Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Simple blood tests as noninvasive markers of liver fibrosis in hemodialysis patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection

HCV infection is common among patients with end‐stage renal disease (ESRD) on hemodialysis, and it has been considered an independent risk factor for mortality in this setting. Although liver biopsy in ESRD patients with HCV infection is useful before kidney transplantation, it carries a high risk of complications. We sought to assess the diagnostic value of noninvasive markers to stage liver fibrosis in 203 ESRD HCV‐infected patients. Univariate and multivariate analysis were used to identify variables associated with significant fibrosis (METAVIR F2, F3, or F4 stages). Significant liver fibrosis was observed in 48 patients (24%). Logistic regression analysis identified AST and platelet count as independent predictors of significant fibrosis (P < 0.001 and P = 0.001, respectively). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of the AST to platelet ratio index (APRI) for predicting significant fibrosis was 0.801. An APRI < 0.40 accurately identified patients with fibrosis stage 0 or 1 in 93% of the cases (NPV = 93%), and all misclassified subjects were F2. A cutoff ≥ 0.95 to confirm significant fibrosis had a PPV of 66%. If biopsy indication was restricted to APRI scores in the intermediate range (≥0.40 and < 0.95), 52% of liver biopsies could have been correctly avoided. Conclusion: Stage of liver fibrosis can be reliably predicted in ESRD HCV‐infected subjects by simple and widely available blood tests such as AST levels and platelet count. These tests might obviate the requirement for a liver biopsy in a significant proportion of those patients. (HEPATOLOGY 2007.)
Main and interactive effects of social support in predicting mental health symptoms in men and women following military stressor exposure

Abstract Evidence across a multitude of contexts indicates that social support is associated with reduced risk for mental health symptoms. More information is needed on the effectiveness of different sources of support, as well as sex differences in support. Associations between social support from two sources – the military unit and friends and family – and mental health symptoms were examined in a study of 1571 Marine recruits assessed at the beginning and end of a highly stressful 13-week training program. Military social support buffered the stressor exposure–posttraumatic stress symptomatology (PTSS) relationship, whereas the relationship between stressor exposure and PTSS was highest when civilian social support was high. Further inspection of the interactions revealed that military support was most important at high levels of stressor exposure. Sex differences in the relationship between social support and symptoms were found, such that support from military peers was associated with lower levels of PTSS for men, whereas civilian support was associated with lower PTSS for women. While civilian social support was associated with lower levels of depression symptom severity in both women and men, the relationship was stronger for women. Reviewed implications focus on the importance of considering the recipient, source, and context of social support.
Conformal phosphor coating for phosphor-converted white LEDs on basis of dispensing process

We presented a kind of new conformal coating phosphor layer structure and method in this paper. In this method, we gained a compact phosphor layer arrangement with inversed phosphor distributions by substrate structure design and different curing method on basis of traditional dispensing process. Compared to traditional phosphor dispensing packaging, this method can significantly enhance the angular color uniformity (ACU). The angular correlated color temperature (CCT) deviation is reduced as 149K at the average CCT of about 6000K.
Histopathology of a functioning mitomycin‐C trabeculectomy

The ideal trabeculectomy bleb is diffuse, normally vascularized and characterized by microcystic change in the overlying conjunctiva. We compare and contrast the histopathology of a normally functioning mitomycin‐C trabeculectomy site obtained from an eye enucleated for iris melanoma with abnormal blebs discussed in the literature. Representative sections of the normally functioning bleb were examined under the light microscope. The conjunctiva is composed of a uniform three‐layered non‐keratinizing stratified squamous epithelium overlying a single layer of oedematous basal cells. The conjunctival stroma consisted of loose connective tissue, traversed by capillaries and scattered small cystic spaces lined by endothelial cells. There were no goblet cells and few inflammatory cells and fibroblasts. The scleral trapdoor was evident as a cleft in the scleral wall in communication with the anterior chamber at the surgically created sclerostomy. Because the histopathological findings in our case correlate well with this clinical appearance, we conclude that whereas augmentation with anti‐metabolites, such as mitomycin‐C, can be associated with significantly altered conjunctival histopathology and consequent hypotony, but, if used carefully, normal architecture is conserved.
Recent Progress in Cell Therapy in Solid Organ Transplantation

