Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Hip Arthroscopic Surgery in the Context of Femoroacetabular Impingement Syndrome, Labral Tear, and Acetabular Overcoverage: Minimum 5-Year Outcomes With a Subanalysis Against Patients Without Overcoverage

Background: Improvement in patient-reported outcomes (PROs) has been reported in the short term after hip arthroscopy for femoroacetabular impingement syndrome (FAIS) and labral tear in the setting of acetabular overcoverage. Yet, there is a paucity of information in the literature on midterm PROs. Purpose: To (1) report minimum 5-year PROs in patients who underwent primary hip arthroscopy for FAIS and acetabular labral tears in the context of acetabular overcoverage and (2) compare outcomes with those of a propensity-matched control group without acetabular overcoverage. Study Design: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods: Data were prospectively collected and retrospectively analyzed on all patients who underwent hip arthroscopy for FAIS and labral tears between February 2008 and November 2013. Inclusion criteria were lateral center-edge angle >40° and minimum 5-year follow-up for the modified Harris Hip Score (mHHS), Nonarthritic Hip Score (NAHS), and the Hip Outcome Score–Sports-Specific Subscale (HOS-SSS). Exclusion criteria were previous ipsilateral hip surgery or conditions, active workers’ compensation claims, or lack of minimum 5-year outcomes. A 1:1 propensity-matched comparison was made between the study group and a control group without acetabular overcoverage (lateral center-edge angle, 25°-40°) based on age at surgery, sex, body mass index, Tönnis grade, laterality, and follow-up time. The minimal clinically important difference (MCID) was calculated for the mHHS, HOS-SSS, and NAHS. Secondary surgical procedures were recorded. Results: A total of 54 patients satisfied the inclusion criteria for the study group, of whom 45 (83.3%; 45 hips) had a minimum 5-year follow-up and were matched without differences in age at surgery, sex, body mass index, or follow-up time. The study and control groups demonstrated significant and comparable improvements for the mHHS (mean ± SD Δ, 24.06 ± 24.19 vs 26.33 ± 17.27; P = .625), NAHS (Δ, 31.22 ± 25.31 vs 27.15 ± 17.61; P = .399), and HOS-SSS (Δ, 33.16 ± 34.73 vs 34.75 ± 26.15; P = .557). The rates for achieving the MCID were similar for the study and control groups for the mHHS (76.7% vs 84.2%; P = .399), HOS-SSS (79.1% vs 75.8%; P = .731), and NAHS (81.4% vs 84.2%; P = .738). Need for revision surgery was similar (P = .748). A lower conversion rate to total hip arthroplasty was reported for the study than for the control group (2.2% vs 15.6%; P = .026). Conclusion: In the context of FAIS, labral tears, and acetabular overcoverage, patients who underwent hip arthroscopy reported significant improvement in several PROs at minimum 5-year follow-up. Moreover, outcomes were comparable with those of a propensity-matched control group without acetabular overcoverage. Furthermore, the rate of achieving the MCID for the mHHS, HOS-SSS, and NAHS was similar between these groups.
Q-Learning Based Joint Energy-Spectral Efficiency Optimization in Multi-Hop Device-to-Device Communication

In scenarios, like critical public safety communication networks, On-Scene Available (OSA) user equipment (UE) may be only partially connected with the network infrastructure, e.g., due to physical damages or on-purpose deactivation by the authorities. In this work, we consider multi-hop Device-to-Device (D2D) communication in a hybrid infrastructure where OSA UEs connect to each other in a seamless manner in order to disseminate critical information to a deployed command center. The challenge that we address is to simultaneously keep the OSA UEs alive as long as possible and send the critical information to a final destination (e.g., a command center) as rapidly as possible, while considering the heterogeneous characteristics of the OSA UEs. We propose a dynamic adaptation approach based on machine learning to improve a joint energy-spectral efficiency (ESE). We apply a Q-learning scheme in a hybrid fashion (partially distributed and centralized) in learner agents (distributed OSA UEs) and scheduler agents (remote radio heads or RRHs), for which the next hop selection and RRH selection algorithms are proposed. Our simulation results show that the proposed dynamic adaptation approach outperforms the baseline system by approximately 67% in terms of joint energy-spectral efficiency, wherein the energy efficiency of the OSA UEs benefit from a gain of approximately 30%. Finally, the results show also that our proposed framework with C-RAN reduces latency by approximately 50% w.r. t. the baseline.
Experimental Methods for Evaluating the Bacterial Uptake of Trojan Horse Antibacterials

