Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Objectively Measured Visual Impairment and Dementia Prevalence in Older Adults in the US.

Importance Estimates of the association between visual impairment (VI) and dementia in the US population are based on self-reported survey data or measures of visual function that are at least 15 years old. Older adults are at high risk of VI and dementia so there is a need for up-to-date national estimates based on objective assessments. Objective To estimate the association between VI and dementia in older US adults based on objective visual and cognitive function testing. Design, Setting, and Participants This secondary analysis of the 2021 National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS), a population-based, nationally representative panel study, included 3817 respondents 71 years and older. Data were analyzed from January to March 2023. Intervention In 2021, NHATS incorporated tablet-based tests of distance and near visual acuity and contrast sensitivity (CS) with habitual correction. Main Outcomes and Measures VI was defined as distance visual acuity more than 0.30 logMAR, near visual acuity more than 0.30 logMAR, and CS more than 1 SD below the sample mean. Dementia was defined as scoring 1.5 SDs or more below the mean in 1 or more cognitive domains, an AD8 Dementia Screening Interview Score indicating probable dementia, or diagnosed dementia. Poisson regression estimated dementia prevalence ratios adjusted for covariates. Results Of 2967 included participants, 1707 (weighted percentage, 55.3%) were female, and the median (IQR) age was 76.9 (77-86) years. The weighted prevalence of dementia was 12.3% (95% CI, 10.9-13.7) and increased with near VI (21.5%; 95% CI, 17.7-25.3), distance VI (mild: 19.1%; 95% CI, 13.0-25.2; moderate, severe, or blind: 32.9%; 95% CI, 24.1- 41.8), and CS impairment (25.9%; 95% CI, 20.5-31.3). Dementia prevalence was higher among participants with near VI and CS impairment than those without (near VI prevalence ratio: 1.40; 95% CI, 1.16-1.69; CS impairment prevalence ratio: 1.31; 95% CI, 1.04-1.66) and among participants with moderate to severe distance VI or blindness (prevalence ratio: 1.72; 95% CI, 1.26-2.35) after adjustment for covariates. Conclusions and Relevance In this survey study, all types of objectively measured VI were associated with a higher dementia prevalence. As most VI is preventable, prioritizing vision health may be important for optimizing cognitive function.
Accuracy of nodal staging by 18F-FDG-PET/CT in limited disease small-cell lung cancer

Background Small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) is highly aggressive with a nearly incurable disease in most cases. The most important prognostic factor is the status of the mediastinal lymph nodes. Only a small proportion of patients can be diagnosed at early stages and directed to curative multimodal treatment. Therefore, accuracy of nodal staging by (18F)-Fluoro-2-deoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) computed tomography (18F-FDG-PET/CT) in (very) limited disease SCLC, although not well investigated, is highly important. Methods Treatment naive, non-bulky patients treated or diagnosed with SCLC between June 2012 and April 2020 with complete data including FDG-PET/CT and invasive mediastinal staging were retrospectively analyzed (n = 19). Sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value (NPV), positive predictive value (PPV) and accuracy of mediastinal lymph node staging of 18F-FDG-PET/CT was calculated. Results The FDG-PET/CT showed a sensitivity of 91%, and the specificity was calculated as 87.5%. In this cohort, the disease prevalence in lymph nodes was 58% (n = 11). Positive predictive value was 91%, NPV 88% and accuracy calculated at 89%. One patient was upstaged from single-level N2 to multilevel N2. In one patient, upstaging in invasive staging was performed from N2 to N3, and one patient was downstaged from N1 to N0. Conclusions FDG-PET/CT is a valuable tool for the detection of distant metastases, but in mediastinal staging of SCLC some limitations might remain. Invasive methods remain the gold standard. Therefore, the mediastinal lymph nodal status of patients with SCLC screened for multimodal treatment should be further evaluated by additional invasive techniques to verify the exact N-staging and to optimize treatment stratification.
Chromatin control of human cytomegalovirus infection

