Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Applying optimal control theory to a spatial simulation model of sudden oak death: ongoing surveillance protects tanoak while conserving biodiversity

Sudden oak death has devastated tree populations across California. However, management might still slow disease spread at local scales. We demonstrate how to unambiguously characterize effective, local management strategies using a detailed, spatially explicit simulation model of spread in a single forest stand. This pre-existing, parameterized simulation is approximated here by a carefully calibrated, non-spatial model, explicitly constructed to be sufficiently simple to allow optimal control theory (OCT) to be applied. By lifting management strategies from the approximate model to the detailed simulation, effective time-dependent controls can be identified. These protect tanoak—a culturally and ecologically important species—while conserving forest biodiversity within a limited budget. We also consider model predictive control, in which both the approximating model and optimal control are repeatedly updated as the epidemic progresses. This allows management which is robust to both parameter uncertainty and systematic differences between simulation and approximate models. Including the costs of disease surveillance then introduces an optimal intensity of surveillance. Our study demonstrates that successful control of sudden oak death is likely to rely on adaptive strategies updated via ongoing surveillance. More broadly, it illustrates how OCT can inform effective real-world management, even when underpinning disease spread models are highly complex.
Utility of B-Natriuretic Peptide in Detecting Diastolic Dysfunction

Background— Although Doppler echocardiography has been used to identify abnormal left ventricular (LV) diastolic filling dynamics, inherent limitations suggest the need for additional measures of diastolic dysfunction. Because data suggest that B-natriuretic peptide (BNP) partially reflects ventricular pressure, we hypothesized that BNP levels could predict diastolic abnormalities in patients with normal systolic function. Methods and Results— We studied 294 patients referred for echocardiography to evaluate ventricular function. Patients with abnormal systolic function were excluded. Cardiologists making the assessment of LV function were blinded to BNP levels. Patients were classified as normal, impaired relaxation, pseudonormal, and restrictivelike filling patterns. Patients diagnosed with evidence of abnormal LV diastolic function (n=119) had a mean BNP concentration of 286±31 pg/mL; those in the normal LV group (n=175) had a mean BNP concentration of 33±3 pg/mL. Patients with restrictivelike filling .
Magnification endoscopy in combination with acetic acid enhancement and narrow-band imaging for the accurate diagnosis of colonic neoplasms

Abstract Background and study aims Magnification endoscopy with narrow-band imaging (NBIME) and NBIME with acetic acid enhancement (A-NBIME) enable visualization of the vascular and microstructural patterns of colorectal polyp. We compared the diagnostic accuracy and reproducibility of white light endoscopy (WLE), NBIME, and A-NBIME for predictive histologic diagnosis. Patients and methods Consecutive colorectal polyps (N = 628; 38 hyperplasias, 488 adenomas, 72 M-SM1 cancers, and 30 SM2 cancers) were photographed with WLE, NBIME, and A-NBIME. Endoscopic images were independently reviewed by three experts, according to the traditional criteria for WLE, the Japan NBI Expert Team classification for NBIME, and pit pattern classification for A-NBIME to compare diagnostic accuracy and interobserver diagnostic agreement among modalities. Results The specificity (95 % confidence interval) of hyperplasia and SM2 cancer with WLE were 98.2 % (96.8 %–99.1%) and 99.4 % (98.5 %–99.9 %), respectively, showing high accuracy for endoscopic resection without magnifying observation. Diagnostic accuracy of WLE, NBIME, and A-NBIME was 80.8 % (77.4 %–83.8 %), 79.3 % (75.9 %–82.4 %), and 86.1 % (83.2 %–88.7 %), respectively, showing the highest accuracy for A-NBIME among modalities (P < .05). NBIME showed a lower PPV for M-SM1 cancer (P < .05), as with WLE (P = .08) compared to A-NBIME. Fleiss’s kappa values for WLE, NBIME, and A-NBIME diagnosis were 0.43 (0.39 – 0.46), 0.52 (0.49 – 0.56) and 0.65 (0.62 – 0.69), respectively, showing insufficient reproducibility of WLE and superiority of A-NBIME among modalities. Conclusion WLE showed high accuracy for endoscopic resection of colorectal polyps in expert diagnosis. NBIME demonstrated a higher diagnostic reproducibility than WLE. A-NBIME showed possible superiority among modalities in both diagnostic accuracy and reproducibility.
Efficacy of vonoprazan for the prevention of bleeding after gastric endoscopic submucosal dissection with continuous use of antiplatelet agents

