Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Nonlinear analysis: mathematical theory and biological applications.

Wiener's method of a nonlinear system analysis and its application to neurophysiology are surveyed. His theory is explained on the orthogonal functional series expansion of a nonlinear noise with respect to the Brownian motion whose formal derivative is understood as the white Gaussian noise. Then, efforts made for applying the method to practice are discussed. Special attention is paid on relationship between the internal structure of a given nonlinear system and its kernels of the functionals. This serves to explain a meaning of the kernels. Finally, following the works of one of the authors (K-I.N.) and his colleagues, the analysis of the catfish retinal neuron system is introduced as a typical and successful example of the applications in neurophysiology.
On the energy cost of authenticated key agreement in wireless sensor networks

Wireless sensors are battery-powered devices which are highly constrained in terms of computational capabilities, memory and communication bandwidth. While battery life is their main limitation, they require considerable energy to communicate data. Due to this, it turns out that the energy saving of computationally inexpensive primitives (like symmetric key cryptography (SKC)) can be nullified by the bigger amount of data they require to be sent. In this work, we study the energy cost of key agreement protocols between peers in a network using asymmetric key cryptography. Our main concern is to reduce the amount of data to be exchanged, which can be done by using special cryptographic paradigms like identity-based and self-certified cryptography. The main news is that an intensive computational primitive for resource-constrained devices, such as non-interactive identity-based authenticated key exchange, performs comparably or even better than traditional authenticated key exchange (AKE) in a variety of scenarios. Moreover, protocols based in this primitive can provide better security properties in real deployments than other simple protocols based on symmetric cryptography. Our findings illustrate to what extent the latest implementation advancements push the efficiency boundaries of public key cryptography (PKC) in wireless sensor networks (WSNs). Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Impact of initial symptom for accurate diagnosis of vertebral artery dissection

Background It has been recognized that spontaneous vertebral artery dissection without neurological symptoms is not rare and easily misdiagnosed. Clinical clue for diagnosis of vertebral artery dissection includes initial symptoms such as headache, neck pain, or dizziness. Aim To assess the role of initial symptoms for diagnosis of spontaneous vertebral artery dissection. Methods Between September 2007 and January 2014, we retrospectively reviewed clinical records of 83 patients with unilateral vertebral artery dissection without consciousness disturbance at admission. Based on the diagnostic criteria of the Spontaneous Cervicocephalic Arterial Dissections Study, the patients were divided into three groups: possible, probable, and definite cases of vertebral artery dissection. Initial symptoms were collected at the time of diagnosis from medical record for the presence or absence of headache, neck pain, tinnitus and vertigo, as well as the area of pain and its characteristics. Results The numbers of definite, probable, and possible vertebral artery dissection were 39, 26, and 18, respectively. Out of 83 cases, unilateral or bilateral headache was the most commonly seen (in 60 cases), followed by neck pain (in 41 cases) and vertigo (in 20 cases). Statistically, unilateral headache and/or neck pain was more common in cases with definite vertebral artery dissection group compared with other classification of the Spontaneous Cervicocephalic Arterial Dissections Study (P = 0.040). Vertigo was also associated with the stratification of Spontaneous Cervicocephalic Arterial Dissections Study criteria (P = 0.012). Conclusions In our study, headache and/or neck pain, especially unilateral presentation, and vertigo were symptoms associated with the stratification of Spontaneous Cervico-cephalic Arterial Dissections Study criteria. Physicians should carefully obtain clinical history for the presence of a unilateral headache and/or neck pain and vertigo when vertebral artery dissection is suspected in patients with or without objective neurological signs.
Makeup-Invariant Face Recognition by 3D Face: Modeling and Dual-Tree Complex Wavelet Transform from Women's 2D Real-World Images

