Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Achondroplasia

Achondroplasia is one of the most common and recognized short-limbed skeletal dysplasias, with a prevalence of 1 in 26,000 to 28,000 live births. Although achondroplasia is inherited in an autosomal dominant manner, 80% of affected children have a de novo mutation. The FGFR3 gene is the only gene associated with achondroplasia. Two mutations in this gene account for 99% of cases; both result in an amino acid change (glycine to arginine), which results in continuous activation of the FGFR3 protein. Having a constantly active FGFR3 protein leads to the inhibition of chondrocyte proliferation, which, in turn, inhibits bone growth. The average adult height for patients with achondroplasia is 131 cm for a man and 124 cm for a woman. Achondroplasia should be considered prenatally if shortened long bones (usually <5th percentile) are noted on third trimester ultrasonography. Some studies have seen a distinctive “collar hoop” sign wherein there is a small bony protuberance at the interface between the femoral metaphysis and the diaphysis. Themetaphysis is poorly ossified as well. Prenatalmolecular testing of FGFR3 can confirm the diagnosis. A neonate with achondroplasia may have physical features that are characteristic of the condition: rhizomelic (proximal) shortening of the upper and lower extremities, with extra skin creases at the knees and elbows; short fingers with a trident configuration of the hand (the second, third, and fourth digits seem similar in length and are splayed); and macrocephaly with frontal bossing and a depressed nasal bridge. Because 20% of neonates with achondroplasia may not have these characteristic features, a skeletal survey should be performed if there is any suspicion for this condition: radiographic abnormalities include metaphyseal changes, rhizomelic shortening, a relatively large cranial vault with a small base of the skull, small squared iliac wings, anteroposterior rib narrowing, and posterior vertebral scalloping. Early diagnosis is critical because 5% to 10% of infants with achondroplasia experience serious medical problems, such as central apnea and high cervical myelopathy, both of which are secondary to a small foramen magnum. Because the base of the skull is smaller than normal, arterial compression at the level of the foramen magnum can also occur. With a smaller foramen magnum, an affected infant should not be put in a swing or a bouncer. Infants with achondroplasia require a thorough neurologic examination and neuroimaging with head computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging. Standard measurements for children with achondroplasia have been established for computed tomography, and the foramen magnum can be seen, but magnetic resonance imaging can better visualize the brain stem and cervical spinal cord. Neurosurgical consultation is advised if any major abnormalities appear on imaging. Polysomnography is likewise indicated because of the risk of obstructive sleep apnea. AUTHOR DISCLOSURE Dr Pereira has disclosed no financial relationships relevant to this article. This commentary does not contain a discussion of an unapproved/investigative use of a commercial product/device.
Spatial filtering techniques for improving individual template-based SSVEP detection

In the past decade, the performance of brain-computer interfaces based on steadystate visual evoked potentials (SSVEPs) has been significantly improved due to advances in signal analysis algorithms. For example, efficient target-identification methods based on template matching, in which individual templates are obtained by averaging the training data across trials, have been proposed to improve the performance of SSVEP detection. In template-based methods, spatial filtering plays an important role in improving the performance by enhancing the signal-to-noise ratio of SSVEPs. In conventional studies, several spatial-filtering approaches have been introduced for electroencephalogram analysis. However, the optimal spatial-filtering approach for individual template-based SSVEP detection still remains unknown. This chapter reviews the spatial-filtering approaches for improving the template-based SSVEP detection and evaluates their performance through a direct comparison using a benchmark dataset of SSVEPs.
Fuzzy Logic Expert System for Incipient Fault Diagnosis of Power Transformers

Condition monitoring of power transformers improves the security and reliability of an electrical power system. It protects the transformers from failures, and avoids huge revenue loss to utilities and customers. The fault diagnosis of transformers is carried out by concentrations of several dissolved gasses. An accurate fault diagnosis of transformers has been a critical problem for diagnostic experts of transformers. In this article, a novel fuzzy logic model has been proposed to determine the transformer incipient faults. It incorporates the information obtained from dissolved gas analysis test. Further, the proposed model also incorporates conventional fault diagnosis methods viz. Duval Triangle, Doernenburg, Rogers, and IEC ratio code methods. The proposed fuzzy logic models short out the problems occur in the conventional fault diagnosis methods of transformers.
Zoobiquity: What Animals Can Teach Us About Health and the Science of Healing

