Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Incidental ¹⁸F-FDG uptake in the thyroid in patients diagnosed with PET/CT for other malignancies.

BACKGROUND The value of PET/CT imaging in diagnosis of different cancers has been widely described. PET/CT may contribute to visualization of additional findings that were not the indication to the study and did not refer to initial diagnosis. In a small number of PET/CT scans an incidentally found focal ¹⁸F-FDG uptake in the thyroid gland is found. The goal of the study was to estimate the prevalence and evaluate the clinical significance of incidental thyroid ¹⁸F-FDG uptake in a cohort of patients diagnosed for different malignancies. MATERIAL AND METHODS 2478 PET/CT scans using ¹⁸F-FDG were performed in 1925 subjects for evaluation of different, non-thyroid malignancies. For PET/CT examination, a Discovery ST (General Electric) PET/CT scanner was used. Patients with focal ¹⁸F-FDG activity were further evaluated by means of fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB). If cytological examination disclosed malignancy or suspicion of malignancy, thyroidectomy was performed. Both cytological and histopathological results were then analyzed. RESULTS Focal increased ¹⁸F-FDG uptake was found in 71 patients (3.7%), and cytological or histopathological results were evaluable in 20 of them. In general, 8 cases of thyroid cancer were found, which accounts for 40% probability of malignancy. The predominant histopathological diagnosis was papillary thyroid carcinoma (5 out of 8 cases). Additionally, in one case (5%) thyroid metastasis of lung cancer was detected. Diffused ¹⁸F-FDG activity in both thyroid lobes was observed in 120 subjects (6.2%)--in most cases chronic thyroiditis was confirmed. CONCLUSIONS The probability of malignancy of focal thyroid incidentalomas in ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT scans is rather high. Therefore, thorough evaluation of such lesions is highly recommended in each case. Most thyroid malignancies incidentally detected in PET/CT are papillary carcinomas.
Heterogeneous Distributed Shared Memory for Lightweight Internet of Things Devices

Despite the promising applicability of the Internet of Things (IoT), such as for home automation and health monitoring, it is laborious to develop an IoT application, because programmers should explicitly manipulate communication for shared data across heterogeneous distributed IoT devices. Recent proposals simplify the communication management with graphical views or language extensions but still require programmers to explicitly manage communication. To liberate programmers from explicit communication management, this article revisits heterogeneous distributed shared memory (HDSM) for IoT devices and proposes a compiler-runtime cooperative HDSM framework, called IoT-HDSM. The framework's compiler unifies heterogeneous memory layouts of different IoT devices, and the runtime system provides a shared memory view for the devices. To support lightweight devices that cannot execute the runtime, the compiler automatically inserts explicit communication instructions into the IoT application. Moreover, to efficiently control concurrent memory accesses without locks, the authors also propose a new annotation called the memory branch, which provides a memory snapshot for each device. This article describes the implementation of three IoT services with IoT-HDSM and shows that IoT-HDSM simplifies shared data management without harming QoS.
Traitement par vitrectomie (pars plana) de la luxation de fragments cristalliniens après phacoémulsification

Le but de l'etude est d'evaluer les resultats et le taux de complications de la vitrectomie par la pars plana dans le traitement d'une luxation posterieure de fragments cristalliniens survenue lors de l'operation de la cataracte par phacoemulsification. Un objectif supplementaire est d'investiguer, sur la base des donnees disponibles, l'intervalle optimal entre la phacoemulsification et la vitrectomie. L'etude a inclus 41 patients ayant subi cette vitrectomie entre 1997 et 2006 dans notre clinique. La vitrectomie est le traitement de choix pour la luxation posterieure de fragments cristalliniens, permettant d'enlever le materiel cristallinien retenu et de restaurer la vision dans un grand nombre de cas. Apres un suivi postoperatoire variant entre 1 et 48 mois, l'acuite visuelle s'est amelioree chez 56% des patients. L'intervalle entre la phacoemulsification et la vitrectomie n'a pas influence le resultat final. L'etude demontre l'efficacite des techniques de vitrectomie posterieure effectuee pour une luxation cristallinienne, autant sur l'amelioration fonctionnelle que la prevention des complications.
Bayesian Nonlinear Filtering via Information Geometric Optimization