The field of antibacterial siderophore conjugates, referred to as Trojan Horse antibacterials, has received increasing attention in recent years, driven by the rise of antimicrobial resistance. Trojan Horse antibacterials offer an opportunity to exploit the specific pathways present in bacteria for active iron uptake, potentially allowing the drugs to bypass membrane‐associated resistance mechanisms. Hence, the Trojan Horse approach might enable the redesigning of old antibiotics and the development of antibacterials that target specific pathogens. Critical parts of evaluating such Trojan Horse antibacterials and improving their design are the quantification of their bacterial uptake and the identification of the pathways by which this occurs. In this minireview, we highlight a selection of the biological and chemical methods used to study the uptake of Trojan Horse antibacterials, exemplified with case studies, some of which have led to drug candidates in clinical development or approved antibiotics.
Emerging Roles of Functional Bacterial Amyloids in Gene Regulation, Toxicity, and Immunomodulation

Bacteria often reside in multicellular communities, called biofilms, held together by an extracellular matrix. In many bacteria, the major proteinaceous component of the biofilm are amyloid fibers. Amyloids are highly stable and structured protein aggregates which were known mostly to be associated with neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and Huntington’s diseases. In recent years, microbial amyloids were identified also in other species and shown to play major roles in microbial physiology and virulence. SUMMARY Bacteria often reside in multicellular communities, called biofilms, held together by an extracellular matrix. In many bacteria, the major proteinaceous component of the biofilm are amyloid fibers. Amyloids are highly stable and structured protein aggregates which were known mostly to be associated with neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and Huntington’s diseases. In recent years, microbial amyloids were identified also in other species and shown to play major roles in microbial physiology and virulence. For example, amyloid fibers assemble on the bacterial cell surface as a part of the extracellular matrix and are extremely important to the scaffolding and structural integrity of biofilms, which contribute to microbial resilience and resistance. Furthermore, microbial amyloids play fundamental nonscaffold roles that contribute to the development of biofilms underlying numerous persistent infections. Here, we review several nonscaffold roles of bacterial amyloid proteins, including bridging cells during collective migration, acting as regulators of cell fate, as toxins against other bacteria or against host immune cells, and as modulators of the hosts’ immune system. These overall points on the complexity of the amyloid fold in encoding numerous activities, which offer approaches for the development of a novel repertoire of antivirulence therapeutics.
Rapid kinetics reveal surprising flavin chemistry in bifurcating electron transfer flavoprotein from Acidaminococcus fermentans

Electron bifurcation uses free energy from exergonic redox reactions to power endergonic reactions. β-FAD of the electron transfer flavoprotein (EtfAB) from the anaerobic bacterium Acidaminococcus fermentans bifurcates the electrons of NADH, sending one to the low-potential ferredoxin and the other to the high-potential α-FAD semiquinone (α-FAD•−). The resultant α-FAD hydroquinone (α-FADH−) transfers one electron further to butyryl-CoA dehydrogenase (Bcd); two such transfers enable Bcd to reduce crotonyl-CoA to butyryl-CoA. To get insight into the mechanism of these intricate reactions, we constructed an artificial reaction only with EtfAB containing α-FAD or α-FAD•− to monitor formation of α-FAD•− or α-FADH−, respectively, using stopped flow kinetic measurements. In the presence of α-FAD, we observed that NADH transferred a hydride to β-FAD at a rate of 920 s−1, yielding the charge–transfer complex NAD+:β-FADH− with an absorbance maximum at 650 nm. β-FADH− bifurcated one electron to α-FAD and the other electron to α-FAD of a second EtfAB molecule, forming two stable α-FAD•−. With α-FAD•−, the reduction of β-FAD with NADH was 1500 times slower. Reduction of β-FAD in the presence of α-FAD displayed a normal kinetic isotope effect (KIE) of 2.1, whereas the KIE was inverted in the presence of α-FAD•−. These data indicate that a nearby radical (14 Å apart) slows the rate of a hydride transfer and inverts the KIE. This unanticipated flavin chemistry is not restricted to Etf–Bcd but certainly occurs in other bifurcating Etfs found in anaerobic bacteria and archaea.
Smartphone-Based Monitoring of Parkinson Disease: Quasi-Experimental Study to Quantify Hand Tremor Severity and Medication Effectiveness