In this paper, a novel feature extraction method is proposed to handle facial makeup in face recognition. To develop a face recognition method robust to facial makeup, features are extracted from face depth in which facial makeup is not effective. Then, face depth features are added to face texture features to perform feature extraction. Accordingly, a 3D face is reconstructed from only a single 2D frontal image with/without facial expressions. Then, the texture and depth of the face are extracted from the reconstructed model. Afterwards, the Dual-Tree Complex Wavelet Transform (DT-CWT) is applied to both texture and reconstructed depth of the face to extract the feature vectors from both texture and reconstructed depth images. Finally, by combining 2D and 3D feature vectors, the final feature vectors are generated and classified by the Support Vector Machine (SVM). Promising results were achieved for makeup-invariant face recognition on the available image database based on the present method compared to several state-of-the-art methods.
Protein binding of 99Tcm-DTPA compared with other GFR tracers

99Tcm-Diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (99Tcm-DTPA) has been postulated to be more bound to plasma proteins than are other radiopharmaceuticals used for measurement of glomerular filtration rate (GFR). The results of protein binding experiments are, however, highly related to methodology. The aim of the present study was to compare the protein binding of the 99Tcm-DTPA preparation we use in our daily routine with that of the other five 99Tcm-DTPA preparations available and with other GFR tracers by using the same ultrafiltration method. Protein binding was studied in vitro after incubation in donor plasma and in vivo after single injection in patients. A correction for the uneven distribution of ultrafiltrable ions (‘Donnan effect’) was included. Quality control of six 99Tcm-DTPA preparations performed with thin layer chromatography showed a high labelling efficiency (96.2-99.9%). The in vitro protein binding ranged from 9.25% to 11.12%. The in vitro protein binding of 99Tcm-DTPA was not significantly different from that of 51Cr-ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (51Cr-EDTA) and 125I-iothalamate (10.99% vs 12.15% and 9.55%). There was no difference in the in vivo protein binding of 99Tcm-DTPA 5 and 40 min after injection (13.28% vs 12.58%), and there was no difference in the protein binding of 99Tcm-DTPA and 51Cr-EDTA (12.93% vs 12.54%). In conclusion, in vitro and in vivo protein binding of 99Tcm-DTPA was 10-13%. The protein binding was not different from the binding of 51Cr-EDTA and 125I-iothalamate.
Who is at risk of receiving inadequate care for osteoporosis following fragility fractures? A retrospective study.

BACKGROUND Osteoporosis is considered the most common bone disease in humans and the most common cause of fractures. OBJECTIVES To identify possible risk factors associated with a low level of care for osteoporosis in patients presenting acutely with the major types of fragility fractures, as well as in patients who remain undertreated following their discharge. METHODS We conducted a retrospective questionnaire-based cohort study. We searched our databases for patients admitted acutely with proximal humerus, distal forearm, thoraco-lumbar spine, and proximal femur fractures. A questionnaire was used to evaluate osteoporotic care including a referral to DEXA and any associated prescribed medication. RESULTS The study group included 114 patients or their caregivers. The osteoporosis care rate rose from 56.1% (n = 64) before admission to 71% (n = 81) at follow-up. Significant risk factors associated with a decreased care rate prior to admission were the presence of fewer than three comorbidities and a combination of male gender and young age. Continued neglect at follow-up was associated with the opposite risk factors, such as older age, multiple comorbidities, and polypharmacy. An additional finding was that treated patients had a significantly increased likelihood of presenting with vertebral fractures. CONCLUSIONS While the association of osteoporosis with the elderly may decrease screening rates among younger and healthier patients, fragility fractures may be viewed as "endstage" bone disease, rendering osteoporotic care inefficient.
A prospective comparison of standard-dose CT enterography and 50% reduced-dose CT enterography with and without noise reduction for evaluating Crohn disease.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to prospectively compare standard-dose CT enterography (CTE) and 50% reduced-dose CTE, obtained with and without an image noise reduction method, in the evaluation of Crohn disease. SUBJECTS AND METHODS Ninety-two patients (69 men and 23 women; mean age [± SD], 31.2 ± 9.5 years) with Crohn disease underwent CTE. Using a dual-source scanner equipped with a proprietary noise reduction method (iterative reconstruction in image space [IRIS]), three sets of CTE images were obtained: standard-dose filtered back projection (FBP) (i.e., weighted FBP), low-dose (i.e., 50% reduction) FBP, and low-dose IRIS CTE. Image noise was measured. Two independent radiologists evaluated subjective image quality (1 [worst] to 4 [best]) and findings of active Crohn disease in the terminal small-bowel segment, including mural hyperenhancement, thickening and stratification, comb sign, and increased perienteric fat attenuation (1 [definitely absent] to 5 [definitely present]). RESULTS The mean (± SD) volume CT dose index (CTDI(vol)) was 7.0 ± 0.9 mGy and 3.5 ± 0.5 mGy for standard-dose and low-dose CTE examinations, respectively. The mean (± SD) image noise for standard-dose FBP, low-dose FBP, and low-dose IRIS CTE was 10.6 ± 1.7 HU, 13.9 ± 2.1 HU, and 9.7 ± 1.7 HU, respectively (p < 0.001 for all comparisons). Both assessors found that image quality was poorer with low-dose (mean grade (± SD), 2.3 ± 0.4-2.7 ± 0.5) than in standard-dose (3 ± 0) CTE (p < 0.01), and one found that image quality was poorer with low-dose IRIS (2.3 ± 0.4) than with low-dose FBP (2.7 ± 0.5) CTE (p < 0.01). Low-dose (with or without IRIS) and standard-dose CTE showed ≥ 85% agreement (one-sided 95% CI ≥ 77%) in interpretation of bowel findings. CONCLUSION Low-dose CTE using 50% reduced-dose performed similarly to standard-dose CTE in identifying findings of enteric inflammation of Crohn disease. Although a noise reduction method markedly reduced image noise in half-dose examinations, its effect on image quality was not as great and was reader dependent.
Seizure localization and pathology following head injury in patients with uncontrolled epilepsy