In this paper, Bayesian nonlinear filtering is considered from the viewpoint of information geometry and a novel filtering method is proposed based on information geometric optimization. Under the Bayesian filtering framework, we derive a relationship between the nonlinear characteristics of filtering and the metric tensor of the corresponding statistical manifold. Bayesian joint distributions are used to construct the statistical manifold. In this case, nonlinear filtering can be converted to an optimization problem on the statistical manifold and the adaptive natural gradient descent method is used to seek the optimal estimate. The proposed method provides a general filtering formulation and the Kalman filter, the Extended Kalman filter (EKF) and the Iterated Extended Kalman filter (IEKF) can be seen as special cases of this formulation. The performance of the proposed method is evaluated on a passive target tracking problem and the results demonstrate the superiority of the proposed method compared to various Kalman filter methods.
Efficient Pairing Computation on Huff Curves

Abstract Pairings on elliptic curves are currently of great interest due to their applications in a number of cryptographic protocols such as identity-based encryption, group signatures, short signatures, and the tripartite Diffie-Hellman. Miller's algorithm is the most commonly used method of computing Tate pairing. Denominator elimination can improve Miller's algorithm when the embedding degree has the form 2i3j. However, if the embedding degree does not have the above form, how can the speed of Miller's algorithm be increased? In this article, the authors modified Miller's algorithm over Huff curves. It is about 20.38% faster than the original algorithm.
Adabook and Multibook - Adaptive Boosting with Chance Correction

There has been considerable interest in boosting and bagging, including the combination of the adaptive techniques of AdaBoost with the random selection with replacement techniques of Bagging. At the same time there has been a revisiting of the way we evaluate, with chance-corrected measures like Kappa, Informedness, Correlation or ROC AUC being advocated. This leads to the question of whether learning algorithms can do better by optimizing an appropriate chance corrected measure. Indeed, it is possible for a weak learner to optimize Accuracy to the detriment of the more reaslistic chance-corrected measures, and when this happens the booster can give up too early. This phenomenon is known to occur with conventional Accuracy-based AdaBoost, and the MultiBoost algorithm has been developed to overcome such problems using restart techniques based on bagging. This paper thus complements the theoretical work showing the necessity of using chance-corrected measures for evaluation, with empirical work showing how use of a chance-corrected measure can improve boosting. We show that the early surrender problem occurs in MultiBoost too, in multiclass situations, so that chance-corrected AdaBook and Multibook can beat standard Multiboost or AdaBoost, and we further identify which chance-corrected measures to use when.
Laparoscopic appendectomy: comparison with open appendectomy in 720 patients.

We conducted a review of laparoscopic appendectomies (LA) and open appendectomies (OA) over a 3-year period, including 720 patients (253 LA, 467 OA) who underwent appendectomy during the study period. Computer records were reviewed with respect to demographics, length of stay, operating room time, operating room cost, hospital cost, and morbidity. All patients were sent surveys to assess their posthospitalization recovery. The LA patients had significant shorter hospital stays (2.06 days vs. 3.44 days, p < .001), lower morbidity rates (5 vs 14%, p < .02), and comparable overall hospital costs ($4,800 vs. $4,950). The LA patients also reported less postoperative pain and were able to return to work sooner. Our results show that LA can significantly decrease morbidity and hospital stay with a comparable hospital cost and result in quicker patient recovery.
Anti-infective external coating of central venous catheters: A randomized, noninferiority trial comparing 5-fluorouracil with chlorhexidine/silver sulfadiazine in preventing catheter colonization*