Zoobiquity: What Animals Can Teach Us About Health and the Science of Healing (Knopf 2012) is an easy to read and entertaining book co-written by Barbara Natterson-Horowitz, MD and Kathryn Bowers. Natterson-Horowitz is a practicing cardiologist at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) David Geffen School of Medicine, who also has training in psychiatry. Kathryn Bowers is a professional writer who teaches writing at UCLA. The book addresses traits shared by nonhuman animals (hereafter referred to simply as animals) and humans that have medical relevance. The authors are to be commended for discussing matters that should be obvious in the 21st century, but sadly still are not universally accepted. Humans share our lineage with animals and this has implications for the origin of traits. Clearly, animals have emotions, preferences, and suffer from diseases that are similar on some levels to the ones humans suffer from. The Cartesian view of animals has been debunked and the authors give many examples supporting a more scientifically advanced view of animals.
KeyD: Secure Key-Deduplication with Identity-Based Broadcast Encryption

Deduplication, which can save storage cost by enabling us to store only one copy of identical data, becomes unprecedentedly significant with the dramatic increase in data stored in the cloud. For the purpose of ensuring data confidentiality, they are usually encrypted before outsourced. Traditional encryption will inevitably result in multiple different ciphertexts produced from the same plaintext by different users’ secret keys, which hinders data deduplication. Convergent encryption makes deduplication possible since it naturally encrypts the same plaintexts into the same ciphertexts. One attendant problem is how to reliably and effectively manage a huge number of convergent keys. Several deduplication schemes have been proposed to deal with the convergent key management problem. However, they either need to introduce key management servers or require interaction between data owners. In this paper, we design a novel client-side deduplication protocol named KeyD without such an independent key management server by utilizing the identity-based broadcast encryption (IBBE) technique. Users only interact with the cloud service provider (CSP) during the process of data upload and download. Security analysis demonstrates that KeyD ensures data confidentiality and convergent key security, and well protects the ownership privacy simultaneously. A thorough and detailed performance comparison shows that our scheme makes a better tradeoff among the storage cost, communication and computation overhead.
A fusion fuzzy model for detecting phony accounts in social networks

In online social network’s phony account detection is one of the major task among the ability of genuine user from forged user account. The fundamental objective of detection of phony account framework is to detect fake account and removal technique in Social network user sites. This work concentrates on detection of phony account in which it depends on normal basis framework, transformative Algorithms and fuzzy technique. Initially, the most essential attributes including personal attributes, comparability techniques and various real user review, tweets, or comments are extricated. A direct blend of these attributes demonstrates the significance of each reviews tweets comments etc. To compute closeness measure, a consolidated strategy in view of artiﬁcial honey bee state Algorithm and fuzzy technique are utilized. Second approach is proposed to alter the best weights of the normal user attributes utilizing the social network activities/transaction and inherited Algorithm. Finally, a normal rank rationale framework is utilized to calculate the ﬁnal scoring of normal user activities. The decision making of proposed approach to find phony account are variation with existing techniques user behavioral analysis using data sets and machine learning techniques such as crowdflower_sample and genuine_accounts_sample dataset of facebook and Twitter. The outcomes demonstrate that proposed strategy overcomes the previously mentioned strategies.
The evaluation for Clinical usefulness and Safety of Sirolimus-eluting stent and Paclitaxel-Eluting Stents In Patients With Acute Myocardial Infarction