Abstract Background Post-procedural bleeding, after gastric endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) for high risk thromboembolic cases that require continuous antiplatelet therapy, is challenging. Its incidence rate is > 20 % among those using conventional antacids. We evaluated the efficacy of perioperative management with vonoprazan to prevent post-ESD bleeding. Materials and methods This was a multicenter prospective interventional trial conducted at 10 Japanese referral centers. Patients who regularly used antiplatelet agents (aspirin or thienopyridine derivatives, etc.) and who required continuous antithrombotic medication due to high thromboembolic risk were enrolled. They underwent gastric ESD with continuous aspirin therapy. Oral administration of vonoprazan (20 mg daily) was started from the day of ESD and continued for 28 days. The primary end point was the incidence of post-ESD bleeding. The sample size was 50 patients, and vonoprazan was considered to be effective when the upper threshold of the 95 % confidence interval (CI) for post-ESD bleeding did not exceed 20 %. Results Although 50 patients were enrolled, one patient withdrew consent. Therefore, 49 patients were included in the analysis. One patient who used aspirin and clopidogrel experienced bleeding 11 days after ESD. The overall post-ESD bleeding rate was 2.0 % (1/49; 95 %CI 0.4–10.7 %). Thromboembolic events were not observed. One case of ESD-associated adverse events (perforation) and one case of drug-associated adverse events (drug eruption, possibly due to vonoprazan) were observed. Conclusions Vonoprazan may be efficacious for preventing post-ESD bleeding in patients using continuous antiplatelet therapy, warranting further comparative study to definitively test the effectiveness of the drug.
Evaluation of the Initial Optical Coherence Tomography Parameters in Anticipating the Final Visual Outcome of Central Retinal Vein Occlusion

Purpose: To evaluate the predictive and associated factors in determining the visual outcome in patients having central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO)-related macular edema (ME). Methods: The charts of the patients who were treated due to CRVO-related visual disturbance were reviewed. The optical coherence tomography (OCT) images of eyes were analyzed, and disorganization of retinal inner layers (DRILs), ellipsoid zone (EZ) and external limiting membrane (ELM) disruption length, hyper-reflectivity of retinal inner layer (HRIL) existence, baseline and final visual acuity (VA), subfoveal thickness (SFT), subretinal fluid (SRF), and injection numbers were noted. The regression and correlation analyses were applied. Results: Thirty eyes of thirty patients were included in the study. The mean follow-up time was 17.5 ± 11 (8–47) months. The mean baseline VA was 1.4 ± 0.7 (0.2–3.1) logMAR. A total of 87 intravitreal injections were applied for the treatment of ME during the follow-up. The initial mean central subfield thickness was 795 ± 264 (1470–398) μm. HRIL and SRF were observed in 16 and 23 eyes at the initial visit, respectively. The final mean VA was 1.2 ± 0.9 (0.1–3.1) logMAR. At the final visit, additional OCT parameters were evaluated. The mean DRIL length was 463 ± 324 μm. The mean disruption length of EZ and ELM was 367 ± 247 μm and 414 ± 327 μm, respectively. The final mean SFT was 290 ± 91 μm. SRF presence at the initial visit was found to be associated with elongated EZ and ELM disruption length at the final visit (P = 0.03 and P = 0.04, respectively). On linear regression analyses, none of the baseline features (SRF, SFT, and HRIL) except baseline poor best corrected visual acuity were found to be predictive in anticipating the final visual outcome (P = 0.04). On linear bivariate analysis, the final poor visual outcome was found to be affected by EZ disruption length of ≥500 μm at the last visit (P = 0.02). Conclusion: Baseline VA was the only predictive factor in anticipating the final visual outcome. At the final visit, extensive disruption length of EZ in the subfoveal area was associated with a poor visual outcome.
David Oliver: Covid-19 will make us stop some activities for good