We studied seizure localization and surgical pathology in 25 patients who developed intractable complex partial seizures following head trauma. All patients underwent an extensive presurgical evaluation that included MRI, neuropsychological evaluation, and surface EEG monitoring, and 21 had intracranial EEG monitoring. Seizures were successfully localized in nine patients; all nine underwent a surgical procedure and are seizure-free. Six of these patients had a mesial temporal lobe seizure focus, of whom five had a pathologic diagnosis of mesial temporal sclerosis. All five patients who developed mesial temporal sclerosis sustained their head injury at or before age 5 years. The three remaining patients whose seizures were successfully localized had neocortical foci and circumscribed radio-graphic abnormalities, which were presumed to be secondary to head trauma, and all had successful surgical resections of the epileptogenic focus. The remaining 16 patients sustained later trauma and did not have a focal MRI lesion, and their seizures were not adequately localized. We conclude that as a group, seizure foci secondary to head trauma are difficult to localize accurately, and this should deter surgical intervention. There was an association between early head injury (ie, at or before age 5 years) and mesial temporal sclerosis, and this association aided seizure localization and successful surgical intervention. Therefore, under the right circumstances, trauma can be a suitable historical element in the profile of patients in whom epilepsy surgery is successful.
Correlation between Six Minute Walk Test and Spirometry in Chronic Pulmonary Disease.

INTRODUCTION Six minute walk test (6MWT), is an exercise test, used as a clinical indicator of the functional capacity, in patients with cardiopulmonary diseases. The present study assessed the correlation of six minute walk test with pulmonary function variables, in patients with chronic pulmonary diseases, in local population. AIMS & OBJECTIVES The objectives were to study correlation of different spirometry variables with variables of six minute walk test like percent predicted 6 minute walk distance (% Predicted 6MWD) as per Enright et al., formula and Indian reference equation, pre and post exercise pO2 and pCO2 and exercise desaturation. MATERIALS AND METHODS All consecutive patients with confirmed diagnosis of chronic pulmonary diseases were included from January 2013 to June 2014 in tertiary care institute. 6MWT was performed as per the ATS guidelines. Among 130 patients 108 were also subjected to arterial blood gases pre and post test. Spirometry was performed as per ATS guidelines. Percent (%) predicted 6MWD was calculated. Correlation between spirometry and 6MWT was assessed. RESULTS One hundred and thirty patients with chronic pulmonary disease were taken. Out of them there was 102 patients with obstructive airway disease and 58 patients with interstitial lung disease. FEV1 significantly correlated with %predicted 6MWD &; with basal pO2 and pCO2 and with post exercise pCO2 and pO2. FVC also correlated with %predicted 6MWD, with basal pO2 and pCO2 and post exercise pO2. FEV1/FVC correlated only with post exercise pCO2 while MVV correlated with %predicted 6MWD and only basal pCO2. Exercise desaturation correlated only with FVC. Percent predicted 6MWD also correlated with basal pO2 & post exercise pO2. CONCLUSION Thus significant correlation found between 6MWT & spirometry variables (FEV1, FVC, MVV & FEV1/FVC).
Evidence for association of an interleukin 23 receptor variant independent of the R381Q variant with rheumatoid arthritis