Objective:The antimetabolite drug, 5-fluorouracil, inhibits microbial growth. Coating of central venous catheters with 5-fluorouracil may reduce the risk of catheter infection. Our objective was to compare the safety and efficacy of central venous catheters externally coated with 5-fluorouracil with those coated with chlorhexidine and silver sulfadiazine. Design:Prospective, single-blind, randomized, active-controlled, multicentered, noninferiority trial. Setting:Twenty-five US medical center intensive care units. Patients:A total of 960 adult patients requiring central venous catheterization for up to 28 days. Interventions:Patients were randomized to receive a central venous catheter externally coated with either 5-fluorouracil (n = 480) or chlorhexidine and silver sulfadiazine (n = 480). Measurements and Main Results:The primary antimicrobial outcome was a dichotomous measure (<15 colony-forming units or ≥15 colony-forming units) for catheter colonization determined by the roll plate method. Secondary antimicrobial outcomes included local site infection and catheter-related bloodstream infection. Central venous catheters coated with 5-fluorouracil were noninferior to chlorhexidine and silver sulfadiazine coated central venous catheters with respect to the incidence of catheter colonization (2.9% vs. 5.3%, respectively). Local site infection occurred in 1.4% of the 5-fluorouracil group and 0.9% of the chlorhexidine and silver sulfadiazine group. No episode of catheter-related bloodstream infection occurred in the 5-fluorouracil group, whereas two episodes were noted in the chlorhexidine and silver sulfadiazine group. Only Gram-positive organisms were cultured from 5-fluorouracil catheters, whereas Gram-positive bacteria, Gram-negative bacteria, and Candida were cultured from the chlorhexidine and silver sulfadiazine central venous catheters. Adverse events were comparable between the two central venous catheter coatings. Conclusions:Our results suggest that central venous catheters externally coated with 5-fluorouracil are a safe and effective alternative to catheters externally coated with chlorhexidine and silver sulfadiazine when used in critically ill patients.
Species identification and antibiotic susceptibilities of coagulase-negative staphylococci isolated from clinical specimens

Identification of potentially significant coagulase-negative staphylococci isolated from clinical specimens was performed along with antibiotic susceptibility determinations, S. epidermidis accounted for 75% of these isolates, with S. haemolyticus and S. hominis being the second and third most frequently encountered species, respectively. Although there were many instances of single blood culture isolations of questionable significance, all three species were also found in multiple blood cultures from individual patients, indicating the ability to cause significant bacteremia. The most common source for most species was blood, except for S. saprophyticus and S. simulans, which were found more frequently in urine. Of urinary tract isolates, however, S. epidermidis was more common than S. saprophyticus. Antibiotic susceptibility profiles demonstrated that S. haemolyticus and S. epidermidis were frequently multiply antibiotic resistant. S. haemolyticus had a higher percentage of isolates that were oxacillin, cephalothin, aminoglycoside, erythromycin, and clindamycin resistant than did S. epidermidis. We found that species identification could be of benefit for both epidemiological as well as patient care purposes, and that this additional information is readily available, using convenient and rapid new methods.
[Anthropometric measurements as a predictor of mortality of community-dwelling Japanese elderly: the Nagoya Longitudinal Study of Frail Elderly (NLS-FE)].

AIM This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between anthropometric measurements and mortality among community-dwelling frail elderly. METHODS This study was a prospective cohort analysis of 520 community-dwelling elderly registered in the Nagoya Longitudinal Study for Frail Elderly (NLS-FE). Data included the participants' demographic characteristics, body mass index (BMI), mid-arm circumference (MAC), triceps skinfold (TSF), and arm muscle area (AMA), basic activities of daily living, comorbidity. BMI and TSF values were categorized into three groups, respectively, according to above the 75th percentile, the 25-75th percentile, and below the 25th percentile of Japanese Anthropometric Reference Data (JARD 2001). Survival analysis of 21-month mortality was conducted using Kaplan-Meier curves and multivariate Cox proportional hazards models. RESULTS BMI and TSF were independent risk factors for 21-month mortality in the study participants. Significant higher risk of 21-month mortality was observed in participants below the 75th percentile of BMI or below the 25th percentile of TSF set in JARD 2001. A striking increase in the risk of 21-month mortality, adjusting for potential confounding factors, was observed in the below 75th percentile of the BMI group with a below 25th percentile TSF of JARD 2001, compared with the 75th or above percentile BMI group with the 25th or above percentile TSF. CONCLUSION The combination of BMI and TSF is a predictor of 21-month mortality among older people with ADL dysfunction.
In vitro stimulation of lymphocytes by neutral proteinases from human polymorphonuclear leukocyte granules