ABSTRACT Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a betaherpesvirus that establishes lifelong infection in its host and can cause severe comorbidities in individuals with suppressed or compromised immune systems. The lifecycle of HCMV consists of lytic and latent phases, largely dependent upon the cell type infected and whether transcription from the major immediate early locus can ensue. Control of this locus, which acts as a critical “switch” region from where the lytic gene expression cascade originates, as well as regulation of the additional ~235 kilobases of virus genome, occurs through chromatinization with cellular histone proteins after infection. Upon infection of a host cell, an initial intrinsic antiviral response represses gene expression from the incoming genome, which is relieved in permissive cells by viral and host factors in concert. Latency is established in a subset of hematopoietic cells, during which viral transcription is largely repressed while the genome is maintained. As these latently infected cells differentiate, the cellular milieu and epigenetic modifications change, giving rise to the initial stages of virus reactivation from latency. Thus, throughout the cycle of infection, chromatinization, chromatin modifiers, and the recruitment of specific transcription factors influence the expression of genes from the HCMV genome. In this review, we discuss epigenetic regulation of the HCMV genome during the different phases of infection, with an emphasis on recent reports that add to our current perspective.
Interference Alignment Techniques for MIMO Multi-Cell Interfering By using MAC-BC Duality Method

The interference alignment (IA) is a promising technique to efficiently mitigate interference and to enhance capacity of a wireless communication network. Here we propose an interference alignment scheme for a network with multiple cells and multiple multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) users under a Gaussian interference broadcast channel (IFBC) scenario. We first extend a grouping method already known in the literature to a multiple-cells scenario and jointly design transmits and receiver beam forming vectors using a closed form expression without iterative computation. Then we propose a new approach using the principle of multiple access channel (MAC) - broadcast channel (BC) duality to perform interference alignment while maximizing capacity of users in each cell. The algorithm in its dual form is solved using interior point methods. We show that the proposed approach outperforms the extension of the grouping method in terms of capacity and base station complexity. Finally, a rate balancing technique is introduced to maintain fairness among users.
The prospects of poop: a review of past achievements and future possibilities in faecal isotope analysis

What can the stable isotope values of human and animal faeces tell us? This often under‐appreciated waste product is gaining recognition across a variety of disciplines. Faecal isotopes provide a means of monitoring diet, resource partitioning, landscape use, tracking nutrient inputs and cycling, and reconstructing past climate and environment. Here, we review what faeces are composed of, their temporal resolution, and how these factors may be impacted by digestive physiology and efficiency. As faeces are often used to explore diet, we clarify how isotopic offsets between diet and faeces can be calculated, as well as some differences among commonly used calculations that can lead to confusion. Generally, faecal carbon isotope (δ13C) values are lower than those of the diet, while faecal nitrogen isotope values (δ15N) values are higher than in the diet. However, there is considerable variability both within and among species. We explore the role of study design and how limitations stemming from a variety of factors can affect both the reliability and interpretability of faecal isotope data sets. Finally, we summarise the various ways in which faecal isotopes have been applied to date and provide some suggestions for future research. Despite remaining challenges, faecal isotope data are poised to continue to contribute meaningfully to a variety of fields.
A registry‐based population study of the HLA in Québec, Canada

As part of the worldwide effort to better characterize HLA diversity in populations, we have studied the population of Québec in Canada. This province has been defined by a complex history with multiple founder effects and migration patterns. We analyzed the typing data of 3806 individuals registered in Héma‐Québec's Registry, which covered most administrative regions in Québec. Typing information was resolved at the second field level of resolution by next‐generation sequencing (NGS) or by Sanger sequencing. We used the HLA‐net.eu GENE[RATE] tools to estimate allele and two‐locus haplotype frequencies for HLA‐A, ‐B, ‐C, ‐DRB1, ‐DQB1, and ‐DPB1, as well as Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium (HWE), selective neutrality, and linkage disequilibrium. The chord genetic distance was also calculated between administrative regions and was visualized using non‐metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) analysis. While most individual regions were in HWE, HWE was rejected for the province considered as a whole. Some regions exhibited signatures of selection, mostly toward an excess of heterozygotes. Allele and haplotype frequencies revealed outlier regions that strongly differed from the other regions. NMDS plots also showed differences between regions. The administrative regions of the province of Québec displayed heterogeneity in their HLA profiles. This heterogeneity was attributable to differing allele and haplotype specificities by region. In particular, regions 02‐Saguenay‐Lac‐Saint‐Jean and 01‐Bas‐St‐Laurent diverged from the rest of the regions. The urban regions 06‐Montréal and 13‐Laval were very diversified in their HLA profiles. Together, these results will help optimize donor recruitment strategies in Québec.
Safety and efficacy of tenalisib in combination with romidepsin in patients with relapsed/refractory T-cell lymphoma: results from a phase I/II open-label multicenter study