There is a still unsettled issue about the comparison of long-term clinical effects between sirolimus-(SES) and paclitaxel-eluting stents (PES) for the patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Therefore, we performed a retrospective analysis to evaluate the 4-year clinical outcome of SES as compared with PES after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with AMI. From January 2004 to August 2006, all consecutive patients with acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) underwent primary PCI and acute NSTEMI underwent PCI by implantation either SES or PES were enrolled. The occurrence of death, cardiac death, recurrent infarction, target vessel revascularization (TVR) and stent thrombosis were analyzed. The composite of major adverse cardiac events (MACE; death, recurrent infarction and TVR) were also analyzed. During the study period, total 668 AMI patients had visited. Of them, total 522 patients (299 with SES and 223 with PES) were enrolled. During 4-year clinical follow-up, there were similar occurrences of death ( vs. , p
Writing for Interaction: Crafting the Information Experience for Web and Software Apps

Writing for Interaction focuses on the art of creating the information experience as it appears within software and web applications, specifically in the form of user interface text. It also provides strategies for ensuring a consistent, positive information experience across a variety of delivery mechanisms, such as online help and social media. Throughout this book, you'll learn simple techniques for writing consistent text with the right tone, how to select content delivery mechanisms, and how straightforward, clear layouts help your customer interact with your application. Divided into five sections, the book completely covers the information experience design process from beginning to end. You'll cover everything from understanding your users and their needs, to creating personas, designing the IX strategy, creating your information, and evaluating the resulting information experience. This is your one-stop reference for information experience! Illuminates writing principles and practices for use in interactive design Includes examples, checklists, and sample processes, highlighting practical approaches to designing the information experience Provides the complete picture: understanding customer needs, creating personas, and writing the text appearing within the user interface
The efficacy of dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine and artemether-lumefantrine with and without primaquine on Plasmodium vivax recurrence: A systematic review and individual patient data meta-analysis

Background Artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) is recommended for uncomplicated Plasmodium vivax malaria in areas of emerging chloroquine resistance. We undertook a systematic review and individual patient data meta-analysis to compare the efficacies of dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine (DP) and artemether-lumefantrine (AL) with or without primaquine (PQ) on the risk of recurrent P. vivax. Methods and findings Clinical efficacy studies of uncomplicated P. vivax treated with DP or AL and published between January 1, 2000, and January 31, 2018, were identified by conducting a systematic review registered with the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO): CRD42016053310. Investigators of eligible studies were invited to contribute individual patient data that were pooled using standardised methodology. The effect of mg/kg dose of piperaquine/lumefantrine, ACT administered, and PQ on the rate of P. vivax recurrence between days 7 and 42 after starting treatment were investigated by Cox regression analyses according to an a priori analysis plan. Secondary outcomes were the risk of recurrence assessed on days 28 and 63. Nineteen studies enrolling 2,017 patients were included in the analysis. The risk of recurrent P. vivax at day 42 was significantly higher in the 384 patients treated with AL alone (44.0%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 38.7–49.8) compared with the 812 patients treated with DP alone (9.3%, 95% CI 7.1–12.2): adjusted hazard ratio (AHR) 12.63 (95% CI 6.40–24.92), p < 0.001. The rates of recurrence assessed at days 42 and 63 were associated inversely with the dose of piperaquine: AHRs (95% CI) for every 5-mg/kg increase 0.63 (0.48–0.84), p = 0.0013 and 0.83 (0.73–0.94), p = 0.0033, respectively. The dose of lumefantrine was not significantly associated with the rate of recurrence (1.07 for every 5-mg/kg increase, 95% CI 0.99–1.16, p = 0.0869). In a post hoc analysis, in patients with symptomatic recurrence after AL, the mean haemoglobin increased 0.13 g/dL (95% CI 0.01–0.26) for every 5 days that recurrence was delayed, p = 0.0407. Coadministration of PQ reduced substantially the rate of recurrence assessed at day 42 after AL (AHR = 0.20, 95% CI 0.10–0.41, p < 0.001) and at day 63 after DP (AHR = 0.08, 95% CI 0.01–0.70, p = 0.0233). Results were limited by follow-up of patients to 63 days or less and nonrandomised treatment groups. Conclusions In this study, we observed the risk of P. vivax recurrence at day 42 to be significantly lower following treatment with DP compared with AL, reflecting the longer period of post-treatment prophylaxis; this risk was reduced substantially by coadministration with PQ. We found that delaying P. vivax recurrence was associated with a small but significant improvement in haemoglobin. These results highlight the benefits of PQ radical cure and also the provision of blood-stage antimalarial agents with prolonged post-treatment prophylaxis.
Expansive carotid artery remodeling: possible marker of vulnerable plaque.