Background Hand tremor typically has a negative impact on a person’s ability to complete many common daily activities. Previous research has investigated how to quantify hand tremor with smartphones and wearable sensors, mainly under controlled data collection conditions. Solutions for daily real-life settings remain largely underexplored. Objective Our objective was to monitor and assess hand tremor severity in patients with Parkinson disease (PD), and to better understand the effects of PD medications in a naturalistic environment. Methods Using the Welch method, we generated periodograms of accelerometer data and computed signal features to compare patients with varying degrees of PD symptoms. Results We introduced and empirically evaluated the tremor intensity parameter (TIP), an accelerometer-based metric to quantify hand tremor severity in PD using smartphones. There was a statistically significant correlation between the TIP and self-assessed Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) II tremor scores (Kendall rank correlation test: z=30.521, P<.001, τ=0.5367379; n=11). An analysis of the “before” and “after” medication intake conditions identified a significant difference in accelerometer signal characteristics among participants with different levels of rigidity and bradykinesia (Wilcoxon rank sum test, P<.05). Conclusions Our work demonstrates the potential use of smartphone inertial sensors as a systematic symptom severity assessment mechanism to monitor PD symptoms and to assess medication effectiveness remotely. Our smartphone-based monitoring app may also be relevant for other conditions where hand tremor is a prevalent symptom.
Post-last glacial maximum expansion of Y-chromosome haplogroup C2a-L1373 in northern Asia and its implications for the origin of Native Americans.

OBJECTIVES Subbranches of Y-chromosome haplogroup C2a-L1373 are founding paternal lineages in northern Asia and Native American populations. Our objective was to investigate C2a-L1373 differentiation in northern Asia and its implications for Native American origins. MATERIALS AND METHODS Sequences of rare subbranches (n = 43) and ancient individuals (n = 37) of C2a-L1373 (including P39 and MPB373), were used to construct phylogenetic trees with age estimation by BEAST software. RESULTS C2a-L1373 expanded rapidly approximately 17.7,000-14.3,000 years ago (kya) after the last glacial maximum (LGM), generating numerous sublineages which became founding paternal lineages of modern northern Asian and Native American populations (C2a-P39 and C2a-MPB373). The divergence pattern supports possible initiation of differentiation in low latitude regions of northern Asia and northward diffusion after the LGM. There is a substantial gap between the divergence times of C2a-MPB373 (approximately 22.4 or 17.7 kya) and C2a-P39 (approximately 14.3 kya), indicating two possible migration waves. DISCUSSION We discussed the decreasing time interval of "Beringian standstill" (2.5 ky or smaller) and its reduced significance. We also discussed the multiple possibilities for the peopling of the Americas: the "Long-term Beringian standstill model," the "Short-term Beringian standstill model," and the "Multiple waves of migration model. " Our results support the argument from ancient DNA analyses that the direct ancestor group of Native Americans is an admixture of "Ancient Northern Siberians" and Paleolithic communities from the Amur region, which appeared during the post-LGM era, rather than ancient populations in greater Beringia, or an adjacent region, before the LGM.
Étude théorique d'interfaces pour l'épitaxie de l'aluminate de lanthane sur silicium