There has been ample of preclinical and animal studies showing efficacy and safety of using various cells, such as stem cells or T regulatory cells, after transplantation for tissue repair, immunosuppression or tolerance induction. However, there has been a significant progress recently using cell therapy in solid organ transplantation in small clinical trials. Recent results have been promising and using cell therapy in solid organ transplantation seems feasible and safe. However, there are more hurdles to overcome such as dose and timing of the infusions. Current studies mainly focused on live donor kidney transplantation. Expansion of current regimes to other organs and deceased donor transplantation would be crucial.
Assessing Benefits of Volt-Var Control Schemes Using AMI Data Analytics

Feeder volt-var control (VVC) has been widely promoted and adopted in power distribution industry. This paper presents a technique to “measure” the true benefits of such schemes using the continuous data collected from the advanced metering infrastructure system and the statistical data analytics techniques. The VVC schemes under consideration are switchable capacitor based. The proposed method is able to estimate, statistically, the amount of feeder losses saved due to switched capacitors during a given test period such as a week. Feasibility of the method is demonstrated by simulation studies on the IEEE 123 node test feeder. The studies reveal that the method can still perform by even a 20 min time resolution of measurements, so that the proposed approach is promising even with regard to existing metering technologies in distribution systems.
Physical therapy education in Saudi Arabia

[Purpose] To review the physical therapy educational program model, professional curriculum, and gender representation at major universities, as well as the quality and scope of physical therapy practice in Saudi Arabia. [Methods] Information regarding course curriculum, gender representation, and the quality and scope of physical therapy practice was collected from six universities in Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Physical Therapy Association, and the Saudi Health Commission. [Results] The first bachelor’s degree course of physical therapy was started in Saudi Arabia more than 30 years ago. In the last 10 years, the number of universities offering a bachelor’s degree in physical therapy has risen from 6 to 16, of which 14 are governmental and two are private. The 5- to 6 year bachelor’s degree program in physiotherapy includes an internship and preparatory prerequisite courses. Postgraduate study in physical therapy was introduced in 2000. Most universities offer segregated physical therapy courses for male and female students. [Conclusion] The enrollment of students in physical therapy programs in Saudi Arabia is gradually increasing. There are many opportunities to extend the scope of practice and contribute to the health needs of the Arab population and international communities.
Model and Simulation of Network Crisis Information Diffusion under Uncertain Environment

Network crisis information diffusion will have a certain impact on the public’s psychology and behavior and will cause harm to the normal operation social of the public system and the effective allocation of the public resources. So we should timely control the key factors which affect the diffusion process to reduce the damage. Using cellular automata theory, the paper views the public as a series of cellular automata and sets up some cellular state evolution rules. With the help of MATLAB simulated evolution, this paper explores the diffusion rule of crisis information diffusion process and finds out the key factors of crisis information diffusion process and its influence on the diffusion scale and effect, so as to put forward coping strategies. It is hoped that this paper provides reference for the theoretical study of the crisis information diffusion and provides suggestion for the real world to control the crisis information diffusion.
Effect of muraglitazar on death and major adverse cardiovascular events in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