Tenalisib, a selective phosphoinositide-3-kinase δ/γ, and salt-inducible-kinase-3 inhibitor has shown efficacy and was well-tolerated in patients with T-cell lymphoma (TCL). In vitro studies suggest a synergistic anti-tumor potential for the combination of tenalisib with the histone-deacetylase inhibitor, romidepsin. This multicenter, open-label, phase I/II study was designed to characterize the safety, efficacy and pharmacokinetics of oral tenalisib twice-daily and intravenous romidepsin administered on days 1, 8 and 15 in 28-day cycles in adults with relapsed/refractory TCL. Phase I/dose escalation determined the maximum tolerated dose (MTD)/optimal doses of tenalisib and romidepsin. The phase II/dose expansion assessed the safety and anti-tumor activity of the combination at MTD/optimal dose. Overall, 33 patients were enrolled. In dose escalation, no dose-limiting toxicity was identified. Hence, the recommended doses for dose expansion were tenalisib 800 mg twice daily orally, and romidepsin 14 mg/m2 intravenous. Overall treatment-emergent adverse events of any grade reported in >15% of patients were nausea, thrombocytopenia, increased aspartate aminotransferase, increased alanine aminotransferase, decreased appetite, neutropenia, vomiting, fatigue, anemia, dysgeusia, weight loss, diarrhea, and hypokalemia. Twenty-three patients (69.7%) had related grade ≥3 treatment-emergent adverse events. The overall objective response rate in evaluable patients was 63.0% (peripheral TCL: 75% and cutaneous TCL: 53.3%), with a complete response and partial response of 25.9% and 37.0% respectively. The median duration of response was 5.03 months. Co-administration of tenalisib and romidepsin did not significantly alter the pharmacokinetics of romidepsin. Overall, tenalisib and romidepsin combination demonstrated a favorable safety and efficacy profile supporting its further development for relapsed/refractory TCL (clinicaltrials gov. Identifier: NCT03770000).
Nanoscale Metal Particle Modified Single‐Atom Catalyst: Synthesis, Characterization, and Application

Single‐atom catalysts (SACs) have attracted considerable attention in heterogeneous catalysis because of their well‐defined active sites, maximum atomic utilization efficiency, and unique unsaturated coordinated structures. However, their effectiveness is limited to reactions requiring active sites containing multiple metal atoms. Furthermore, the loading amounts of single‐atom sites must be restricted to prevent aggregation, which can adversely affect the catalytic performance despite the high activity of the individual atoms. The introduction of nanoscale metal particles (NMPs) into SACs (NMP‐SACs) has proven to be an efficient approach for improving their catalytic performance. A comprehensive review is urgently needed to systematically introduce the synthesis, characterization, and application of NMP‐SACs and the mechanisms behind their superior catalytic performance. This review first presents and classifies the different mechanisms through which NMPs enhance the performance of SACs. It then summarizes the currently reported synthetic strategies and state‐of‐the‐art characterization techniques of NMP‐SACs. Moreover, their application in electro/thermo/photocatalysis, and the reasons for their superior performance are discussed. Finally, the challenges and perspectives of NMP‐SACs for the future design of advanced catalysts are addressed.
A single‐cell atlas of bovine skeletal muscle reveals mechanisms regulating intramuscular adipogenesis and fibrogenesis

