Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The spectral shift function for compactly supported perturbations of Schrödinger operators on large bounded domains

We study the asymptotic behavior as L \to \infty of the finite-volume spectral shift function for a positive, compactly-supported perturbation of a Schr\"odinger operator in d-dimensional Euclidean space, restricted to a cube of side length L with Dirichlet boundary conditions. The size of the support of the perturbation is fixed and independent of L. We prove that the Ces\`aro mean of finite-volume spectral shift functions remains pointwise bounded along certain sequences L_n \to \infty for Lebesgue-almost every energy. In deriving this result, we give a short proof of the vague convergence of the finite-volume spectral shift functions to the infinite-volume spectral shift function as L \to\infty . Our findings complement earlier results of W. Kirsch [Proc. Amer. Math. Soc. 101, 509 - 512 (1987), Int. Eqns. Op. Th. 12, 383 - 391 (1989)] who gave examples of positive, compactly-supported perturbations of finite-volume Dirichlet Laplacians for which the pointwise limit of the spectral shift function does not exist for any given positive energy. Our methods also provide a new proof of the Birman--Solomyak formula for the spectral shift function that may be used to express the measure given by the infinite-volume spectral shift function directly in terms of the potential.
SMOKING AND PREGNANCY, with special reference to preterm birth and the feto-placental unit

Objective: To study maternal smoking in pregnancy in relation to preterm birth, placental abruption and perinatal mortality in pregnancies with placental abruption, and to pulse wave characteristics in fetal aorta. Methods: Two cohort studies with data on single births obtained from the Swedish Medical Birth Registry (N=311 977 and N=795 459, respectively). A case control study of very preterm birth (including 295 smokers and 295 non-smokers, respectively), with information retrieved from patient records. A clinical study of 34 smokers and 34 non-smokers in gestational age 31 to 40 weeks, where pulse wave measurements in the fetal aorta were made with an echotracking ultrasonic equipment. Pulse wave characteristics were analysed in relation to gestational age and smoking habits Results: There was a dose-dependent relation between maternal smoking and preterm birth (<37 gestational weeks), both in very preterm (≤32 gestational weeks) and moderately preterm births (33-36 gestational weeks). Exclusion of pregnancies with smoking-related pregnancy complications did not essentially change the result. The association was stronger in spontaneous births compared to induced births. In very preterm birth, maternal smoking was a dose-dependent risk factor for preterm labour and probably also for ‘idiopathic’ labour (i.e., after excluding cases with infection, conisation of the cervix, hydramniosis, major uterine and fetal anomalies). Maternal smoking dose-dependently increased the risk of very preterm birth caused by late pregnancy bleedings (placenta praevia and placental abruption), and probably also of very preterm birth caused by preterm premature rupture of membranes. Maternal smoking was a dose-dependent risk factor for placental abruption and for perinatal deaths in pregnancies with placental abruption. For perinatal death, the risk was slightly higher in term births compared to preterm births. During gestation, pulse wave velocity increased in smokers but not in non-smokers. Mean incremental velocity did not change during gestation in smokers, but increased in non-smokers. Conclusions: The studies demonstrated the fact that maternal smoking is a modest risk factor for preterm birth, is a risk factor for spontaneous labour in very preterm birth, and is a major risk factor for placental abruption and perinatal death in pregnancies with placental abruption. The finding of alterations of pulse wave characteristics during gestation may be a sign of increased vessel stiffness in smokers, and an indication of a possible influence of maternal chronic smoking on the feto-placental circulation. The results emphasise the need of further campaigns against smoking among women.
BUT System Description to VoxCeleb Speaker Recognition Challenge 2019

In this report, we describe the submission of Brno University of Technology (BUT) team to the VoxCeleb Speaker Recognition Challenge (VoxSRC) 2019. We also provide a brief analysis of different systems on VoxCeleb-1 test sets. Submitted systems for both Fixed and Open conditions are a fusion of 4 Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) topologies. The first and second networks have ResNet34 topology and use two-dimensional CNNs. The last two networks are one-dimensional CNN and are based on the x-vector extraction topology. Some of the networks are fine-tuned using additive margin angular softmax. Kaldi FBanks and Kaldi PLPs were used as features. The difference between Fixed and Open systems lies in the used training data and fusion strategy. The best systems for Fixed and Open conditions achieved 1.42% and 1.26% ERR on the challenge evaluation set respectively.
In Memoriam: Paul M. Vanhoutte

On 23 August 2019, science lost one of its great minds: Paul Michel Georges Remi Vanhoutte, born on 26 November 1940 in Merelbeke near Ghent in Belgium, unexpectedly died in Paris after he had suffered a fall 10 days earlier. He was ‘one of the fathers of vascular biology’ (Heistad, 2008) who contributed to and shaped our understanding of how vascular endothelial cells regulate blood flow under physiological conditions and in disease.
Practical Optimization of LC-MS Conditions and Pretreatment Methods Toward the Sensitive Quantification of Auxin in Plants.