CONTEXT Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) are nuclear transcription factors that modulate gene expression. Therapeutic agents targeting 2 distinct families of PPARs (alpha and gamma) have been introduced in the United States. The first dual-PPAR agonist, muraglitazar, was reviewed by a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory committee on September 9, 2005, resulting in a vote of 8:1 recommending approval for its use in controlling blood glucose levels in patients with type 2 diabetes. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the incidence of death, myocardial infarction (MI), stroke, congestive heart failure (CHF), and transient ischemic attack (TIA) in diabetic patients treated with muraglitazar compared with controls. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS The source material for this analysis consisted of documents about phase 2 and 3 clinical trials released under public disclosure laws for the FDA advisory committee meeting. All reviewed trials were prospective, randomized, double-blind, multicenter studies enrolling patients with type 2 diabetes and hemoglobin A(1c) levels between 7% and 10%. Patients (N = 3725) were randomized to receive differing doses of muraglitazar, pioglitazone, or placebo as monotherapy or in combination with metformin or glyburide in trials ranging from 24 to 104 weeks. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The primary outcome was the incidence of death, nonfatal MI, or nonfatal stroke. A more comprehensive composite outcome included these events plus the incidence of CHF and TIA. RESULTS In the muraglitazar-treated patients, death, MI, or stroke occurred in 35 of 2374 (1.47%) patients compared with 9 of 1351 (0.67%) patients in the combined placebo and pioglitazone treatment groups (controls) (relative risk [RR], 2.23; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.07-4.66; P = .03). For the more comprehensive outcome measure that included TIA and CHF, the incidence was 50 of 2374 (2.11%) for muraglitazar compared with 11 of 1351 (0.81%) for controls (RR, 2.62; 95% CI, 1.36-5.05; P = .004). Relative risks for each of the individual components of the composite end point exceeded 2.1 but were not statistically significant. Incidence of adjudicated CHF was 13 of 2374 (0.55%) muraglitazar-treated patients and 1 of 1351 controls (0.07%) (RR, 7.43; 95% CI, 0.97-56.8; P = .053). CONCLUSIONS Compared with placebo or pioglitazone, muraglitazar was associated with an excess incidence of the composite end point of death, major adverse cardiovascular events (MI, stroke, TIA), and CHF. This agent should not be approved to treat diabetes based on laboratory end points until safety is documented in a dedicated cardiovascular events trial.
Mitochondrial Effects of Estrogen Are Mediated by Estrogen Receptor α in Brain Endothelial Cells

Mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) and endothelial dysfunction are key contributors to cerebrovascular pathophysiology. We previously found that 17β-estradiol profoundly affects mitochondrial function in cerebral blood vessels, enhancing efficiency of energy production and suppressing mitochondrial oxidative stress. To determine whether estrogen specifically affects endothelial mitochondria through receptor mechanisms, we used cultured human brain microvascular endothelial cells (HBMECs). 17β-Estradiol treatment for 24 h increased mitochondrial cytochrome c protein and mRNA; use of silencing RNA for estrogen receptors (ERs) showed that this effect involved ERα, but not ERβ. Mitochondrial ROS were determined by measuring the activity of aconitase, an enzyme with an iron-sulfur center inactivated by mitochondrial superoxide. 17β-Estradiol increased mitochondrial aconitase activity in HBMECs, indicating a reduction in ROS. Direct measurement of mitochondrial superoxide with MitoSOX Red showed that 17β-estradiol, but not 17α-estradiol, significantly decreased mitochondrial superoxide production, an effect blocked by the ER antagonist, ICI-182,780 (fulvestrant). Selective ER agonists demonstrated that the decrease in mitochondrial superoxide was mediated by ERα, not ERβ. The selective estrogen receptor modulators, raloxifene and 4-hydroxy-tamoxifen, differentially affected mitochondrial superoxide production, with raloxifene acting as an agonist but 4-hydroxy-tamoxifen acting as an estrogen antagonist. Changes in superoxide by 17β-estradiol could not be explained by changes in manganese superoxide dismutase. Instead, ERα-mediated decreases in mitochondrial ROS may depend on the concomitant increase in mitochondrial cytochrome c, previously shown to act as an antioxidant. Mitochondrial protective effects of estrogen in cerebral endothelium may contribute to sex differences in the occurrence of stroke and other age-related neurodegenerative diseases.
Vehicle Detection from UAVs by Using SIFT with Implicit Shape Model

In recent years, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have gained a great importance in both military and civilian applications. In this paper, we proposed a vehicle detection method from UAVs which integrated of Scalar Invariant Feature Transform (SIFT) and Implicit Shape Model (ISM). Firstly, a set of key points was detected in the testing image by using SIFT. Secondly, feature descriptors around the key points were generated by using the ISM. Support Vector Machines (SVMs) were applied during the key points selection. The experiment used a video shoot by a UAV in a highway and the results showed the performance and the effectiveness of the method.
Zinc finger E‐box binding homeobox 1 promotes vasculogenic mimicry in colorectal cancer through induction of epithelial‐to‐mesenchymal transition

