotherapy in patients with T1‑2N1 breast cancer aged ≤35 years or with a positive HER‑2 status

Post-mastectomy radiotherapy (PMRT) is highly recommended for patients with breast cancer with one to three positive nodes; however, there remains some controversy regarding its use. The present retrospective study aimed to explore which patients may be able to avoid PMRT and its associated side effects. A total of 728 patients with T1-2N1 breast cancer who were treated with or without PMRT were included in the present study. The results suggested that PMRT significantly decreased the locoregional recurrence rate (LRR) [hazard ratio (HR)=5.602, 95% confidence interval (CI)=3.139-9.998, P<0.01; 3-year LRR: 4 vs. 17%] and improved overall survival (OS) (HR=0.651, 95% CI=0.437-0.971, P=0.03; 3-year OS: 91 vs. 87%) for patients with T1-2N1 breast cancer. By contrast, PMRT had no significant effect on the distant metastasis (DM) rate (HR=0.691, 95% CI=0.468-1.019, P=0.06; 3-year DM: 10 vs. 15%). Further stratified analysis revealed that PMRT did not reduce the LRR and DM, or improve OS in patients aged ≤35 years or in those with a positive human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER-2) status. The analysis of 438 patients treated with PMRT revealed that patients aged ≤35 years or those with a positive HER-2 status were more likely to experience local recurrence even following PMRT. Thus, the benefits of using PMRT in patients with T1-2N1 breast cancer who are aged ≤35 years or in those with a positive HER-2 status need to be carefully considered. Further studies are required to confirm whether this patient group may be exempted from PMRT.
Efficacy and safety of inhaled nitric oxide administered during cardiopulmonary bypass for pediatric cardiac surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background and aims: Cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) utilized for cardiac surgeries has been associated with significant mortality and adverse outcomes. The benefits of incorporating nitric oxide (NO) into the CPB circuit have been reported in terms of reduced inflammation, enhanced dynamic circulation, oxygenation, and end-organ function. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of inhaled NO introduced to the CPB circuit among pediatric patients undergoing various cardiac surgeries. Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted on 26 July 2022, using the electronic databases of PubMed, Cochrane, Scopus, and Web of Science to include randomized controlled trials, with no restriction regarding the date of study conduction. The quality of studies was assessed using the Cochrane tool. RevMan 5.3 software was used to analyze data in the inverse variance method, with pooling data as mean difference (MD), risk ratio, and 95% CI. Results: Six trials were included comprising 1666 children who had undergone the interventions of interest. All studies amenable to assessment were of good quality. NO was significantly superior to the control treatments regarding ventilation time (MD=−8.34; 95% CI [−14.50 to −2.17], P=0.008), postoperative interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels (MD=−0.50; 95% CI [−0.54 to −0.46], P<0.001), 24-h IL-6 levels (MD=−0.30; 95% CI [−0.32 to −0.20], P<0.001), and 24-h tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) levels (MD=−1.72; 95% CI [−3.44 to −1.00], P=0.05). The side effects of NO and the control treatments were comparable (P=0.9). Conclusion: NO administered as part of the CPB circuit during cardiac surgeries is efficacious in terms of reducing ventilation time, postoperative IL-6, and TNF-α levels compared to control, with a comparable safety profile.
Muslim women’s knowledge, views, and attitudes towards sexually transmitted infections in Saudi Arabia: A qualitative study

Background The cultural sensitivity surrounding sexuality in Islamic communities has an impact on awareness and prevention of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). This study explores Muslim women’s knowledge, views, and attitudes towards STIs and people living with HIV/AIDs in Saudi Arabia. Methods We conducted qualitative semi-structured interviews with Muslim women from Saudi Arabia. Interviews took place in a public hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in 2019. Data were transcribed, coded, and analysed using a reflexive thematic analysis. Results Twenty-eight women were interviewed, the majority were college educated and employed. Participants lacked knowledge about STIs, and there were significant misconceptions. The majority of women expressed extremely negative attitudes towards STIs, particularly towards people living with HIV/AIDS. Participants believed that judgemental attitudes and stigmatisation of people with HIV/AIDS were justified if an infection was transmitted through extramarital sex. Men were believed to be the source of STIs, and STIs were viewed as punishment from God for extramarital sexual relations that are forbidden in Islam. Protection against STIs was believed to be achieved by strengthening religious beliefs. Conclusion Attitudes towards people with STIs, HIV/AIDS in particular, were highly influenced by religious views towards extramarital sex, as well as lack of knowledge and misconceptions. There is an urgent need for accurate information and improved awareness of sexual health including STIs among Muslims in Saudi Arabia. Public health efforts should be directed towards reducing stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS in Saudi Arabia and other Islamic communities.
Identification of quantitative trait loci controlling soybean seed protein and oil content

Soybean is a major source of seed protein and oil globally with an average composition of 40% protein and 20% oil in the seed. The goal of this study was to identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) conferring seed protein and oil content utilizing a population constructed by crossing an above average protein content line, PI 399084 to another line that had a low protein content value, PI 507429, both from the USDA soybean germplasm collection. The recombinant inbred line (RIL) population, PI 507429 x PI 399084, was evaluated in two replications over four years (2018–2021); the seeds were analyzed for seed protein and oil content using near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy. The recombinant inbred lines and the two parents were re-sequenced using genotyping by sequencing. A total of 12,761 molecular markers, which came from genotyping by sequencing, the SoySNP6k BeadChip and selected simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers from known protein QTL chromosomal regions were used for mapping. One QTL was identified on chromosome 2 explaining up to 56.8% of the variation for seed protein content and up to 43% for seed oil content. Another QTL identified on chromosome 15 explained up to 27.2% of the variation for seed protein and up to 41% of the variation for seed oil content. The protein and oil QTLs of this study and their associated molecular markers will be useful in breeding to improve nutritional quality in soybean.
Use of eradication therapy in adjunction to periodontal therapy versus alone for treatment of Helicobacter pylori infections: a mini review

Background: Approximately 50% of the human population on the Earth is estimated to be affected by the bacterium Helicobacter pylori. which causes disease manifestations ranging from peptic ulcer disease to chronic gastritis to gastric cancer. It has been a struggle to contain this bacterium using conventional antibiotics due to rising antimicrobial resistance, which has made its eradication an even bigger challenge. Due to this major issue, scientists have ventured to use alternative approaches to bring about the eradication of H. pylori colonization. Aim: The main aim of this review was to update previous studies that investigated periodontal therapy’s effect on H. pylori eradication. Method: A systematic electronic search of the currently available research was conducted to identify all the relevant trials and original studies that compared the clinical effect of periodontal therapy in conjunction with eradication therapy. Results: The newly updated review of the literature did not change the conclusion previously reached and instead reinforced the fact with more power and more recent studies that the addition of periodontal therapy to eradication therapy for H. pylori is superior to the use of eradication therapy alone for H. pylori. Core Tip: The addition of periodontal therapy to the standard eradication therapy may be a clinically viable option and pave the way for tackling the H. pylori burden as well as aiding in the prevention of antimicrobial resistance to an extent, along with immensely increasing the efficacy of the standard eradication therapy for H. pylori that is currently in use around the world.