Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Postoperative neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio predicts unfavorable outcome of acute ischemic stroke patients who achieve complete reperfusion after thrombectomy

Purpose Only approximately half of anterior circulation large vessel occlusion (LVO) patients receiving endovascular treatment (EVT) have a favorable outcome. The aim of this study was to explore the association of dynamic inflammatory markers (i.e., neutrophil to lymphocyte ratios, NLR, measured at different times after EVT) as well as other potential influencing factors with unfavorable outcome among acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients who achieved complete reperfusion after EVT. Methods Patients treated with EVT for LVO between January 2019 to December 2021 were prospectively enrolled. Complete reperfusion was defined as modified thrombolysis in cerebral infarction (mTICI) grade 3. A modified Rankin scale at 90 days (mRS90) of 3–6 was defined as unfavorable outcome (i.e., futile reperfusion). A logistic regression analysis was performed with unfavorable outcome as a dependent variable. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and the area under the curve (AUC) were then used to determine the diagnostic values of NLR and other relevant factors. Results 170 patients with complete reperfusion (mTICI 3) were included in this study. Unfavorable outcome was observed in 70 (41.2%). Higher NLR within 24h (p=0.017) and at 3-7d (p=0.008) after EVT were an independent risk factors for unfavorable outcome at 3 months. In addition, older age, higher NIHSS scores, poor collaterals, and general anesthesia were independent predictors of unfavorable outcomes. When accounting for NLR, the diagnostic efficiency improved compared to conventional characteristics. Conclusion Our findings suggest that advanced age, increased stroke severity, poor collaterals, general anesthesia, and NLR are independent predictors for an unfavorable clinical outcome following complete reperfusion after EVT. Neuroinflammation may merit particular attention in future studies.
Chuanzhitongluo capsule ameliorates microcirculatory dysfunction in rats: Efficacy evaluation and metabolic profiles

Background: Ischemic stroke is a leading cause of mortality and disability worldwide. Microcirculatory dysfunction is the foremost hindrance for a good clinical prognosis in ischemic stroke patients. Clinical researches show that Chuanzhitongluo capsule (CZTL) has a curative effect during the recovery period of ischemic stroke, which contributes to a good prognosis. However, it is not known whether CZTL treats ischemic stroke by ameliorating microcirculation dysfunction. Objective: In this study, we investigated the influence of CZTL on microcirculation and its underlying mechanism. Methods: A rat model of acute microcirculatory dysfunction was established by stimuli of adrenaline and ice water. The microcirculatory damage in model rats and the efficacy of CZTL were assessed by detecting laser speckle contrast imaging, coagulation function, hemorheology, vasomotor factor and microcirculation function. The potential mechanism of CZTL action was explored by the untargeted metabolomic analysis based on ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time of flight-mass spectrometry. Results: Laser speckle contrast imaging showed that model rats suffered low perfusion in ears, feet and tails, and CZTL treatment increased microcirculatory blood flow. Coagulation function detection results showed that CZTL diminished the reduction of thrombin time, prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time and the elevated fibrinogen level caused by acute microcirculatory dysfunction. Furthermore, CZTL could recover the increased blood viscosity as well as the abnormal vasomotor and microcirculation function in rats with acute microcirculatory dysfunction. Metabolomics analysis indicated that CZTL might regulate sphingolipid metabolism and arachidonic acid metabolism to exert protective effects on microcirculation. Conclusion: These results elucidated that CZTL was highly effective against microcirculatory dysfunction and its potential mechanisms related with the modulation of sphingolipid and arachidonic acid metabolic pathways. The present study provided a new perspective on the clinical application of CZTL, and it contribute to explore novel therapeutic drug against microcirculatory dysfunction.
DLPFC stimulation alters large-scale brain networks connectivity during a drug cue reactivity task: A tDCS-fMRI study