RATIONALE The plant hormone auxin, indole-3-acetic acid, regulates many aspects of plant growth and development. Auxin quantification should offer broad insights into its mechanistic action in plants. However, limited auxin content in plant tissues hampers the establishment of quantification methods without the highest graded instruments or deeply specialized experimental techniques. METHODS In this study, we detailed optimized conditions for high performance liquid chromatography-coupled triple-quadrupole mass spectrometry (LC-MS). We compared LC-MS conditions, such as columns, mobile phases, parameters of acquisition methods (selective or multiple ion monitoring), dwell times (DTs), and channel numbers using differentially mixed authentic auxin and its related compounds. We further investigated pretreatment methods through the optimization of auxin recovery and irrelative compound removal from plant tissues prior to the LC-MS analysis. RESULTS Our LC-MS analysis demonstrated the particular importance of the column, DTs, and channel numbers on detection sensitivity. Our comparative analysis developed optimal pretreatment methods, including the pulverization of plants, concentration of extract through centrifugal evaporation, and removal of irrelative metabolites using liquid-liquid extraction and a spin filter. We injected plant samples into our LC-MS system, quantified auxin and eight related compounds in a single measurement, and determined the auxin increase in an auxin over-producing mutant. CONCLUSION Our practical optimization of LC-MS conditions and pretreatment methods provide detailed experimental processes toward the sensitive quantification of auxin from 10 mg of plant tissue. These processes have not always been clearly documented; therefore, our protocol could broadly contribute to technical advances in plant growth and development research.
IGF2BP1 Significantly Enhances Translation Efficiency of Duck Hepatitis A Virus Type 1 without Affecting Viral Replication

As a disease characterized by severe liver necrosis and hemorrhage, duck viral hepatitis (DVH) is mainly caused by duck hepatitis A virus (DHAV). The positive-strand RNA genome of DHAV type 1 (DHAV-1) contains an internal ribosome entry site (IRES) element within the 5′ untranslated region (UTR), structured sequence elements within the 3′ UTR, and a poly(A) tail at the 3′ terminus. In this study, we first examined that insulin-like growth factor-2 mRNA-binding protein-1 (IGF2BP1) specifically interacted with the DHAV-1 3′ UTR by RNA pull-down assay. The interaction between IGF2BP1 and DHAV-1 3′ UTR strongly enhanced IRES-mediated translation efficiency but failed to regulate DHAV-1 replication in a duck embryo epithelial (DEE) cell line. The viral propagation of DHAV-1 strongly enhanced IGF2BP1 expression level, and viral protein accumulation was identified as the key point to this increment. Collectively, our data demonstrated the positive role of IGF2BP1 in DHAV-1 viral proteins translation and provided data support for the replication mechanism of DHAV-1.
Genetic Characterization of Myoid Hamartoma of the Breast

Background/Aim: Myoid hamartoma of the breast is a very rare benign lesion of which only a few cases have been reported. The pathogenesis is unknown and nothing is known about its genetic constitution. We report here the genetic characterization of a myoid hamartoma of the breast. Materials and Methods: Cytogenetic, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), RNA sequencing, reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and Sanger sequencing analyses were performed on a myoid hamartoma of the breast. Results: G-Banding analysis of short-term cultured tumor cells yielded the karyotype 46,XX,t(5;12)(p13;q14)[6]/46,XX[4]. FISH showed rearrangement of the high mobility group AT-hook 2 (HMGA2) gene. RNA sequencing detected fusion of HMGA2 (12q14) with a sequence from 5p13. RT-PCR together with Sanger sequencing verified the HMGA2-fusion transcript. Conclusion: Myoid hamartoma of the breast may be pathogenetically related to benign connective tissue tumors with HMGA2 rearrangements, such as pulmonary hamartomas, lipomas, myolipomas, and leiomyomas.
Inflammatory bowel disease: long-term therapeutic challenges