As the saying goes, “necessity is the mother of invention. ” With the global covid-19 pandemic, we’re seeing scientific evidence evolve quickly, new technologies develop, and real time, ever changing plans for epidemiology, public protection, and ensuring that health services remain viable.12 When, hopefully, we’re through the pandemic and have time to reflect, no doubt some practices will see a step change for the better. Our planning, preparedness, and understanding of transmission, protection, and treatment will have to change. Arguably, it was learning from the SARS pandemic that meant some South East Asian nations were better prepared for covid-19 and tackled it sooner.3 But what of the things we stop doing? After the pandemic passes, will we return to our old ways or be grateful for what we’ve learnt? In acute hospitals, we’re already moving to stop most non-urgent outpatient activities such as routine follow-ups and less urgent planned …
Cancer Chemotherapy Updates: Verifying Carboplatin Dose Calculations in Adult Patients with the Calvert and Modified Calvert Formulas

Carboplatin is a widely used antineoplastic medication, active against a broad spectrum of neoplasms, including ovarian cancer, lung cancer, and cancer of unknown primary origin. In the past decade, area under the curve (AUC) has largely replaced body surface area (BSA) as the basis for dosing this medication in clinical trials and clinical practice. Therefore, pharmacists should know how to verify carboplatin doses calculated by AUC methods, since overdoses can cause severe bone marrow suppression and low doses might not provide adequate antitumor activity. In adult patients, the most frequently used AUC dose calculation methods for carboplatin are the Calvert formula and the modified Calvert formula. AUC dosing of carboplatin in pediatric patients is beyond the scope of this article.
Differential behavior of NF-κB, IκBα and EGFR during the renal carcinogenic process in an experimental model in vivo

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is the most common type of cancer of the adult kidney. It is generally asymptomatic even at advanced stages, so opportune diagnosis is rare, making it almost impossible to study this cancer at its early stages. RCC tumors induced by ferric nitrilotriacetate (FeNTA) in rats histologically correspond to the human clear cell RCC subtype (ccRCC) and the exposure to this carcinogen during either one or two months leads to different early stages of neoplastic development. High levels of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) as well as low levels of NF-κB inhibitor alpha (IκBα) are frequent in human RCC, but their status in FeNTA-induced tumors and their evolution along renal carcinogenesis is unclear. On this basis, in the present study NF-κB, IκBα and EGFR behavior was analyzed at different stages of the experimental renal carcinogenesis model. Similar to patients with RCC, neoplastic tissue showed high levels of p65, one of the predominant subunits of NF-κB in ccRCC and of EGFR (protein and mRNA), as well as a decrease in the levels of NF-κB's main inhibitor, IκBα, resulting in a classic oncogenic combination. Conversely, different responses were observed at early stages of carcinogenesis. After one month of FeNTA-exposure, NF-κB activity and EGFR levels augmented; but unexpectedly, IκBα also did. While after two months, NF-κB activity diminished, but EGFR and IκBα levels remained elevated. In conclusion, FeNTA-induced tumors and RCC human neoplasms are analogues regarding to the classic NF-κB, IκBα and EGFR behavior, and distinctive non-conventional combination of changes is developed at each early stage studied. The results obtained suggest that the dysregulation of the analyzed molecules could be related to different signaling pathways and therefore, to particular effects depending on the phase of the carcinogenic process.
Sleep and Reproductive Health

The reproductive function of humans is regulated by several sex hormones which are secreted in synergy with the circadian timing of the body. Sleep patterns produce generic signatures that physiologically drive the synthesis, secretion, and metabolism of hormones necessary for reproduction. Sleep deprivation among men and women is increasingly reported as one of the causes of infertility. In animal models, sleep disturbances impair the secretion of sexual hormones thereby leading to a decrease in testosterone level, reduced sperm motility and apoptosis of the Leydig cells in male rats. Sleep deprivation generates stressful stimuli intrinsically, due to circadian desynchrony and thereby increases the activation of the Hypothalamus-Pituitary Adrenal (HPA) axis, which, consequently, increases the production of corticosterone. The elevated level of corticosteroids results in a reduction in testosterone production. Sleep deprivation produces a commensurate effect on women by reducing the chances of fertility. Sleeplessness among female shift workers suppresses melatonin production as well as excessive HPA activation which results in early pregnancy loss, failed embryo implantation, anovulation and amenorrhea. Sleep deprivation in women has also be found to be associated with altered gonadotropin and sex steroid secretion which all together lead to female infertility. Poor quality of sleep is observed in middle-aged and older men and this also contributes to reduced testosterone concentrations. The influence of sleep disturbances post-menopausal is associated with irregular synthesis and secretion of female sex steroid hormones.
Response to erlotinib and prognosis for patients with de novo epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) T790M mutations.