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a promising intervention for reducing craving/consumption in individuals with substance use disorders. However, its exact mechanism of action has not yet been well explored. We aimed to examine the network-based effects of tDCS while people with methamphetamine use disorders (MUDs) were exposed to drug cues. In a randomized, double-blind sham-controlled trial with a crossover design, 15 participants with MUDs were recruited to receive 20 min of active/sham tDCS with an anode/cathode over F4/F3. MRI data, including structural and task-based functional MRI during a standard drug cue-reactivity task, were collected immediately before and after stimulation sessions. Craving scores were also recorded before and after MRI scans. Individualized head models were generated to determine brain regions with strong electric fields (EFs). Using atlas-based parcellation of head models, averaged EFs were extracted from the main nodes of three large-scale networks that showed abnormalities in MUDs; executive control (ECN), default mode (DMN), and ventral attention (VAN) networks. Main nodes with high EF intensity were used as seed regions for task-based functional connectivity (FC) [using generalized psychophysiological interaction (gPPI)] and activity [using a general linear model (GLM)] calculations. Subjective craving showed a significant reduction in immediate craving after active (–15.42 ± 5.42) compared to sham (–1 ± 2.63). In seed-to-whole brain results, the PFC node in ECN showed an enhanced PPI connectivity with precuneus and visual cortex; the cluster center in MNI (6, –84, –12); the PFC node in DMN showed a decreased PPI connectivity with contralateral parietal cortex;(–48, –60, 46). ROI-to-ROI results showed increased PPI connectivity within/between ECN-VAN while connectivity between ECN-DMN decreased. In line with connectivity, functional activity in the right PFC node in DMN decreased after tDCS while activity in PFC nodes of ECN/VAN increased. EF calculations in PFC nodes revealed that EF in DMN was outward, while the direction of EFs was inward in ECN/VAN. This study provides new insight into neural circuitry underlying MUDs that can be modulated by tDCS at the network level and specifically suggests that bilateral tDCS increases cortical excitability in ECN and VAN, while it has opposite effects on DMN that may be related to the direction of EFs.
N-Net: Lesion region segmentations using the generalized hybrid dilated convolutions for polyps in colonoscopy images

Colorectal cancer is the cancer with the second highest and the third highest incidence rates for the female and the male, respectively. Colorectal polyps are potential prognostic indicators of colorectal cancer, and colonoscopy is the gold standard for the biopsy and the removal of colorectal polyps. In this scenario, one of the main concerns is to ensure the accuracy of lesion region identifications. However, the missing rate of polyps through manual observations in colonoscopy can reach 14%–30%. In this paper, we focus on the identifications of polyps in clinical colonoscopy images and propose a new N-shaped deep neural network (N-Net) structure to conduct the lesion region segmentations. The encoder-decoder framework is adopted in the N-Net structure and the DenseNet modules are implemented in the encoding path of the network. Moreover, we innovatively propose the strategy to design the generalized hybrid dilated convolution (GHDC), which enables flexible dilated rates and convolutional kernel sizes, to facilitate the transmission of the multi-scale information with the respective fields expanded. Based on the strategy of GHDC designing, we design four GHDC blocks to connect the encoding and the decoding paths. Through the experiments on two publicly available datasets on polyp segmentations of colonoscopy images: the Kvasir-SEG dataset and the CVC-ClinicDB dataset, the rationality and superiority of the proposed GHDC blocks and the proposed N-Net are verified. Through the comparative studies with the state-of-the-art methods, such as TransU-Net, DeepLabV3+ and CA-Net, we show that even with a small amount of network parameters, the N-Net outperforms with the Dice of 94.45%, the average symmetric surface distance (ASSD) of 0.38 pix and the mean intersection-over-union (mIoU) of 89.80% on the Kvasir-SEG dataset, and with the Dice of 97.03%, the ASSD of 0.16 pix and the mIoU of 94.35% on the CVC-ClinicDB dataset.
The Stellar Population of the Thin Disk

Abstract We discuss recent observations of stars located close to the symmetry plane of the Milky Way, and examine them in the context of theories of Galaxy formation and evolution. The kinematics, ages, and compositions of thin disk stars in the solar neighborhood display complex patterns, and interesting correlations. The Galactic disk does not seem to pose any unsurmountable obstacles to hierarchical galaxy formation theories, but a model of the Milky Way able to reproduce the complexity found in the data will likely require a meticulous study of a significant fraction of the stars in the Galaxy. Making such an observational effort seems necessary in order to make a physics laboratory out of our own galaxy, and ultimately ensure that the most relevant processes are properly understood.
Biodecolorization and degradation of textile azo dyes using Lysinibacillus sphaericus MTCC 9523