Intramuscular fat (IMF) and intramuscular connective tissue (IMC) are often seen in human myopathies and are central to beef quality. The mechanisms regulating their accumulation remain poorly understood. Here, we explored the possibility of using beef cattle as a novel model for mechanistic studies of intramuscular adipogenesis and fibrogenesis.
Predicting dice similarity coefficient of deformably registered contours using Siamese neural network

Objective. Automatic deformable image registration (DIR) is a critical step in adaptive radiotherapy. Manually delineated organs-at-risk (OARs) contours on planning CT (pCT) scans are deformably registered onto daily cone-beam CT (CBCT) scans for delivered dose accumulation. However, evaluation of registered contours requires human assessment, which is time-consuming and subjects to high inter-observer variability. This work proposes a deep learning model that allows accurate prediction of Dice similarity coefficients (DSC) of registered contours in prostate radiotherapy. Approach. Our dataset comprises 20 prostate cancer patients with 37–39 daily CBCT scans each. The pCT scans and planning contours were deformably registered to each corresponding CBCT scan to generate virtual CT (vCT) scans and registered contours. The DSC score, which is a common contour-based validation metric for registration quality, between the registered and manual contours were computed. A Siamese neural network was trained on the vCT-CBCT image pairs to predict DSC. To assess the performance of the model, the root mean squared error (RMSE) between the actual and predicted DSC were computed. Main results. The model showed promising results for predicting DSC, giving RMSE of 0.070, 0.079 and 0.118 for rectum, prostate, and bladder respectively on the holdout test set. Clinically, a low RMSE implies that the predicted DSC can be reliably used to determine if further DIR assessment from physicians is required. Considering the event where a registered contour is classified as poor if its DSC is below 0.6 and good otherwise, the model achieves an accuracy of 92% for the rectum. A sensitivity of 0.97 suggests that the model can correctly identify 97% of poorly registered contours, allowing manual assessment of DIR to be triggered. Significance. We propose a neural network capable of accurately predicting DSC of deformably registered OAR contours, which can be used to evaluate eligibility for plan adaptation.
Obstructive nephropathy and molecular pathophysiology of renal interstitial fibrosis

The kidneys play a key role in maintaining total body homeostasis. The complexity of this task is reflected in the unique architecture of the organ. Ureteral obstruction greatly affects renal physiology by altering hemodynamics, changing glomerular filtration and renal metabolism, and inducing architectural malformations of the kidney parenchyma-most importantly renal fibrosis. Persisting pathological changes lead to chronic kidney disease, which currently affects ~10% of the global population and is one of the major causes of death worldwide. Studies on the consequences of ureteral obstruction date back to the 1800s. Even today, experimental unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) remains the standard model for tubulointerstitial fibrosis. However, the model has certain limitations when it comes to studying tubular injury and repair, as well as a limited potential for human translation. Nevertheless, ureteral obstruction has provided the scientific community with a wealth of knowledge on renal (patho)physiology. With the introduction of advanced OMICS techniques, the classical UUO model has remained relevant to this day and has been instrumental in understanding renal fibrosis at the molecular, genomic, and cellular levels. This review details key concepts and recent advances in the understanding of obstructive nephropathy, highlighting the pathophysiological hallmarks responsible for the functional and architectural changes induced by ureteral obstruction, with a special emphasis on renal fibrosis.
Transition from Collisionless to Collisional Magnetorotational Instability

Recent calculations by Quataert and coworkers found that the growth rates of the magnetorotational instability (MRI) in a collisionless plasma can differ significantly from those calculated using MHD. This can be important in hot accretion flows around compact objects. In this paper we study the transition from the collisionless kinetic regime to the collisional MHD regime, mapping out the dependence of the MRI growth rate on collisionality. A kinetic closure scheme for a magnetized plasma is used that includes the effect of collisions via a BGK operator. The transition to MHD occurs as the mean free path becomes short compared to the parallel wavelength 2π/k∥. In the weak magnetic field regime where the Alfvén and MRI frequencies ω are small compared to the sound wave frequency k∥c0, the dynamics are still effectively collisionless even if ω ≪ ν, so long as the collision frequency ν ≪ k∥c0; for an accretion flow this requires ν ≲ Ω. The low collisionality regime not only modifies the MRI growth rate, but also introduces collisionless Landau or Barnes damping of long-wavelength modes, which may be important for the nonlinear saturation of the MRI.
Exponential Stability of Generalized Cohen-Grossberg Neural Networks with Time-Varying Delays and Reaction-Diffusion term