OBJECTIVE Accumulated findings in the pathophysiology of atherosclerosis have demonstrated that not only luminal narrowing but also plaque characteristics influence the risk of future ischemic events. The morphology of the carotid artery (CA) changes in response to atherosclerotic development by expansive remodeling (ER), the clinical significance of which remains unclear. This study aimed to define associations between ER and local risk factors, including CA geometry and traditional systemic risk factors for ischemic events, to determine whether ER could serve as a clinical marker of carotid vulnerable plaque. METHODS The authors retrospectively analyzed 66 patients with CA stenosis who were scheduled to undergo carotid endarterectomy or CA stenting. They calculated ER ratios in the internal CA (ICA) from long-axis MR images and as the maximal distance between the lumen and the outer borders of the plaque perpendicular to the axis of the ICA/the maximal luminal diameter of the distal ICA at a region unaffected by atherosclerosis. Relative overall signal intensity (roSI) was calculated to assess intraplaque hemorrhage and defined as the signal intensity of plaque on an axial T1-weighted image with maximal stenosis relative to that of the adjacent sternocleidomastoid muscle. The authors evaluated CA geometry by calculating the angles between the common CA (CCA) and ICA, and between the CCA and external CA (ECA) using digital subtraction angiography. The ER ratios, age, sex, percentage of stenosis, roSI, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, low-density lipoprotein, statin medication, diabetes, smoking habit, and ischemic heart disease were compared between 33 symptomatic and 33 asymptomatic patients. The authors also compared symptomatic status, age, sex, percentage of stenosis, ICA angle, ECA angle, roSI, and other traditional atherosclerotic risk factors between groups with extensive and slight ER. RESULTS The ER ratio was significantly greater in symptomatic than in asymptomatic patients (1.91 ± 0.46 vs 1.68 ± 0.40, p < 0.05). The ICA angle was significantly larger in the group with extensive ER than in those with slight ER (33.9° ± 20.2° vs 21.7° ± 13.8°, p < 0.01). The roSI, ECA angle, percentage stenosis, or any other traditional vascular risk factors were not associated with ER. CONCLUSIONS Carotid ER might be an independent indicator of carotid vulnerable plaque, which should be validated in a longitudinal study of patients with carotid atherosclerosis, including those with nonstenotic to moderate stenosis.
Follow-up results of a randomized clinical trial for low-level laser therapy in painful TMD of muscular origins

ABSTRACT Objective: To characterize short- and long-term assessment of the low-intensity laser therapy (LLLT) effectiveness in women with TMD of muscular origins and to evaluate whether the information about the treatment received (active or placebo) modifies the pain intensity. Methods: Forty-one women with painful TMD (31.7 ± 5.2 years) were divided into laser (n = 20) and placebo (n = 21) groups. The pain intensity was measured at the baseline, after the LLLT (T8), 6 and 12 months. At the 6-month follow-up, the groups received information about the active or placebo treatment. Results: At T8 and 6-month, both active and placebo LLLT were effective in reducing pain (p < .05). After one year, the groups showed similar pain. Active LLLT was more effective in reducing pain palpation (p = .001) and referred pain (p = .04) in the region of the TMJs. The information about the treatment modified the perceived pain intensity. Conclusion: Active and placebo LLLT are effective for painful TMD of muscular origins in the short-term. Information about the treatment impairs the subjective perception of pain.
Electroencephalographic Signatures of the Neural Representation of Speech during Selective Attention

