Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Neuroimaging in traumatic brain imaging

SummaryTraumatic brain injury (TBI) is a common and potentially devastating clinical problem. Because prompt proper management of TBI sequelae can significantly alter the clinical course especially within 48 h of the injury, neuroimaging techniques have become an important part of the diagnostic work up of such patients. In the acute setting, these imaging studies can determine the presence and extent of injury and guide surgical planning and minimally invasive interventions. Neuroimaging also can be important in the chronic therapy of TBI, identifying chronic sequelae, determining prognosis, and guiding rehabilitation.
Association of Lipid Profile Parameters with High-Sensitive Câreactive Protein (hsCRP) in Patients with Dyslipidemia

Dyslipidemia & local inflammation are the two major determinants of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Atherosclerosis leads to inflammation which is triggered by dyslipidemia. In this study we have tried to find out a correlation between lipid profile parameters & hsCRP, which is a very sensitive marker for inflammation. In this study hsCRP and the Lipid profile parameters were estimated in fifty two patients who visited the medicine OPD of College of Medicine & JNM Hospital, Kalyani. The results obtained indicate a strong significant positive correlation of total cholesterol (p value <0.001) and triglycerides (p value=0.032) with hsCRP and a negative correlation of HDL (p value=0.36) with the same. These results indicate that there may be a role for hsCRP in screening and risk stratification of atherosclerosis.
Functional Characterization of Germline Mutations in PDGFB and PDGFRB in Primary Familial Brain Calcification

Primary Familial Brain Calcification (PFBC), a neurodegenerative disease characterized by progressive pericapillary calcifications, has recently been linked to heterozygous mutations in PDGFB and PDGFRB genes. Here, we functionally analyzed several of these mutations in vitro. All six analyzed PDGFB mutations led to complete loss of PDGF-B function either through abolished protein synthesis or through defective binding and/or stimulation of PDGF-Rβ. The three analyzed PDGFRB mutations had more diverse consequences. Whereas PDGF-Rβ autophosphorylation was almost totally abolished in the PDGFRB L658P mutation, the two sporadic PDGFRB mutations R987W and E1071V caused reductions in protein levels and specific changes in the intensity and kinetics of PLCγ activation, respectively. Since at least some of the PDGFB mutations were predicted to act through haploinsufficiency, we explored the consequences of reduced Pdgfb or Pdgfrb transcript and protein levels in mice. Heterozygous Pdgfb or Pdgfrb knockouts, as well as double Pdgfb +/-;Pdgfrb +/- mice did not develop brain calcification, nor did Pdgfrb redeye/redeye mice, which show a 90% reduction of PDGFRβ protein levels. In contrast, Pdgfb ret/ret mice, which have altered tissue distribution of PDGF-B protein due to loss of a proteoglycan binding motif, developed brain calcifications. We also determined pericyte coverage in calcification-prone and non-calcification-prone brain regions in Pdgfb ret/ret mice. Surprisingly and contrary to our hypothesis, we found that the calcification-prone brain regions in Pdgfb ret/ret mice model had a higher pericyte coverage and a more intact blood-brain barrier (BBB) compared to non-calcification-prone brain regions. While our findings provide clear evidence that loss-of-function mutations in PDGFB or PDGFRB cause PFBC, they also demonstrate species differences in the threshold levels of PDGF-B/PDGF-Rβ signaling that protect against small-vessel calcification in the brain. They further implicate region-specific susceptibility factor(s) in PFBC pathogenesis that are distinct from pericyte and BBB deficiency.
An update on the treatment of pediatric-onset Langerhans cell histiocytosis through pharmacotherapy