Summary In this paper, a generalized model of Cohen-Grossberg neural networks (CGNNs) with time-varying delays and reaction-diffusion term is investigated. By constructing suitable Lyapunov functional, inequality technique and M -matrix theory, some sufficient conditions for global exponential stability of generalized CGNNs with time-varying delays and reaction-diffusion term are obtained. An examples are given to show the effectiveness of the obtained results.
Inhibition of SK2 and ER stress ameliorated inflammation and apoptosis in liver ischemia-reperfusion injury

Ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) remains a major cause of mortality and morbidity after liver surgery. Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress is a critical mechanism of inflammatory injury during hepatic IRI. In this study, we investigated the effect of sphingosine kinases 2 (SK2) on ER stress and hepatic IRI. We established hepatic IRI mice and hepatocellular hypoxia/reoxygenation in vitro model. We observed the SK2 and ER stress protein IRE1α expression. Then, we used an SK2 inhibitor and knocked down IRE1α/SK2, to observe the effect of SK2 during IRI. Our results showed that the expression of ER stress and SK2 was significantly elevated during hepatic IRI. Inhibition of SK2 ameliorated liver inflammation and reduced cell apoptosis in hepatic IRI mice. Consistently, we found that the inhibition of IRE1α also downregulated SK2 expression and reduced mitochondrial membrane permeability. Furthermore, the knockdown of SK2 could also reduce cell damage and reduce the expression of inflammatory factors but did not influence ER stress-related signaling pathway. Taken together, our results suggested that ER stress and SK2 played important and regulatory roles in hepatic IRI. Inhibition of ER stress and SK2 could significantly improve liver function after hepatic IRI.
Evaluating Four Remote Sensing Methods for Estimating Surface Air Temperature on a Regional Scale

AbstractSurface air temperature is a basic meteorological variable to monitor the environment and assess climate change. Four remote sensing methods—the temperature–vegetation index (TVX), the univariate linear regression method, the multivariate linear regression method, and the advection-energy balance for surface air temperature (ADEBAT)—have been developed to acquire surface air temperature on a regional scale. To evaluate their utilities, they were applied to estimate the surface air temperature in northwestern China and were compared with each other through regressive analyses, t tests, estimation errors, and analyses on estimations of different underlying surfaces. Results can be summarized into three aspects: 1) The regressive analyses and t tests indicate that the multivariate linear regression method and the ADEBAT provide better accuracy than the other two methods. 2) Frequency histograms on estimation errors show that the multivariate linear regression method produces the minimum error range, .
Electrophoresis of a dielectric droplet with constant surface charge density

Electrophoresis of a dielectric fluid droplet with constant surface charge density is investigated theoretically in this study. A pseudo‐spectral method based on Chebyshev polynomials is adopted to solve the governing electrokinetic equations. It is found, among other things, that the larger the electrolyte strength in the ambient solution is, the slower the droplet moves in general. This is due to the strong screening effect of the large amount of indifferent counterions in the neighborhood of the droplet, with no reinforcement of potential‐determining ions adsorbing to the droplet surface. The droplet comes to a complete halt eventually. Critical points are discovered for highly charged droplets, at which the droplet surface becomes immobile and the interior fluid stops recirculating. The droplet moves like a rigid particle with constant mobility regardless of its viscosity, a situation referred to as the “solidification phenomenon. ” The deadlock between the spinning motions on the charged droplet surface induced by the electric driving force and the hydrodynamic driving force respectively is responsible for this peculiar phenomenon. This is also observed for a dielectric droplet with constant surface electric potential. We demonstrate here that it occurs in the constant surface charge density situation as well.