8018 Background: A secondary mutation in exon 20 of EGFR, T790M, is the most common cause of acquired resistance to EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) in patients with EGFR mutant lung cancers. De novo EGFR T790M mutations in TKI-naive patients are rare when assessed by standard genotyping methods. The response to EGFR TKIs in patients with de novo EGFR T790M mutations is unknown. Methods: Patients with EGFRmutations were identified through routine testing, using PCR-based fragment length analysis, mass spectrometry-based genotyping (Sequenom), and Sanger sequencing. Clinical characteristics, progression free survival (PFS) from start of EGFR TKI and overall survival (OS) were obtained from the medical record. Results: From 2008-2012, we observed EGFR T790M in 21 tumors from 20 patients who had not previously been treated with an EGFR TKI representing <2% of all tumors with identified EGFR mutations. Two patients are included in reports from the Lung Cancer Mutation Consortium. The median age at lung .
Effects of MAO inhibitors upon MPTP mice chronically treated with suprathreshold doses of L-dopa

( ) ( Groups of mice were administered either saline or 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine MPTP 2=40 mgrkg, ) s.c. , separated by a 24-hour interval 4–6 weeks prior to behavioural testing. At testing, all the MPTP-injected mice were ( ) repeatedly administered L-dopa 20 mgrkg, s.c. , five times each week, Monday–Friday , by applying a procedure that ( ) induced a severe reduction of motor activity parameters from Day 1 to Day 25. Control uninjected mice received only saline and were retained only for neurochemical analysis. In each of three experiments, following the reduction of the activity-stimulating effects of L-dopa by repeated administration, a restorative effect of different monoamine oxidase ( ) ( MAO inhibitors was tested by co-administration of the test compounds irreversible MAO-B inhibitor, reversible ) ( ) MAO-A inhibitors, or irreversible MAO-Armixed MAO inhibitors with L-dopa 20 mgrkg . In each case the MAO ( ) inhibitor was injected 60 min prior to L-dopa. L-Deprenyl 3 or 10 mgrkg, s.c. , in combination with L-dopa, reinstated locomotion and total activity, but not rearing, dose-dependently, in L-dopa-tolerant mice. The reversible MAO-A inhibitors, amiflamine and a-ethyltryptamine, in combination with L-dopa, reinstated locomotion and total activity, ( ) leaving rearing unaffected; Ro 41-1049 3 mgrkg, s.c. restored all three parameters of activity; locomotor activity was ( ) restored by all three doses 1, 3, and 10 mgrkg, s.c. On the other hand, neither the irreversible MAO-A inhibitor, clorgyline, nor the mixed MAO inhibitor, phenelzine, produced any directly effective restorative increments. Neurochemical analysis confirmed the severe striatal dopamine depletion of MPTP-treated mice. These results demonstrate a synergistic and restorative action of combining certain MAO inhibitors, namely the reversible MAO-A inhibitors, with the suprathreshold dose of L-dopa in MPTP-treated, L-dopa-tolerant mice. Q 2000 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Effects of memantine, an NMDA receptor antagonist, on place preference conditioned with drug and nondrug reinforcers in mice