ABSTRACT Introduction: Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) is a rare myeloid neoplasia driven by activation mutations alongside the MAPK pathway. Its broad spectrum of clinical manifestations and diverse course and clinical outcome, make interpretation of trial data difficult. Use of different stratification systems further complicates comparison among trials. Areas covered: This review summarizes the published data derived from prospective clinical trials from Phase II onwards. PubMed was searched using combinations of the keywords ‘Langerhans cell histiocytosis’, ‘histiocytosis X’, ‘pediatric’, ‘children’, ‘treatment’, and ‘therapy’. Only full-length papers published in English and German were included in the review. Expert opinion: Mortality in multisystem LCH is restricted to patients with involvement of risk organs (hematopoiesis, liver and spleen) at diagnosis, and is particularly high (up to 60–70%) if systemic therapy fails to control the disease. For the rest of the cohort, mortality is almost negligible, and the main challenges are disease relapses and related permanent consequences (encountered in up to 50% of the survivors). While systemic therapy has clearly improved survival of patients with most severe disease form, its role in providing sustained disease control and preventing permanent consequences in patients with ‘low risk’ disease is less clear.
ROLES FOR MODULARITY AND CONSTRAINT IN THE EVOLUTION OF CRANIAL DIVERSITY AMONG ANOLIS LIZARDS

Complex organismal structures are organized into modules, suites of traits that develop, function, and vary in a coordinated fashion. By limiting or directing covariation among component traits, modules are expected to represent evolutionary building blocks and to play an important role in morphological diversification. But how stable are patterns of modularity over macroevolutionary timescales? Comparative analyses are needed to address the macroevolutionary effect of modularity, but to date few have been conducted. We describe patterns of skull diversity and modularity in Caribbean Anolis lizards. We first diagnose the primary axes of variation in skull shape and then examine whether diversification of skull shape is concentrated to changes within modules or whether changes arose across the structure as a whole. We find no support for the hypothesis that cranial modules are conserved as species diversify in overall skull shape. Instead we find that anole skull shape and modularity patterns independently converge. In anoles, skull modularity is evolutionarily labile and may reflect the functional demands of unique skull shapes. Our results suggest that constraints have played little role in limiting or directing the diversification of head shape in Anolis lizards.
An efficient self-organizing map (E-SOM) learning algorithm using group of neurons

AbstractIn the learning process of the conventional SOM, the neuron which is closer to the winner neuron learns more than the neuron which is farther away from the winner neuron. The neurons farther away from input are not able to learn properly and some dead units are left on the map. To decrease dead unit problem and improve the learning efficiency, an efficient Self-organzing map algorithm using group of neurons has been proposed. In this paper, we have divided the neurons on the map into two groups according to distance from input: normal and distant. The neurons which are far away from the input have been named distant neurons. We have done some changes in the kernel function for the distant neurons and then compared the learning efficiency of the algorithms by applying on standard input dataset. The results have been compared using three well known parameters, which are widely accepted for checking the learning efficiency of machine learning algorithms. It has been observed from the experimental res.
Characteristics of crystalline silica (SiO2) particles prepared by simple solution method using sodium silicate (Na2SiO3) precursor

The crystalline silica (SiO2) particle is successfully prepared using simple solution method from sodium silicate (Na2SiO3) precursor. The FTIR spectrum of the sample confirms the presence of SiO2. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) shows that the sample is cristobalite type of SiO2 which is comparable with ICSD ref. number of 01-076-0941. The crystallite size is about 28 nm as calculated by Scherrer method and the average particle diameter was about 697 nm as confirmed by Particle Size Analyzer (PSA) measurement. The Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) image reveals that the sample reveal micro-flake with irregular rod-shaped morphology. The purity of sample is examined by X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) which shows about 93.1 mass % of pure SiO2 whereas, the purity of the raw precursor Na2SiO3 before synthesis is about 60.5 Mass %. The synthesized SiO2 particles can be used for several applications, where SiO2 is used in its crystalline phase.
Low-dose cadmium exposure exacerbates polyhexamethylene guanidine-induced lung fibrosis in mice