Two neutral proteinases from human polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN), an elastase and the chymotrypsin-like cathepsin G, were purified, and their actions on lymphocytes in culture were studied. Both PMN proteinases stimulate lymphocytes from human peripheral blood and from mouse spleen in vitro, but do not affect thymic cells from either normal or hydrocortisone-treated mice. In stimulated mouse spleen cell cultures, most of the developing blast cells bear surface immunoglobulins, and subsequently appear to engage in antibody synthesis. In their stimulatory action, the two PMN proteinases thus resemble the classic B-cell mitogen LPS and neutral pancreatic proteinases such as trypsin, chymotrypsin, and elastase. The effects of proteinase inhibitors indicate that lymphocyte stimulation is dependent on the proteolytic activity of the enzymes. This work suggests that PMN proteinases, which are released at sites of inflammation, may modulate the function of lymphocytes.
Function and application of a non-ester-hydrolyzing carboxylesterase discovered in tulip

Plants have evolved secondary metabolite biosynthetic pathways of immense rich diversity. The genes encoding enzymes for secondary metabolite biosynthesis have evolved through gene duplication followed by neofunctionalization, thereby generating functional diversity. Emerging evidence demonstrates that some of those enzymes catalyze reactions entirely different from those usually catalyzed by other members of the same family; e.g. transacylation catalyzed by an enzyme similar to a hydrolytic enzyme. Tuliposide-converting enzyme (TCE), which we recently discovered from tulip, catalyzes the conversion of major defensive secondary metabolites, tuliposides, to antimicrobial tulipalins. The TCEs belong to the carboxylesterase family in the α/β-hydrolase fold superfamily, and specifically catalyze intramolecular transesterification, but not hydrolysis. This non-ester-hydrolyzing carboxylesterase is an example of an enzyme showing catalytic properties that are unpredictable from its primary structure. This review describes the biochemical and physiological aspects of tulipalin biogenesis, and the diverse functions of plant carboxylesterases in the α/β-hydrolase fold superfamily. Graphical abstract Both canonical ester-hydrolyzing and atypical non-ester hydrolyzing functions of carboxylesterases are required for secondary metabolism in plants.
Construyendo modelos de exones basados en árboles de decisión paralelos a los ejes

Constructing exon models is a central problem in bioinformatics. An exon model allows classifying a non characterized DNA sequence, either as being part of an exon or not. In spite of the advances that have been obtained when incorporating techniques such as Hidden Markov models, Neural networks and Weighted matrix, constructing exon models is still a problem that need to be explored. In this article a new exon model is proposed. This is constructed based on the application of axes parallel decision trees. After testing the model, it reaches specificity greater than any existing model, besides it allows knowing powerful information that is easy to understand by experts.
Secure Transmission in Spectrum Sharing MIMO Channels With Generalized Antenna Selection Over Nakagami- $m$  Channels

In this paper, we investigate the secrecy outage performance of spectrum sharing multiple-input multiple-output networks using generalized transmit antenna selection with maximal ratio combining over Nakagami-m channels. In particular, the outdated channel state information is considered at the process of antenna selection due to feedback delay. Considering a practical passive eavesdropper scenario, we derive the exact and asymptotic closed-form expressions of secrecy outage probability, which enable us to evaluate the secrecy performance with high efficiency and present a new design insight into the impact of key parameters on the secrecy performance. In addition, the analytical results demonstrate that the achievable secrecy diversity order is only determined by the parameters of the secondary network, while other parameters related to primary or eavesdropper's channels have a significantly impact on the secrecy coding gain.
Exercise‐induced metacarpophalangeal joint adaptation in the Thoroughbred racehorse