Our previous studies have shown that epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) may be involved in the vasculogenic mimicry (VM) formation in hepatocellular carcinoma. Here, we hypothesize that zinc finger E‐box binding homeobox 1 (ZEB1) promotes VM formation in colorectal carcinoma (CRC) by inducing EMT. We identified VM in 39 (19.2%) out of 203 CRC patients. The presence of VM was associated with aggressive biological behavior and was an unfavorable prognostic indicator. By immunohistochemical analysis, we found that the VM‐positive CRC samples showed increased ZEB1 expression compared with the VM‐negative samples and the ZEB1 expression occurred concomitantly with features of EMT. In vitro, knockdown of ZEB1 in poorly differentiated HCT116 CRC cells destroyed the vessel‐like structures in the 3‐D culture, a property associated with VM formation. Knockdown of ZEB1 resulted in restoration of epithelial phenotypes and significantly inhibited the ability to migrate and invade. In addition, ZEB1 underexpression decreased the expression of vascular endothelial (VE)‐cadherin and Flk‐1, which are characteristics of endothelial cells. Taken together, our results suggest that ZEB1 can promote VM formation by inducing EMT in CRC and might represent an important target in CRC. (Cancer Sci 2012; 103: 813–820)
Mise au point: déficit en alpha 1 antitrypsine

Le deficit en alpha 1 antitrypsine (AAT) est un desordre genetique commun qui se manifeste principalement par des maladies pulmonaires obstructives et plus rarement par une atteinte hepatique. La decouverte de l'alpha 1 antitrypsine en tant qu'inhibiteur de proteases a abouti a la theorie du desequilibre de la balance protease-antiprotease, qui demeure encore la cle de voute de la physiopathologie de l'emphyseme pulmonaire. Cet article fait le point sur la pathogenese, les facteurs de risque environnementaux et les manifestations cliniques du deficit en AAT. Des informations concernant la distribution mondiale, le diagnostic et les strategies therapeutiques de la maladie sont egalement apportees. Nous avons insiste sur l'epidemiologie du deficit en AAT dans les pays du bassin mediterraneen.
Regulation of Pituitary Corticotropin Releasing Hormone (CRH) Receptor mRNA and CRH Binding During Adrenalectomy: Role of Glucocorticoids and Hypothalamic Factors

The role of glucocorticoids and hypothalamic factors on CRH receptor expression in the pituitary were studied by analysis of the effects of adrenalectomy and suppression of CRH and VP secretion by hypothalamic lesions in the rat. Consistent with previous in situ hybridization studies, Northern blots showed that pituitary CRH receptor mRNA decreased only transiently after adrenalectomy, falling to 51% of the control levels after 18 h, and returning to control values after 6 days (112%). The early decrease was prevented by dexamethasone injection, 100 &mgr;g, s.c. The role of increased levels of CRH and VP in the pituitary portal circulation on the transient decrease in CRH receptor mRNA levels after adrenalectomy were studied by in situ hybridization in rats subjected to PVN lesions or median eminence deafferentation by hypothalamic anterolateral cuts (ALC). PVN lesion (12 days) or ALC (8 days) resulted in undetectable irCRH and VP in the external zone of the median eminence and had no effect on basal levels of pituitary POMC mRNA, CRH binding and CRH receptor mRNA. In sham lesioned rats, adrenalectomy for 18 h or 4 days caused the expected increases in pituitary POMC hnRNA and mRNA, and decreases in CRH binding. CRH‐R mRNA levels decreased by about 50% after 18 h adrenalectomy but returned to basal by 4 days. PVN lesion or ALC fully prevented the fall in CRH binding after 18 h or 4 days adrenalectomy and the increase in POMC mRNA after 4 days adrenalectomy, whereas only attenuated the decrease in CRH receptor mRNA and increase in POMC mRNA levels after 18 h adrenalectomy. Administration of a CRH antagonist did not affect CRH receptor mRNA and POMC hnRNA and mRNA indicating that residual CRH in the median eminence after hypothalamic surgery is not responsible for the effect of adrenalectomy. These studies confirm previous in situ hybridization studies showing that adrenalectomy causes transient decreases in pituitary CRH receptor mRNA levels. The data indicate that while increases in hypothalamic CRH secretion following glucocorticoid withdrawal mediate pituitary CRH receptor binding loss and the increase in POMC expression after long‐term adrenalectomy, CRH only partially accounts for the early changes in CRH receptor mRNA and POMC mRNA.
Evaluation of Meta-Heuristic Algorithms for Stable Feature Selection