Wastewater discharges by textile industries constitute a major environmental concern as they exert grave human health dangers. Innovative, cost-effective and economical strategy aimed at ameliorating the effect of textile effluent in the environment is highly desirable. Hence, this study investigated the decolorization efficiency of selective reactive azo dyes by textile effluent non-adapted Lysinibacillus sphaericus MTCC 9523 in optimized operational conditions. Visual color changes with 96.30% and 92.71% decolorization for Reactive Yellow F3R (RYF3R) and Joyfix Red RB (JRRB) elucidated by UV-visible spectrophotometric analysis affirmed decolorization of the dyes. Meanwhile, Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy of the metabolites obtained after degradation further revealed the functional groups and loss of peak for azo group indicated the breaking of azo bond. On High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) analysis, difference in control dye’s retention time compared to treated sample with peaks at 2.413 and 2.895 min for RYF3R and 2.466 min and 1.640 min for Joyfix Red RB supported biodegradation by this organism. The chemical identities of the metabolites revealed after Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis was used in the prediction of each dye’s metabolic pathway of degradation based on their molecular weight and mass-to-charge ratio. They were found to be (2Z)-but-2-ene, 1,3,5-triazine, (3E)-penta-1,3-diene for RYF3R and (methylsulfonyl)benzene, phenol, buta-1,3-diene, 1,3,5-triazine-2,4(1H,3H)-dione, nitrobenzene for JRRB. Overall, the use of adapted and non-adapted microbes is highly promising as an efficient, cost-effective, time-saving and universal green strategy for biodegradation of textile effluent containing azo dyes. Graphical Abstract
Interaction between seawater carbon dioxide dynamics and stratification in shallow coastal waters: A preliminary study based on a weekly validated three-dimensional ecological model

Shallow coastal waters (SCWs) have attracted wide attention in recent years due to their strong carbon sequestration capacity. However, the complex carbon dioxide (CO2) dynamics in the water column makes it difficult to estimate the air–water CO2 fluxes (FCO2) accurately. We developed a numerical model of CO2 dynamics in water based on field measurements for a typical stratified semi-enclosed shallow bay: the Yatsushiro Sea, Japan. The developed model showed an excellent ability to reproduce the stratification and CO2 dynamics of the Yatsushiro Sea. Through numerical model simulations, we analyzed the annual CO2 dynamics in the Yatsushiro Sea in 2018. The results show that the effect of stratification on the CO2 dynamics in seawater varies greatly depending on the distance from the estuary and the period. In the estuarine region, stratification manifests itself throughout the year by promoting the maintenance of a high partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2) in surface waters, resulting in surface pCO2 being higher than atmospheric pCO2 for up to 40 days during the flood period (average surface pCO2 of 539.94 µatm). In contrast, in areas farther from the estuary, stratification mainly acts to promote the maintenance of high pCO2 in surface waters during periods of high freshwater influence. Then changes to a lower surface pCO2 before the freshwater influence leads towards complete dissipation. Finally, we estimated the FCO2 of the Yatsushiro Sea in 2018, and the results showed that the Yatsushiro Sea was a sink area for atmospheric CO2 in 2018 (−1.70 mmol/m2/day).
Membrane Paradigm and Holographic Hydrodynamics

We discuss recent work showing that in certain cases the membrane paradigm equations governing the dynamics of black hole horizons can be recast as relativistic conservation law equations. In the context of gauge/gravity dualities, these equations are interpreted as defining the viscous hydrodynamics of a holographically dual relativistic field theory. Using this approach, one can derive the viscous transport coefficients and the form of the entropy current for field theories dual to gravity plus matter fields.
Advances in coral immunity ‘omics in response to disease outbreaks