Abstract The ability to selectively attend to speech in the presence of other competing talkers is critical for everyday communication; yet the neural mechanisms facilitating this process are poorly understood. Here, we use electroencephalography (EEG) to study how a mixture of two speech streams is represented in the brain as subjects attend to one stream or the other. To characterize the speech-EEG relationships and how they are modulated by attention, we estimate the statistical association between each canonical EEG frequency band (delta, theta, alpha, beta, low-gamma, and high-gamma) and the envelope of each of ten different frequency bands in the input speech. Consistent with previous literature, we find that low-frequency (delta and theta) bands show greater speech-EEG coherence when the speech stream is attended compared to when it is ignored. We also find that the envelope of the low-gamma band shows a similar attention effect, a result not previously reported with EEG. This is consistent with the prevailing theory that neural dynamics in the gamma range are important for attention-dependent routing of information in cortical circuits. In addition, we also find that the greatest attention-dependent increases in speech-EEG coherence are seen in the mid-frequency acoustic bands (0.5–3 kHz) of input speech and the temporal-parietal EEG sensors. Finally, we find individual differences in the following: (1) the specific set of speech-EEG associations that are the strongest, (2) the EEG and speech features that are the most informative about attentional focus, and (3) the overall magnitude of attentional enhancement of speech-EEG coherence.
Nasopharyngeal carriage of invasive pneumococcal serotypes during childhood community-acquired alveolar pneumonia is associated with specific clinical presentation.

BACKGROUND Streptococcus pneumoniae (Pnc) serotypes differ in invasive potential. We examined whether community-acquired alveolar pneumonia (CAAP) in children carrying common recognized invasive pneumococcal serotypes (1, 5, 7F, 14 and 19A; PnIST) differs from CAAP in children carrying less invasive serotypes (non-PnIST) or no Pnc (Pnc-neg). METHODS Children <5 years visiting the only regional Pediatric Emergency Room, with radiologically-proven CAAP were enrolled. Nasopharyngeal cultures were processed for pneumococcal isolation and serotyping. Clinical/demographic characteristics were recorded. The study was conducted before pneumococcal conjugate vaccine implementation in Israel. RESULTS A total of 1,423 CAAP episodes were recorded: PnIST, 300 (21.1%); non-PnIST, 591 (41.5%); and Pnc-neg, 532 (37.4%). After adjustment for age, ethnicity, seasonality and previous antibiotics, the following variables were positively associated with PnISRT carriage compared to both groups: temperature ≥39°C, peripheral WBC ≥20,000/mm3, C-reactive protein ≥70.0 mg/L and serum sodium <135 mEq/L. Lower oxygen saturation, viral detection and comorbidities were negatively associated with Pn-IST carriage (odds ratios <1.0). Differences between non-PnIST carriers and Pnc-neg groups were smaller or non-significant. CONCLUSIONS Young children with CAAP carrying common PnIST had a lower proportion of comorbidities, hypoxemia and viral detection, and had more intense systemic inflammatory response than those carrying non-PnISR or not carrying Pnc.
miR-203 is an independent molecular predictor of prognosis and treatment outcome in ovarian cancer: a multi-institutional study.

Ovarian cancer (OC) accounts for the most gynecological cancer-related deaths in developed countries. Unfortunately, the lack of both evident early symptoms and effective asymptomatic population screening results in late diagnosis and inevitably poor prognosis. Hence, it is urgent to identify novel molecular markers to support personalized prognosis. In the present study, we have analyzed the clinical significance of miR-203 in OC using two institutionally-independent cohorts. miR-203 levels were quantified in a screening (n=125) and a validation cohort (n=100, OVCAD multicenter study). Survival analysis was performed using progression and death as clinical endpoint events. Internal validation was conducted by bootstrap analysis, and decision curve analysis was used to evaluate the clinical benefit. Increased miR-203 levels in OC patients were correlated with unfavorable prognosis and higher risk for disease progression, independently of FIGO stage, tumor grade, residual tumor after surgery, chemotherapy response and age. The analysis of the institutionally-independent validation cohort (OVCAD study) clearly confirmed the shorter survival outcome of the patients overexpressing miR-203. Additionally, integration of miR-203 levels with the established disease prognostic markers led to a superior stratification of OC patients that can ameliorate prognosis and benefit patient clinical management. In this regard, miR-203 expression constitutes a novel independent molecular marker to improve patients' prognosis in OC.