ABSTRACT Cadmium (Cd) is a toxic metal present in tobacco smoke, air, food, and water. Inhalation is an important route of Cd exposure, and lungs are one of the main target organs for metal-induced toxicity. Cd inhalation is associated with an increased risk of pulmonary diseases. The present study aimed to assess the effects of repeated exposure to low-dose Cd in a mouse model of polyhexamethylene guanidine (PHMG)-induced lung fibrosis. Mice were grouped into the following groups: vehicle control (VC), PHMG, cadmium chloride (CdCl2), and PHMG + CdCl2. Animals in the PHMG group exhibited increased numbers of total cells and inflammatory cells in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) accompanied by inflammation and fibrosis in lung tissues. These parameters were exacerbated in mice in the PHMG + CdCl2 group. In contrast, mice in the CdCl2 group alone displayed only minimal inflammation in pulmonary tissue. Expression of inflammatory cytokines and fibrogenic mediators was significantly elevated in lungs of mice in the PHMG group compared with that VC. Further, expression of these cytokines and mediators was enhanced in pulmonary tissue in mice administered PHMG + CdCl2. Data demonstrate that repeated exposure to low-dose Cd may enhance the development of PHMG-induced pulmonary fibrosis.
The Uremic Toxin Indoxyl Sulfate Accelerates Thrombotic Response after Vascular Injury in Animal Models

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients are at high risk for thrombotic events. Indoxyl sulfate (IS) is one of the most potent uremic toxins that accumulates during CKD. Even though IS is associated with an increased risk for cardiovascular disease, its impact on thrombotic events still remains not fully understood. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the direct effect of IS on thrombotic process. We examined the impact of acute exposure to IS on thrombus development induced by electric current in Wistar rats, intravital thrombus formation after laser-induced injury in the mice endothelium, coagulation profile, clot formation dynamics, platelet aggregations, and erythrocyte osmotic resistance. IS doses: 10, 30 and 100 mg/kg body weight (b.w.) increased weight of thrombus induced by electric current in dose-dependent manner (p < 0.001). Furthermore, two highest IS doses increased laser-induced thrombus formation observed via confocal system (increase in fluorescence intensity and total thrombus area (p < 0.01)). Only the highest IS dose decreased clotting time (p < 0.01) and increased maximum clot firmness (p < 0.05). IS did not affect blood morphology parameters and erythrocyte osmotic resistance, but augmented collagen-induced aggregation. Obtained data indicate that IS creates prothrombotic state and contributes to more stable thrombus formation. Thus, we concluded that IS may be one of crucial uremic factors promoting thrombotic events in CKD patients.
The collectivity of changes in alcohol consumption revisited.

AIMS Within-country temporal changes in alcohol consumption in the United States, Finland and Norway were examined to assess (i) whether a change in mean alcohol consumption is accompanied by a change in the prevalence of heavy drinkers, (ii) whether this mean change reflects a collective displacement in the whole distribution of consumption and (iii) whether collective displacement is found for both an upward and a downward shift in mean consumption. METHODS We applied repeated cross-sectional survey data on distribution measures for estimated annual alcohol consumption from national population sample surveys covering 30-40-year periods in two countries with increasing trends in mean consumption (Finland and Norway) and one country with decreasing trends (the United States). RESULTS There was a strong positive association (P < 0.001) between changes in mean consumption and changes in the prevalence of heavy drinkers in all three countries. Moreover, a change in mean consumption was accompanied by a consumption change in the same direction in all consumer categories in all three countries, i.e. a collective displacement. The regression coefficients were approximately 1. CONCLUSIONS Drinkers at all levels of consumption appear to move in concert, both up and down the consumption scale, in Finland, Norway and the United States, as predicted by Skog's theory of the collectivity of drinking cultures.
Dopamine transporter density of striatum showed to be increased in Schizophrenia first-episode drug-naïve patients