Now a days, developing the science and technology and technology tools, the ability of reviewing and saving the important data has been provided. It is needed to have knowledge for searching the data to reach the necessary useful results. Data mining is searching for big data sources automatically to find patterns and dependencies which are not done by simple statistical analysis. The scope is to study the predictive role and usage domain of data mining in medical science and suggesting a frame for creating, assessing and exploiting the data mining patterns in this field. As it has been found out from previous researches that assessing methods can not be used to specify the data discrepancies, our suggestion is a new approach for assessing the data similarities to find out the relations between the variation in data and stability in selection. Therefore we have chosen meta heuristic methods to be able to choose the best and the stable algorithms among a set of algorithms.
Measurement of complex dielectric material properties of ice using electrical impedance spectroscopy

Atmospheric icing accretion is an immanent phenomenon in cold climate regions. For critical infrastructure (e.g. power lines), ice coverage can cause severe damage to the infrastructure, or lead to limited system performance. A reliable sensing principle to detect ice accretion, i.e. to distinguish between water layers and ice, is required. In this paper we present a measurement approach based on electrical impedance spectroscopy to observe frequency dependent properties of water according to its state of matter. The feasibility for sensor applications is shown by means of experiments.
Multimodality and spontaneity in human-computer interactions analogies of ontogeny

The use of developmental analogies in multimodal human-computer interaction reaseaches is proposed in this paper. Unlike in received approaches to multimodal human —computer interaction, multimodality is defined as an inherent property of communication. Three aspects of communication in early infancy is highlighted: (1) amodal perception and intermodal coordination, (2) imitative learning and diadic interaction, (3) gaze following and triadic interaction.
A Dynamically Reconfigurable Pattern Matcher for Regular Expressions on FPGA

In this article we describe how to expand a partially dynamic reconfig- urable pattern matcher for regular expressions presented in previous work by Di- vyasree and Rajashekar [2]. The resulting, extended, pattern matcher is fully dynamically reconfigurable. First, the design is adapted for use with parameterisable configurations, a method for Dynamic Circuit Specialization. Using parameteris- able configurations allows us to achieve the same area gains as the hand crafted reconfigurable design, with the benefit that parameterisable configurations can be applied automatically. This results in a design that is more easily adaptable to spe- cific applications and allows for an easier design exploration. Additionally, the pa- rameterisable configuration implementation is also generated automatically, which greatly reduces the design overhead of using dynamic reconfiguration. Secondly, we propose a number of expansions to the original design to overcome several limitations in the original design that constrain the dynamic reconfigurability of the pattern matcher. We propose two different solutions to dynamically change the character that is matched in a certain block. The resulting pattern matcher, after these changes, is fully dynamically reconfigurable, all aspects of the implemented regular expression can be changed at run-time.
Patient‐centering approaches for the surgical oncologist: Palliative care, patient navigation, and distress screening

Surgeons can more effectively meet the public's increased expectation of patient‐centered care by directing attention to pain, non‐pain symptoms, including depression and anxiety, in addition to the patient's personal preferences, resources, and support needs. Patient navigation and palliative care, both pioneered by surgeons, provide complementary frameworks for the screening, assessment and intervention needed to achieve enhanced patient outcomes including adherence to care, improved quality of life and patient satisfaction. J. Surg. Oncol. 2014 110:621–628. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.