La miniaturisation des dispositifs Metal-oxyde-Semiconducteur (MOS) necessitera pour l'industrie microelectronique de disposer a breve echeance d'un isolant de grille remplacant SiO2 dont la trop faible epaisseur ne permettra plus d'assurer des performances suffisantes. La solution envisagee consiste a utiliser une couche plus epaisse d'un materiau de constante dielectrique superieure (high-K). Afin de s'affranchir des defauts inherents au depot d'oxydes amorphes et de beneficier des caracteristiques ide��ales d'un materiau cristallin, l'objectif est de realiser l'epitaxie de la perovskite LaAIO3, oxyde le plus prometteur au niveau structural et electronique. Ceci n'ayant jamais ete accompli sur Si, il s'est avere necessaire d'effectuer un travail d'ingenierie d'interface en etroite collaboration avec une equipe specialisee en epitaxie par jets moleculaires. En utilisant la Theorie de la Fonctionnelle de Densite, notre but est de determiner la meilleure interface au niveau de la croissance et des proprietes electroniques. Nous avons ainsi construit et etudie plusieurs interfaces directes et couches d'accroche isolantes. D'une part, nos resultats montrent que certaines d'entre elles presentent d'excellentes perspectives de croissance pour l'oxyde. Notre interface la plus favorable, Al0. 5O1. 25, est elaboree en oxydant un motif de paires d'Al sur la surface Si(001). D'autre part, les discontinuites de bandes que nous avons calculees entre Si et LaAIO3 sont a la fois proches des valeurs experimentales (avec LaAIO3 amorphe), bien que dependant de la structure atomique de l'interface, et satisfaisantes pour une utilisation dans les futurs dispositifs MOS.
Shaping the Future of Rare Diseases after a Global Health Emergency: Organisational Points to Consider

The unexpected outbreak of the COVID-19 disease had significant and enormous repercussions on the healthcare systems, such as the need to reorganise healthcare organisations in order to concentrate resources needed to the care of COVID-19 patients and to respond in general to this health emergency. Due to these challenges, the care of several chronic conditions was in many cases discontinued and patients and healthcare professionals treating these conditions had to cope with this new scenario. This was the case of the world rare diseases (RDs) that had to face this global emergency despite the vulnerability of people with RDs and the well-known need for high expertise required to treat and manage them. The numerous lessons learned so far regarding health emergencies and RDs should represent the basis for the establishment of new healthcare policies and plans aimed at ensuring the preparedness of our health systems in providing appropriate care to people living with RDs in the case of eventual new emergencies. This paper aims at providing pragmatic considerations that might be useful in designing future actions to create or optimise existing organisational models for the care of RDs in case of future emergencies or any other situation that might threaten the provision of routine care. These policies and plans should benefit from the multi-stakeholder RDs networks (such as the European Reference Networks), that should join forces at European, national, and local levels to minimise the economic, organisational, and health-related impact and the negative effects of potential emergencies on the RDs community. In order to design and develop these policies and plans, a decalogue of points to consider were developed to ensure appropriate care for people living with RDs in the case of eventual future health emergencies.
Experimental Comparison of IR-UWB Radar and FMCW Radar for Vital Signs

In this paper, we compare the performances of impulse radio ultra-wideband (IR-UWB) and frequency modulation continuous wave (FMCW) radars in measuring noncontact vital signs such as respiration rate and heart rate. These two type radars have been widely used in various fields and have shown their applicability to extract vital signs in noncontact ways. IR-UWB radar can extract vital signs using distance information. On the other hand, FMCW radar requires phase information to estimate vital signs, and the result can be enhanced with Multi-input Multi-output (MIMO) antenna topologies. By using commercial radar chipsets, the operation of radars under different conditions and frequency bands will also affect the performance of vital sign detection capabilities. We compared the accuracy and signal-to-noise (SNR) ratios of IR-UWB and FMCW radars in various scenarios, such as distance, orientation, carotid pulse, harmonics, and obstacle penetration. In general, the IR-UWB radars offer a slightly better accuracy and higher SNR in comparison to FMCW radar. However, each radar system has its own unique advantages, with IR-UWB exhibiting fewer harmonics and a higher SNR, while FMCW can combine the results from each channel.
Assessing User Retention of a Mobile App: Survival Analysis