Background: Successful treatment with dopamine antagonists plays a crucial role of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. Little is known, however, about the dopaminergic function in schizophrenia and there is a controversy among different studies. Methods: We evaluated the pre-synaptic dopamine transporter density with SPECT using 123I-FP-CIT (DaT Scan), in 15 drug-naive patients (10 F, 5 M) (27±3 years old) with first-episode of schizophrenia and 20 (12 F, 8 M) (30±8 years old) healthy controls. All the patients underwent MRI, perfusion SPECT using HMPAO and DaT Scan. Results: A significant increase of striatal radiotracer uptake in DaT scan was shown in our patients with schizophrenia compared to normal group (p=0.000), while rCBF in these regions didn’t show any significant difference. Also significant negative correlations were found between 123I-FP-CIT binding ratios in right and left caudate nuclei and right striatum with positive symptoms of patients. Conclusion: Elevated density of presynaptic dopamine transporters, may be part of the neuro-pathological abnormality which is associated with dopaminergic activity in schizophrenia. Correspondence to: Fereshteh Sedaghat, Marmara 21, 55132 Kalamaria, Thessaloniki, Greece; E-mail: feresh@med.auth. gr
Recovering shape and spatially-varying surface reflectance under unknown illumination

We present a novel integrated approach for estimating both spatially-varying surface reflectance and detailed geometry from a video of a rotating object under unknown static illumination. Key to our method is the decoupling of the recovery of normal and surface reflectance from the estimation of surface geometry. We define an apparent normal field with corresponding reflectance for each point (including those not on the object's surface) that best explain the observations. We observe that the object's surface goes through points where the apparent normal field and corresponding reflectance exhibit a high degree of consistency with the observations. However, estimating the apparent normal field requires knowledge of the unknown incident lighting. We therefore formulate the recovery of shape, surface reflectance, and incident lighting, as an iterative process that alternates between estimating shape and lighting, and simultaneously recovers surface reflectance at each step. To recover the shape, we first form an initial surface that passes through locations with consistent apparent temporal traces, followed by a refinement that maximizes the consistency of the surface normals with the underlying apparent normal field. To recover the lighting, we rely on appearance-from-motion using the recovered geometry from the previous step. We demonstrate our integrated framework on a variety of synthetic and real test cases exhibiting a wide variety of materials and shape.
Assessment of prescribing, dispensing, and patient use pattern of antihypertensive drugs for patients attending outpatient department of Hiwot Fana Specialized University Hospital, Harar, Eastern Ethiopia

Background Hypertension is a global concern and is one of the key preventable risk factors for cardiovascular events, resulting in unnecessary morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study was to assess the prescribing, dispensing and patient use pattern of antihypertensive drugs among patients attending Hiwot Fana Specialized University Hospital outpatient department. Methods A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Hiwot Fana Specialized University Hospital on assessment of the prescribing, dispensing, and patient use pattern of antihypertensive drugs among patients who were above the age of 18 years and attending outpatient department from April 1–May 31, 2013. Data collection was conducted by reviewing the record of patients and direct observation of the dispensing process of randomly selected patients to measure average dispensing time, and direct interview with the patients. Results A total of 400 patients met the inclusion criteria; out of the 400 patients studied, 63.5% were females. Most of the patients had Stage 1 hypertension (69%), followed by Stage 2 hypertension (31%). Out of the total number of patients, 264 were with different comorbid conditions: diabetes mellitus (64.3%), followed by congestive heart failure (15.1%) and ischemic heart disease (2.3%). The most frequently prescribed class of antihypertensive drugs was diuretics, of which hydrochlorothiazide was the most frequently prescribed drug, both in single (55%), followed by enalapril (22.3%), methyl dopa (11.2%), atenolol (6.9%), and nifedipine (4.6%), and in combination with other antihypertensive drugs. The average dispensing time was 1.2 minutes, and 75% of the patients left the counter with inadequate information about the dosage. Conclusion All antihypertensive drugs prescribed were in compliance with the Ethiopian Standard Treatment Guidelines. This study showed that most outpatients with hypertension in our hospital received monotherapy. Diuretics and angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors were the most frequently prescribed classes of antihypertensive drugs in both monotherapy and combination therapy.
Global trends of local ecological knowledge and future implications