ABSTRACT Introduction: Long-term, sustained, remission is the ultimate goal of contemporary inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) therapy. Avoiding complications, surgery and malignancy, alongside minimizing the side effects of medications are vital. However, the reality of treatment involves patients losing response to therapy, or developing complications requiring cessation of medication. The reasons underlying this are numerous and include medication and host-related influences. Underpinning the response to medication, long-term outcomes and loss of response are individual etiological factors including the molecular cause of disease and individual pharmacogenomic influences. Areas covered: In this review, we discuss the long-term outcome of IBD, with a focus on pediatric-onset illness and discuss the factors leading to loss of treatment response whilst briefly considering the future of personalized therapy as a strategy to improve long-term outcomes. Expert opinion: Research findings are now moving toward clinical translation, including application of novel medications targeting new pathways. The integration of biological and multiomic data to predict disease outcome will provide personalized therapeutic management.
Influence of injectate volume on paravertebral spread in erector spinae plane block: An endoscopic and anatomical evaluation

The paravertebral spread that occurs after erector spinae plane block may be volume-dependent. This cadaveric study was undertaken to compare the extent of paravertebral spread with erector spinae plane block using different dye volumes. After randomization, twelve erector spinae plane blocks were performed bilaterally with either 10 ml or 30 ml of dye at the level of T5 in seven unembalmed cadavers except for two cases of unexpected pleural puncture using the 10 ml injection. Direct visualization of the paravertebral space by endoscopy was performed immediately after the injections. The back regions were also dissected, and dye spread and nerve involvement were investigated. A total of five 10 ml injections and seven 30 ml injections were completed for both endoscopic and anatomical evaluations. No paravertebral spread was observed by endoscopy after any of the 10-ml injections. Dye spread to spinal nerves at the intervertebral foramen was identified by endoscopy at adjacent levels of T5 (median: three levels) in all 30 ml injections. In contrast, the cases with two, four, and three out of five were stained at only the T4, T5, and T6 levels, respectively, with the 10 ml injection. Upon anatomical dissection, all blocks were consistently associated with posterior and lateral spread to back muscles and fascial layers, especially with the 30 ml injections, which showed greater dye expansion. In one 30 ml injection, sympathetic nerve involvement and epidural spread were observed at the level of the injection site. Although paravertebral spread following erector spinae plane block increased in a volume-dependent manner, this increase was variable and not pronounced. As the injectate volume increased for the erector spinae blocks, the injectate spread to the back muscles and fascial layers seemed to be predominantly increased compared with, the extent of paravertebral spread.
Cognitive Screening Tests in Huntington Gene Mutation Carriers: Examining the Validity of the Mini-Mental State Examination and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment.

BACKGROUND Due to high prevalence of cognitive impairment in Huntington's disease (HD) gene mutation carriers, even before onset of motor symptoms, cognitive screening is important for the optimal management of patients. The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) are widely used, but the validity for HD has only been evaluated in few studies with important limitations. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the discriminative validity of the MMSE and the MoCA for the assessment of cognitive dysfunction in HD gene mutation carriers, independently of motor manifestation and furthermore, to report estimated probabilities for cognitive impairment with different score ranges on the MMSE and the MoCA. METHODS 106 pre-motor-manifest and motor-manifest HD gene mutation carriers and 40 non-HD gene mutation carriers were administered the MMSE, the MoCA, and an extensive neuropsychological battery with operationalized criteria for cognitive impairment. The same physician and the same neuropsychologist performed all examinations; blinded to one another. RESULTS The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was 0.70 for the MMSE and 0.82 for the MoCA. The latter correctly diagnosed 82% of the cognitively impaired and not-impaired HD gene mutation carriers and non-HD gene mutation carriers, whereas the MMSE only diagnosed 73% correctly. CONCLUSIONS The MMSE and the MoCA can both be used as cognitive screening tests in HD gene mutation carriers, but both have important limitations. Our results indicate that the MoCA is a better cognitive screening test for HD than the MMSE. In addition, our study provides estimated probabilities for cognitive impairment with different score ranges, which may be used as clinical guidelines in the interpretation of results from the two tests.
Antibody–Drug Conjugates: A Comprehensive Review

Antibody–drug conjugates (ADC) are one of the fastest growing anticancer drugs. This approach comprises a mAb conjugated to the cytotoxic payload via a chemical linker that directed toward a target antigen expressed on the cancer cell surface, reducing systemic exposure and therefore toxicity. ADCs are complex molecules that require careful attention to various components. Selection of an appropriate target, an mAb, cytotoxic payload, and the manner in which the antibody is linked to the payload are key determinants of the safety and efficacy of ADCs. This review provides an overview of the systemic evaluation of each component of an ADC design, improved understanding of the mechanism of action of ADC, and mechanistic pathways involved in ADC resistance and various strategies to optimize ADC design. Moreover, this review also shed light on the current status of ADCs that have gained regulatory approval from the FDA including a description of biology and chemistry, metabolic profiles, adverse events, drug interactions, and the future perspective on combination strategies with other agents, including immunotherapy.
Effects of organic removal techniques prior to carbonate stable isotope analysis of lacustrine marls: a case study from palaeo-lake Fucino (central Italy).