Repetitive bone injury and development of stress fracture is a common problem in humans and animals. The Thoroughbred racehorse is a model in which adaptive failure and associated development of stress fracture is common. We performed a histologic study of the distal end of the third metacarpal bone in two groups of horses: young Thoroughbreds that were actively racing (n = 10) and a group of non‐athletic horses (n = 8). The purpose of this study was to determine whether development of articular microcracks was associated with specific alterations to subchondral plate osteocytes. Morphometric measurements were made in five regions of the joint surface: lateral condyle, lateral condylar groove, sagittal ridge, medial condylar groove, and medial condyle. The following variables were quantified: hyaline cartilage width; calcified cartilage width; the number of tidemarks; microcrack density at the articular surface; blood vessel density entering articular cartilage; the presence of atypical bone matrix in the subchondral plate; bone volume fraction; and osteocyte density. Adaptation of articular cartilage was similar in both groups of horses. Vascularization of articular cartilage was increased in the group of non‐athletic horses. Microcracks, which typically had an oblique orientation to the joint surface, were co‐localized with blood vessels, and resorption spaces. Microcracking was increased in the condylar grooves of athletic horses compared with the other joint regions and was also increased compared with the condylar groove regions of non‐athletic horses. Coalescence of microcracks also led to development of an intracortical articular condylar stress fracture in some joints and targeted remodeling of affected subchondral plate. The subchondral plate of the condyles in athletic horses was sclerotic, and contained atypically stained bone matrix with increased numbers of osteocytes with atypical morphology. However, osteocyte numbers were not significantly different between groups. We conclude that differences in site‐specific microdamage accumulation and associated targeted remodeling between athletic and non‐athletic horses are much greater than differences in subchondral osteocyte morphology. However, the presence of atypical subchondral bone matrix in athletic horses was associated with extensive osteocyte loss. Although osteocyte mechanotransduction is considered important for functional adaptation, in this model, adaptation is likely regulated by multiple mechanotransduction pathways.
Frataxin Acts as an Iron Chaperone Protein to Modulate Mitochondrial Aconitase Activity

Numerous degenerative disorders are associated with elevated levels of prooxidants and declines in mitochondrial aconitase activity. Deficiency in the mitochondrial iron-binding protein frataxin results in diminished activity of various mitochondrial iron-sulfur proteins including aconitase. We found that aconitase can undergo reversible citrate-dependent modulation in activity in response to pro-oxidants. Frataxin interacted with aconitase in a citrate-dependent fashion, reduced the level of oxidant-induced inactivation, and converted inactive [3Fe-4S]1+ enzyme to the active [4Fe-4S]2+ form of the protein. Thus, frataxin is an iron chaperone protein that protects the aconitase [4Fe-4S]2+ cluster from disassembly and promotes enzyme reactivation.
Accuracy of T2-weighted fast spin-echo MR imaging with fat saturation in detecting cartilage defects in the knee: comparison with arthroscopy in 130 patients.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to assess the accuracy of routine T2-weighted MR imaging in detecting and grading articular cartilage lesions in the knee compared with arthroscopy. SUBJECTS AND METHODS We examined 130 consecutive patients who underwent MR imaging and arthroscopy of the knee for suspected internal derangement. MR imaging consisted of axial and coronal T2-weighted fast spin-echo sequences with fat saturation and sagittal T2-weighted spin-echo sequences. Each single plane was evaluated and graded for the presence and appearance of articular cartilage defects using a standard arthroscopic grading scheme adapted to MR imaging. RESULTS Of the 86 arthroscopically proven abnormalities, 81 were detected on MR imaging. Sensitivity of the T2-weighted fast spin-echo sequence with fat saturation was 61% for the coronal plane alone and 59% for the axial plane alone. Specificity for each plane was 99%. Sensitivity for the sagittal T2-weighted spin-echo sequence was 40%, and specificity was 100%. Sensitivity of the combination of axial and coronal T2-weighted fast spin-echo sequences with fat saturation and sagittal T2-weighted spin-echo sequence compared with arthroscopy for revealing cartilage lesions was 94%, specificity was 99%, and accuracy was 98%. Sensitivity of coronal and axial T2-weighted fast spin-echo sequences with fat saturation was 93%, and specificity was 99%. Fifty-five lesions (64%) were identically graded on MR imaging and arthroscopy. Seventy-eight lesions (90%) were within one grade using MR imaging and arthroscopy, and 84 lesions (97%) were within two grades using MR imaging and arthroscopy. CONCLUSION T2-weighted fast spin-echo MR imaging with fat saturation is an accurate and fast technique for detecting and grading articular cartilage defects in the knee. The combination of the axial and coronal planes offers sufficient coverage of articular surfaces to provide a high sensitivity and specificity for chondral defects.