Local and indigenous knowledge is being transformed globally, particularly being eroded when pertaining to ecology. In many parts of the world, rural and indigenous communities are facing tremendous cultural, economic and environmental changes, which contribute to weaken their local knowledge base. In the face of profound and ongoing environmental changes, both cultural and biological diversity are likely to be severely impacted as well as local resilience capacities from this loss. In this global literature review, we analyse the drivers of various types of local and indigenous ecological knowledge transformation and assess the directionality of the reported change. Results of this analysis show a global impoverishment of local and indigenous knowledge with 77% of papers reporting the loss of knowledge driven by globalization, modernization, and market integration. The recording of this loss, however, is not symmetrical, with losses being recorded more strongly in medicinal and ethnobotanical knowledge. Persistence of knowledge (15% of the studies) occurred in studies where traditional practices were being maintained consiously and where hybrid knowledge was being produced as a resut of certain types of incentives created by economic development. This review provides some insights into local and indigenous ecological knowledge change, its causes and implications, and recommends venues for the development of replicable and comparative research. The larger implication of these results is that because of the interconnection between cultural and biological diversity, the loss of local and indigenous knowledge is likely to critically threaten effective conservation of biodiversity, particularly in community-based conservation local efforts.
Effect of heat treatment on tribological behavior of forged steel balls

The grinding balls work under severe wear conditions. Different stresses taking place during the grinding operation may cause material wear whose rate differs from material type or manufacturing process. As a result, these numerous stresses can alter the life cycle of the material. In the grinding field, there are grinding bodies made of chromium cast iron and forged steel. In several aspects, chromium cast iron balls differ widely from the forged steel balls. Heat treatment is a recommended solution to improve the wear behavior of grinding balls. It promotes the precipitation of preferred microstructural phases and consequently better mechanical properties. The scope of this work is to study the effect of the austenitization temperature on the tribological behavior of forged steel balls intended for raw material grinding in cement industry. Three austenitization temperatures are used: 870dC, 950dC and 1150dC. A normal load of 10 N is applied to estimate the wear mechanism induced during a travel of 20 meter. Microhardness measurements, optical and SEM macrographs and 3D roughness views measurements are carried out on the generated wear grooves for each heat treatment test. The obtained results relate the effect of the heat treatment temperature and the applied force on the tribological behavior of the studied samples.
GFI1 is required for RUNX1/ETO positive acute myeloid leukemia

Author(s): Marneth, Anna E; Botezatu, Lacramioara; Hones, Judith M; Israel, Jimmy CL; Schutte, Judith; Vassen, Lothar; Lams, Robert F; Bergevoet, Saskia M; Groothuis, Laura; Mandoli, Amit; Martens, Joost HA; Huls, Gerwin; Jansen, Joop H; Duhrsen, Ulrich; Berg, Tobias; Moroy, Tarik; Wichmann, Christian; Lo, Mia-Chia; Zhang, Dong-Er; van der Reijden, Bert A; Khandanpour, Cyrus
A Comparative Study of Effectiveness of Steel Plate Shear Wall Patterns in Steel Building

Steel buildings prone to lateral loads responds well if provided with SPSW. SPSW is more effective for lateral loads as they are more ductile, lighter and lesser space occupants. SPSW systems are used in high-rise buildings as retrofitting also. Now a days conventional SPSW are more preferred in steel buildings. By keeping the view in mind, an effort has been made to check the effectiveness of different patterns of SPSW. For the same, bare-frame is compared with Conventional SPSW, X–type SPSW and Diagonal SPSW. Strip modelling is used to analyse SPSW in building using ETABS software. The load considered are primary loads and earthquake load as Static coefficient method from IS 1893:2002. The maximum displacement and axial forces are compared to get effective pattern.