Antagonists of the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor complex have been shown to inhibit the expression of place preferences conditioned with several drugs that are abused by humans, which suggests that this class of compounds may be beneficial in the treatment of substance dependence. Therefore it is important to assess the specificity of this effect, of whether inhibitory effects of NMDA receptor antagonists on conditioned drug stimuli generalize to behaviors produced by nondrug reinforcers. The present study was designed to compare the effects of the NMDA receptor channel blocker, memantine, on the expression of place preferences conditioned with: (1) consumption of regular laboratory food; (2) sexual encounters with females; and (3) injection of morphine (10mg/kg) in adult male Swiss mice. For all three experiments reported here, unconditioned stimuli (food, receptive female or morphine) were presented before the exposures to the ‘to-be-conditioned’ environments. Significant place preferences developed as a result of explicit pairings of the environmental context and food consumption, sexual encounter and morphine administration. Memantine (7.5mg/kg, given prior to the post-conditioning test) inhibited the expression of place preferences conditioned with morphine and sexual encounter, but had no effects in food-conditioned mice. These findings suggest that the effects of NMDA receptor blockade may not be limited to drug-reinforced behaviors. Behavioural Pharmacology 14:237–244 c 2003 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Position: We Can Measure XAI Explanations Better with Templates

This paper argues that the Explainable AI (XAI) research community needs to think harder about how to compare, measure, and describe the quality of XAI explanations. We conclude that one (or a few) explanations can be reasonably assessed with methods of the “Explanation Satisfaction” type, but that scaling up our ability to evaluate explanations requires more development of “Explanation Goodness” methods.
EFFECTS OF ACUTE STRESS DURATION ON THE RAT BRAIN MAST CELL ACTIVATION

Background. Stress of varying duration and types are known to affect the number and activation level of cerebral mast cells (MCs) via plasma CRH. Although MC number is known not to be increased in acute stress, elevated plasma CRH might still activate brain MCs. Objective. To investigate the effect of acute stress of incremental duration to the activation level of thalamic and hippocampal mast cells using elevated platform test to elicit stress in male Wistar rats. Methods. This research used randomized post-test only control group design with 4 control group of 30, 60, and 90 minute stress exposure. Mast cell activation of the regiotalamus and hippocampus is assessed by histomorphometrics. Results. In the hippocampus, we found a significant difference of MC activation between control and experimental groups (p=0.014; p<0.05) but not among the incremental duration of acute stress. However, MC activation was not different between control and experimental groups in the thalamus . Conclusion. Acute stress exposure increases MC activation without recruiting further MCs in specific cerebral region but the duration of acute stress itself does not affect the activation level.
A Hybrid Time Series Model based on Dilated Conv1D and LSTM with Applications to PM2.5 Forecasting

PM2.5 forecasting is crucial because it aﬀects people’s physical health, but also provides guidance for pollution control. Since the prediction of PM2.5 involves various meteorological factors as well as the inﬂuence of historical data, in this paper, we take the prediction of PM2.5 as a multivariable time series prediction problem, and propose a hybrid time series model based on LSTM and dilated convolution networks-DConvLSTM. The model can capture the internal long-term dependence and external impact factors from a large amount of historical data, and make a prediction of PM2.5 concentration in the future period. DConvL-STM can identify the simple time pattern from the sequence data through the Dilated CNN in one dimensional, where the added cavity is used to ﬁlter the sequence signal and increase the receptive ﬁeld. LSTM is a variant of RNN, which naturally has the characteristics of learning long-term dependence from time series data. The DConvLSTM is composed of a one-dimensional Dilated CNN, LSTM and a completely connected layer. In this paper, DConvLSTM model is applied to the prediction of PM2.5 concentration in Beijing. The experiment shows that the proposed model could well predict the PM2.5 concentration in the future period. Comparison with other models, DConvLSTM has a higher ﬁt indicators and computational eﬃciency.
Amphetamine-induced locomotor activation in 5-HT1B knockout mice: effects of injection route on acute and sensitized responses

Department of Pharmaceutical Science, University of Maryland, Baltimore, 20 North Pine Street, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA. Behavioral Neuroscience Branch, National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program, 5500 Nathan Shock Drive, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA. Center for Neurobiology and Behavior, Columbia University, 722 West, 168th Street, New York, NY 10032, USA. Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, University of Maryland, Baltimore, PO Box 21247, Baltimore, MD 21228, USA.Present address: Laboratory of Experimental Psychology, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton BN1 9QG, UK