RATIONALE The suitability of organic matter (OM) removal pre-treatments in isotopic studies of lacustrine carbonates is currently under debate. Naturally occurring OM seems to have a negligible effect on the bulk isotopic composition of carbonates compared with changes induced by pre-treatments. This study provides further insights into the possible effects induced by commonly used pre-treatments on natural lacustrine carbonates. METHODS Sixteen samples from the Fucino F1-F3 lacustrine succession (Abruzzo, central Italy) were characterised for their mineralogical and geochemical composition and split in three identical aliquots. One aliquot was left untreated while the remaining two were treated with NaOCl and H2 O2 dilutions. The same treatment was applied to an internal standard consisting of pure Carrara marble. The treated and untreated samples were analysed for their carbon (δ13 C values) and oxygen (δ18 O values) isotope compositions using an Analytical Precision AP2003 isotope ratio mass spectrometer. RESULTS The samples had variable proportions of endogenic and detrital components, the detrital portion being more (less) abundant during colder (warmer) climate phases. We observed that neither the NaOCl nor the H2 O2 treatment were able to completely remove OM and therefore there was selective removal of compounds within the OM pool. A possible effect of pre-treatment is the loss of carbonates intimately interspersed within the OM, as suggested by the evolution of isotopic ratios towards the local detrital array. CONCLUSIONS Our study highlights sample-specific changes in geochemistry associated with sample pre-treatments; however, such changes do not seem to lead to either systematic and/or predictable isotopic shifts. We suggest that the suitability of NaOCl or H2 O2 pre-treatments for OM removal should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. In the specific case of lacustrine marls from palaeo-lake Fucino containing relatively low amounts of OM and in which both detrital and endogenic carbonates occur, both pre-treatments should be avoided.
A pilot study of hypertension management using a telemedicine treatment approach

We recruited 78 men and 94 women to investigate if the proportion of subjects with well-controlled home blood pressure levels could be increased when treatment was guided by smartphone-based telemonitoring. All patients were prescribed one to three antihypertensive drugs. The Accumbo smartphone telemonitoring application was downloaded to the Iphones of the participants and home blood pressure information was gathered from semi-automatic oscillometric blood pressure-recorders by Bluetooth. The study physician adjusted the medications based on home blood pressure for 3 months. home blood pressure was controlled (<135/<85 mmHg) in 55 participants at baseline and in 56 subjects after 3 months (Chi-square P = 0.91). The 117 patients with initially uncontrolled home blood pressure had a drop in home blood pressure (from 138.0 ± 9.0/91.3 ± 6.5 mmHg to 133.4 ± 8.0/88.6 ± 6.1 mmHg, P < 0.001) and prescribed antihypertensive drugs increased from 1.71 ± 0.94/day to 2.00 ± 0.92/day, P < 0.0001. Thus, while the proportion of participants with controlled home blood pressure remained unchanged, the home blood pressure levels were lowered in participants who had uncontrolled home blood pressure at study start.
A Review on Face Detection and Recognization Techniques

Image databases and live video data is growing rapidly, their intelligent or automatic examining is becoming exceptionally more important. Human faces are one of very common and very particular objects that we need to try to detect in images. Face detection is very difficult task in image analysis which has each day many applications. We can illustrate the face detection problem as a computer vision task which involve in detecting one or several human faces in an image. Identification & Authentication has become major problems in present digital world. Face detection plays a significant role in identification & authentication. In this paper various existing face detection techniques are analyzed and discussed. Keywords— Face Detection, Face Recognization, Identity, Computer Vision.
13RC2-Andres Cardiac Arrest in the Operating Room

Some people hold the opinion that if anaesthesiology was entirely safe, without the risk of cardiac arrest, it might not have developed as an independent medical speciality [1]. Fortunately the incidence of cardiac arrest and death attributable to anaesthesia is very low, but both outcomes are regarded by anaesthesiologists as a perioperative catastrophe [2]. Management of sudden cardiac arrest in both the hospital setting and the non-hospital setting is governed by clear evidence-based guidelines. However, neither current nor previously published resuscitation guidelines [3] have specifically addressed intraoperative cardiac arrest, which, ideally, should also be managed according to its own corresponding evidence-based principles although the low rate of anaesthesia related cardiac arrest makes it difficult to conduct controlled studies on this subject. This may explain why intraoperative cardiac arrest has not been included so far in the guideline evaluation process undertaken by the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR) (www.ilcor.org).