Objective: The rare allele of a non-synonymous interleukin 23 receptor (IL23R) single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs11209026 (p.Arg381Gln) confers strong protection against Crohn disease (CD) and psoriasis. Other IL23R variants also exhibit association with CD, genetically independent of rs11209026. In rheumatoid arthritis (RA), IL23 is an important determinant of the production of IL17A, a cytokine of consequence in inflammation and bone destruction. While there is no previous support for strong association of IL23R with RA, the possibility of a weaker role for IL23R variants in the aetiology of RA cannot be eliminated. Methods: A New Zealand RA cohort was tested for association with six IL23R SNPs and the resulting data combined with a reanalysis of the Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium data and a previously published Spanish data set. The combined data set totals over 3000 Caucasian cases and 3800 controls, which has sufficient power to detect a risk of as low as odds ratio (OR) = 1.2. Results: Our data emphasise the lack of association of rs11209026 with RA (OR 1.01, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.88 to 1.16, p = 0.86). However there was some evidence for association of rs1343151 with RA (OR 1.14, 95% CI 1.06 to 1.22, p = <0.001). Conclusions: While requiring further replication, these data further support a role for the IL17A/IL23 pathway in RA. Understanding how different variants of IL23R associate, at varying levels of strength, with contrasting groups of immune-mediated diseases (CD, psoriasis, ankylosing spondylitis, RA) will enhance knowledge on the aetiology of these diseases.
Stem Cell Application for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: Growth Factor Delivery and Cell Therapy

1.1 ALS and the SOD1 rodent models Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive disorder that leads to degeneration of upper and lower motor neurons, muscular atrophy, and (ultimately) death. A clinical diagnosis of ALS requires signs of progressive degeneration in both upper and lower motor neurons, with no evidence that suggest that the signs can be explained by other disease processes (Brooks et al., 1994, 2000). The incidence rate of the disease is around 2 in 100,000 people (Hirtz et al., 2007). The onset age of sporadic and most familial form of ALS is between 50-60 years, and is generally fatal within 1-5 years of onset (Cleveland & Rothstein, 2001). Riluzile is the only drug that demonstrates a beneficial effect on ALS patients, but only increases survival by a matter of months (Zoccolella et al., 2009). Motor neuron cell death in ALS probably involves multiple pathways. Most ALS cases are sporadic in nature, while ~10% arise from a dominantly inherited trait (familial ALS or FALS) (Brown, 1995). The cause for sporadic ALS remains unclear, while 20% of FALS patients have a point mutation in the cytosolic Cu2+/Zn2+ superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) gene (Rosen et al., 1993). Recent reports suggested that other causes of FALS also include mutations in TDP-43 (the 43-KDa TAR DNA binding protein) and FUS (Fused in sarcoma/translocated in liposarcoma) genes (Ticozzi et al, 2011). From various lines of transgenic mice, we can observe that motor neuron disease is developed in mutants with elevated SOD1 levels (ex. hSOD1-G93A line), while no symptoms are observed in SOD1 knockout mice. The combined effect shows that SOD1 acts through a toxic gain of function rather than loss of dismutase activity (Julien et al., 2001). Both mouse and rat models overexpressing SOD1 genes show similar disease phenotypes and disease progression to those observed in human ALS patients (Gurney, 1994; Nagai et al., 2001; Howland et al., 2002). The mechanism underlying motor neuron death in ALS is still unknown. However, SOD1 mutant induces non-cell-autonomous motor neuron killing by an unknown gain of toxicity, which means the gain of toxicity arises from damage to cells other than motor neurons (Boillee et al., 2006a). Multiple mechanisms account for the selective vulnerability of motor neurons including protein misfolding, mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative damage, defective axonal transport, excitoxicity, insufficient growth factor signaling, and inflammation (Boillee et al., 2006a). Of course there are a lot of shortcomings for using
Detection of ebv gene expression in reed‐sternberg cells of Hodgkin's disease