Background A mobile app generates passive data, such as GPS data traces, without any direct involvement from the user. These passive data have transformed the manner of traditional assessments that require active participation from the user. Passive data collection is one of the most important core techniques for mobile health development because it may promote user retention, which is a unique characteristic of a software medical device. Objective The primary aim of this study was to quantify user retention for the “Staff Hours” app using survival analysis. The secondary aim was to compare user retention between passive data and active data, as well as factors associated with the survival rates of user retention. Methods We developed an app called “Staff Hours” to automatically calculate users’ work hours through GPS data (passive data). “Staff Hours” not only continuously collects these passive data but also sends an 11-item mental health survey to users monthly (active data). We applied survival analysis to compare user retention in the collection of passive and active data among 342 office workers from the “Staff Hours” database. We also compared user retention on Android and iOS platforms and examined the moderators of user retention. Results A total of 342 volunteers (224 men; mean age 33.8 years, SD 7.0 years) were included in this study. Passive data had higher user retention than active data (P=.011). In addition, user retention for passive data collected via Android devices was higher than that for iOS devices (P=.015). Trainee physicians had higher user retention for the collection of active data than trainees from other occupations, whereas no significant differences between these two groups were observed for the collection of passive data (P=.700). Conclusions Our findings demonstrated that passive data collected via Android devices had the best user retention for this app that records GPS-based work hours.
Optical Constants of Inorganic Glasses

Frequency Dispersion of Optical Constants of a Solid: General Relationships Basic Phenomena and Terminology The Classical Analytical Model for the Complex Dielectric Constant Factorized Analytical Model for the Complex Dielectric Constant Frequency Dispersion of Optical Constants for a Glass: Specific Features General Remarks Structural Disorder and the Formation of Optical Spectra Effect of Disorder on the Analytical Presentation of the Complex Dielectric Constant for a Glass Methods for Reconstructing the Spectra of the Optical Constants in the Ranges of Fundamental Excitations Methods and Limitations Imposed by Strong Absorption Kramers-Kronig Transform Dispersion Analysis: General Aspects Dispersion Analysis of Glass Spectra Spectra of Optical Constants in the Ranges of Fundamental Excitations for Particular Glass Types Introductory Remarks Spectra of Optical Constants in the IR Range and IR Band Parameters of Inorganic Glasses Optical Constants of Glasses in the Range of Electronic Excitations Refractive Index Dispersion of Glasses in the Transparency Range: Applied Aspects Refractive Index Dispersion in Terms of Optical Characteristics Used in Applied Optics Refractive Index Interpolation and Extrapolation Refractive Index Dispersion versus Glass Composition Behavior of Relative Partial Dispersions References Appendix: Numerical Data on the Optical Constants of Various Glasses in the Ranges of the Fundamental Excitations
The Functional Parasitic Worm Secretome: Mapping the Place of Onchocerca volvulus Excretory Secretory Products

Nematodes constitute a very successful phylum, especially in terms of parasitism. Inside their mammalian hosts, parasitic nematodes mainly dwell in the digestive tract (geohelminths) or in the vascular system (filariae). One of their main characteristics is their long sojourn inside the body where they are accessible to the immune system. Several strategies are used by parasites in order to counteract the immune attacks. One of them is the expression of molecules interfering with the function of the immune system. Excretory-secretory products (ESPs) pertain to this category. This is, however, not their only biological function, as they seem also involved in other mechanisms such as pathogenicity or parasitic cycle (molting, for example). We will mainly focus on filariae ESPs with an emphasis on data available regarding Onchocerca volvulus, but we will also refer to a few relevant/illustrative examples related to other worm categories when necessary (geohelminth nematodes, trematodes or cestodes). We first present Onchocerca volvulus, mainly focusing on the aspects of this organism that seem relevant when it comes to ESPs: life cycle, manifestations of the sickness, immunosuppression, diagnosis and treatment. We then elaborate on the function and use of ESPs in these aspects.