Coral disease has progressively become one of the most pressing issues affecting coral reef survival. In the last 50 years, several reefs throughout the Caribbean have been severely impacted by increased frequency and intensity of disease outbreaks leading to coral death. A recent example of this is stony coral tissue loss disease which has quickly spread throughout the Caribbean, devastating coral reef ecosystems. Emerging from these disease outbreaks has been a coordinated research response that often integrates ‘omics techniques to better understand the coral immune system. ‘Omics techniques encompass a wide range of technologies used to identify large scale gene, DNA, metabolite, and protein expression. In this review, we discuss what is known about coral immunity and coral disease from an ‘omics perspective. We reflect on the development of biomarkers and discuss ways in which coral disease experiments to test immunity can be improved. Lastly, we consider how existing data can be better leveraged to combat future coral disease outbreaks.
Buprenorphine reverses neurocognitive impairment in EcoHIV infected mice: A potential therapy for HIV-NCI

Thirty-eight million people worldwide are living with HIV, PWH, a major public health problem. Antiretroviral therapy (ART) revolutionized HIV treatment and significantly increased the lifespan of PWH. However, approximately 15-50% of PWH develop HIV associated neurocognitive disorders (HIV-NCI), a spectrum of cognitive deficits, that negatively impact quality of life. Many PWH also have opioid use disorder (OUD), and studies in animal models of HIV infection as well as in PWH suggest that OUD can contribute to HIV-NCI. The synthetic opioid agonist, buprenorphine, treats OUD but its effects on HIV-NCI are unclear. We reported that human mature inflammatory monocytes express the opioid receptors MOR and KOR, and that buprenorphine reduces important steps in monocyte transmigration. Monocytes also serve as HIV reservoirs despite effective ART, enter the brain, and contribute to HIV brain disease. Using EcoHIV infected mice, an established model of HIV infection and HIV-NCI, we previously showed that pretreatment of mice prior to EcoHIV infection reduces mouse monocyte entry into the brain and prevents NCI. Here we show that buprenorphine treatment of EcoHIV infected mice with already established chronic NCI completely reverses the disease. Disease reversal was associated with a significant reduction in brain inflammatory monocytes and reversal of dendritic injury in the cortex and hippocampus. These results suggest that HIV-NCI persistence may require a continuing influx of inflammatory monocytes into the brain. Thus, we recommend buprenorphine as a potential therapy for mitigation of HIV brain disease in PWH with or without OUD.
Examining distribution patterns of foraging and non-foraging sperm whales in Hawaiian waters using visual and passive acoustic data

Following the end of over a century of intensive commercial whaling in 1986, the monitoring and assessment of sperm whale populations is essential for guiding management and conservation decisions for their recovery. Species distribution models (SDMs) are a useful tool for examining and predicting cetacean distribution patterns and typically incorporate visual, ship-based observations. However, understanding sperm whale distribution and habitat use based solely on surface visual observations is challenging due to the significant amount of time sperm whales spend foraging at depth. For the endangered sperm whale population occurring in Hawaiian waters, we used visual and passive acoustic data collected during four annual NOAA marine mammal line-transect surveys and a suite of biologically relevant environmental variables to develop SDMs within a generalized additive modeling framework to study the distribution of sperm whale groups throughout the island chain. Additionally, the passive acoustic data allowed us to differentiate sperm whale groups as foraging or non-foraging based on their click types to account for differences in distribution and behavior within the archipelago. Foraging groups were predicted primarily in the northwestern region of the archipelago between Laysan Island and Pearl and Hermes Reef as well as north of Maui and Hawaiʻi in the main Hawaiian Islands. Non-foraging groups were predicted to be more uniformly distributed throughout the archipelago. Foraging whale models selected temperature at 584 m depth, surface chlorophyll, and location, while the only significant variables for non-foraging whale models included the standard deviation of sea surface height and location. Each variable provides insight into the oceanographic processes influencing prey abundance and, thus, sperm whale foraging behavior. This study furthers our understanding of the distribution patterns for the sperm whale population in Hawaiʻi and contributes methods for building SDMs with visual and passive acoustic data that may be applied to other cetacean species.
Upregulation of hypothalamic POMC neurons after biliary diversion in GK rats