EBV DNA has been detected by Southern blot hybridization in 20‐25% of Hodgkin's disease tumor specimens and localized to the Reed‐Sternberg cells by in situ hybridization. In the present investigation we used a 3H‐labelled EBER I anti‐sense RNA for in situ hybridization of archival formalinfixed paraffin‐embedded Hodgkin's disease specimens previ ously shown by Southern Blot hybridization to be EBV‐positive. In 6 of 8 specimens neoplastic cells showed an intense signal in virtually all of the tumor cells. The background lym phocytes, eosinophils, plasma cells and histiocytes did not demonstrate significant hybridization. In each case hybridiza tion tended to spare the nucleoli. Hybridization was detected in specimens with histologies of mixed cellularity and nodular sclerosis. The intensity of signal relative to background is bet ter than that in previous studies utilizing 35S‐labelled large internal repeat probes for EBV in Reed‐Sternberg cells. The exposure time is one week in contrast to the 4‐5 weeks reported by others for detection of EBV in Hodgkin's disease. Both increased relative intensity and shorter exposure re quirements may be attributed to the very high number of EBER transcripts in the target cells. The demonstration that EBER I is expressed is consistent with a role for EBV in growth regulation of Reed‐Sternberg cells and suggests that the virus is not merely a silent passenger in Hodgkin's disease.
Clinical outcomes of indwelling pleural catheter-related pleural infections: an international multicenter study.

BACKGROUND Indwelling pleural catheters (IPCs) offer effective control of malignant pleural effusions (MPEs). IPC-related infection is uncommon but remains a major concern. Individual IPC centers see few infections, and previous reports lack sufficient numbers and detail. This study combined the experience of 11 centers from North America, Europe, and Australia to describe the incidence, microbiology, management, and clinical outcomes of IPC-related pleural infection. METHODS This was a multicenter retrospective review of 1,021 patients with IPCs. All had confirmed MPE. RESULTS Only 50 patients (4.9%) developed an IPC-related pleural infection; most (94%) were successfully controlled with antibiotics (62% IV). One death (2%) directly resulted from the infection, whereas two patients (4%) had ongoing infectious symptoms when they died of cancer progression. Staphylococcus aureus was the causative organism in 48% of cases. Infections from gram-negative organisms were associated with an increased need for continuous antibiotics or death (60% vs 15% in gram-positive and 25% mixed infections, P = .02). The infections in the majority (54%) of cases were managed successfully without removing the IPC. Postinfection pleurodesis developed in 31 patients (62%), especially those infected with staphylococci (79% vs 45% with nonstaphylococcal infections, P = .04). CONCLUSIONS The incidence of IPC-related pleural infection was low. The overall mortality risk from pleural infection in patients treated with IPC was only 0.29%. Antibiotics should cover S aureus and gram-negative organisms until microbiology is confirmed. Postinfection pleurodesis is common and often allows removal of IPC. Heterogeneity in management is common, and future studies to define the optimal treatment strategies are needed.
Employment status and suicide: the complex relationships between changing unemployment rates and death rates

Background Existing studies have described a strong correlation between unemployment rates and suicide rates, but the exact mechanisms through which they may interact with one another remain unknown. Method This study examined the complex relationships between suicide rates and both regional unemployment rates and individual employment status during times of economic recession (2000–3) and recovery (2003–6) in Hong Kong. Results Despite the strong correlation (0.86) between the unemployment rates and suicide rates for 2000–6, the rates of suicides within the employed and unemployed groups moved in the opposite direction from the overall population trend. That is, the suicide rate among the unemployed decreased during economic recession and increased during recovery. Conclusion It is important to be able to distinguish precisely between population-level concepts, such as rates, and individual-level characteristics, such as employment status, when considering the development of evidence-based suicide prevention strategies.