Background Bile acids are important signaling molecules that might activate hypothalamic neurons. This study aimed to investigate possible changes in hypothalamic pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons after biliary diversion in diabetic rats. Methods Ten GK rats were randomly divided into the biliary diversion (BD) and sham groups. The glucose metabolism, hypothalamic POMC expression, serum bile acid profiles, and ileal bile acid-specific receptors of the two groups were analyzed. Results Biliary diversion improved blood glucose (P = 0.001) and glucose tolerance (P = 0.001). RNA-Seq of the hypothalamus showed significantly upregulated expression of the POMC gene (log2-fold change = 4.1, P < 0.001), which also showed increased expression at the protein (P = 0.030) and mRNA (P = 0.004) levels. The POMC-derived neuropeptide α-melanocyte stimulating hormone (α-MSH) was also increased in the hypothalamus (2.21 ± 0.11 ng/g, P = 0.006). In addition, increased taurocholic acid (TCA) (108.05 ± 20.62 ng/mL, P = 0.003) and taurodeoxycholic acid (TDCA) (45.58 ± 2.74 ng/mL, P < 0.001) were found in the BD group and induced the enhanced secretion of fibroblast growth factor-15 (FGF15, 74.28 ± 3.44 pg/ml, P = 0.001) by activating farnesoid X receptor (FXR) that was over-expressed in the ileum. Conclusions Hypothalamic POMC neurons were upregulated after BD, and the increased TCA, TDCA, and the downstream gut-derived hormone FGF15 might activate POMC neurons.
Thermopower of a Chaotic Quantum Dot

The thermovoltage of a chaotic quantum dot is measured using a current heating technique. The fluctuations in the thermopower as a function of magnetic field and dot shape display a non-Gaussian distribution, in agreement with simulations using random matrix theory. We observe no contributions from weak localization or short trajectories in the thermopower.
The effect of irrigation solutions and sterilization process on the surface properties of ProTaper Next and TruNatomy rotary files: An atomic force microscopy study

Aim: This study sought to evaluate the effects of different irrigation solutions and sterilization processes on the surface properties of ProTaper Next (PTN; Dentsply-Maillefer, Ballaigues, Switzerland) and TruNatomy (TN; Dentsply Sirona, Ballaigues, Switzerland) nickel-titanium rotary files. Methodology: 30 ProTaper Next and 30 TruNatomy files were used. Both types of files were divided into five groups. The files in three groups were dipped into 5.25% NaOCI (CanalPro, Coltene/Whaledent, Altstätten, Switzerland), BioAKT (New Tech Solutions s.r.l., Brescia, Italy), and 18% etidronic acid (Dual Rinse HEDP, Medcem, Weinfelden, Switzerland), respectively, for 5 minutes, while the files in the fourth group were exposed to five autoclave cycles. The files in the fifth (control) group did not receive any treatment. Scans were performed from five different points using an atomic force microscope (AFM). The assumption of the conformity of the quantitative variables to a normal distribution was evaluated using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. A one-way analysis of variance was used to compare the quantitative measures between more than two independent groups, while the post-hoc least significant difference test was used for the pairwise comparisons (p˂0.05). Results: AFM images of the PTN and TN files in all the groups revealed surface irregularities. The root mean square (RMS) and depth values of the files dipped in NaOCI, BioAKT, and Etidronic acid were statistically higher than those of the control group (p<0.05). Moreover, the RMS and depth values were statistically higher in the files that had been subjected to five autoclave cycles when compared with the control group (p<0.05). The RMS values and depth values among the groups were found to be compatible. Conclusion: All the applications increased the surface roughness of the PTN and TN files. The Etidronic acid and sterilization applications were found to increase the RMS and depth values ​​the most when compared with the control group. How to cite this article: Öztekin F, Elmalı E. The effect of irrigation solutions and sterilization process on the surface properties of ProTaper Next and TruNatomy rotary files: An atomic force microscopy study. Int Dent Res 2022;12(2):39-46. https://doi.org/10.5577/intdentres.2022. vol12.no2. 1 Linguistic Revision: The English in this manuscript has been checked by at least two professional editors, both native speakers of English.