Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
COPD treatment pathways in France: a retrospective analysis of electronic medical record data from general practitioners

Background Increasing availability of therapeutic options for COPD may drive new treatment pathways. This study describes COPD treatment in France, focusing on identifying initial treatment modifications in patients with COPD who either initiated long-acting bronchodilator (LABD)-based therapy or escalated to triple therapy (long-acting muscarinic antagonist [LAMA] + long-acting β2-agonist [LABA] + inhaled corticosteroid [ICS]). Methods This retrospective analysis of patients with COPD in a large general practitioner database (IQVIA Longitudinal Patient Database) in France included two cohorts: Cohort 1 – new initiators of LABD-based therapy (LAMA, LABA, LAMA + LABA, LAMA + ICS, LABA + ICS or LAMA + LABA + ICS); Cohort 2 – patients escalating to triple therapy from mono- or dual-bronchodilator-based maintenance treatment. Both cohorts were indexed on the date of initiation/escalation (January 2008–December 2013), and the first treatment modification (at class level) within the 18-month post-index observational period was described. Five mutually exclusive outcomes were defined: continuous use (no modification), discontinuation (permanent [≥91 days with no restart] or temporary [≥91 days with subsequent restart]), switch, and augmentation (Cohort 1 only). Exploratory analysis of Cohort 1 explored potential drivers of treatment initiation. Results Overall, 5,065 patients initiated LABD-based therapy (Cohort 1), and 501 escalated to triple therapy (Cohort 2). In Cohort 1, 7.0% of patients were continuous users, 46.5% discontinued permanently, 28.5% discontinued temporarily, 2.8% augmented (added LAMA and/or LABA and/or ICS), and 15.2% switched therapy. In Cohort 2, 18.2% of patients were continuous users, 7.2% discontinued permanently, 27.9% discontinued temporarily, and 46.7% switched therapy. Exploratory analyses showed that time since COPD diagnosis was first recorded, pre-index exacerbation events, and concomitant medical conditions were potential drivers of initial maintenance treatment choices. Conclusion Discontinuation among new initiators of LABD-based therapy was high in France, whereas few switched or augmented treatment. In comparison, permanent discontinuation within 18 months was low in patients escalating to triple therapy.
Structure of mouse protocadherin 15 of the stereocilia tip link in complex with LHFPL5

Hearing and balance involve the transduction of mechanical stimuli into electrical signals by deflection of bundles of stereocilia linked together by protocadherin 15 (PCDH15) and cadherin 23 ‘tip links’. PCDH15 transduces tip link tension into opening of a mechano-electrical transduction (MET) ion channel. PCDH15 also interacts with LHFPL5, a candidate subunit of the MET channel. Here we illuminate the PCDH15-LHFPL5 structure, showing how the complex is composed of PCDH15 and LHFPL5 subunit pairs related by a 2-fold axis. The extracellular cadherin domains define a mobile tether coupled to a rigid, 2-fold symmetric ‘collar’ proximal to the membrane bilayer. LHFPL5 forms extensive interactions with the PCDH15 transmembrane helices and stabilizes the overall PCDH15-LHFPL5 assembly. Our studies illuminate the architecture of the PCDH15-LHFPL5 complex, localize mutations associated with deafness, and shed new light on how forces in the PCDH15 tether may be transduced into the stereocilia membrane.
The Influence of an Abstract vs. Concrete Thinking Style on Thinking in Verbal Thoughts, Imagery, State Repetitive Negative Thinking

Research suggests that repetitive negative thinking (RNT) is characterized by abstract thinking (AT) which predominantly involves verbal thoughts in order to avoid more emotional imagery. As opposed to AT, concrete thinking (CT) appears to be more constructive in terms of long-term beneficial effects. Whereas RNT is considered a risk factor for various disorders, resilience appears to be a protective factor. In the current study, the effects of AT vs. CT on verbal thoughts, imagery, state RNT and resilience were examined by means of a training in either AT or CT and a subsequent stress induction. Based on previous research, it was hypothesized that the participants in the AT-condition would report more verbal thoughts, less imagery, more state RNT, and less resilience compared to the participants in the CT-condition. Although randomization succeeded, it is questionable whether manipulation was successful. Therefore, the results should be interpreted with great caution. Results of ANCOVAs showed only a significant effect of condition on verbal thoughts after the stress induction subsequent to the training, with a higher score in the AT-condition than in the CT-condition, as expected. No effects of condition were found on imagery, state RNT, and resilience. These unexpected results are mainly due to the shortened format of the training, which showed not to be effective in inducing AT and CT. Further research is necessary in order to clarify the effects of thinking styles on verbal thoughts, imagery, state RNT, and resilience (using the full training format) in nonclinical samples from a prevention perspective.
Geology and petroleum resources of central and east-central Africa

The petroleum provinces of central and east-central Africa include the Somali Basin, the Ethiopian plateau and rift belt, the Red Sea Basin, and the central African rift basins. The east African shelf (Somali Basin) in the "Horn of Africa" contains a sedimentary cover 1,000 to 10,000 m (3,000 to 35,000 ft) thick of Mesozoic and Tertiary marine and continental clastic, carbonate and evaporite deposits with good reservoir and potentially adequate source-rock properties. To date, approximately 85 exploratory wells have been drilled in this province and no commercial oil or gas discoveries have been made. Most of the drilling has been on fold and fault structures, many of which were inadequately mapped by geophysical means. Testing for stratigraphic traps has been minimal. Offshore drilling on the western shelf of the Red Sea Basin has encountered numerous indications of gas from sandstones in the 5,000 m (16,000 ft) or more of Miocene and younger marine and continental clastic and evaporite beds. The Red Sea shelf probably is a gas-prone province of high exploration risk because of high geothermal gradients and uncertain structural conditions, particularly below the salt, probably related to spreading and rifting and to severe flowage of the thick Miocene salt deposits. The Ethiopian plateau and rift belt is a very high exploration risk area that has minimum potential for commercial oil and gas deposits because of high geothermal gradients in the rift areas, extensive volcanism, and inadequate marine deposits and petroleum source rocks, in part related to the Neogene rifting origin of the province. The interior basins of central Africa are rifted cratonic depressions in which Late Cretaceous and Tertiary fluvial and lacustrine clastic beds, as thick as 6,000 m (20,000 ft) or more, intertongue with nearshore marine clastic and carbonate deposits in the western basins. Since the middle 1970's, approximately 13 oil discoveries in the Upper Nile, Doba-Doseo (Chari), and Chad Basins are producing from fluvial and lacustrine sandstone reservoirs. Source rocks are lacustrine organic shale beds of Cretaceous age. The Benue trough is a rifted depression of middle Cretaceous age adjoined on the southwest by the prolific Niger Delta petroleum province. The trough is filled with 6,000 m (20,000 ft) or more of clastic and carbonate marine and continental rocks of late Early Cretaceous and early Cenozoic age. Very few exploratory wells have been drilled, and no commercial discoveries have been made, although good reservoir and source rocks are present. The Benue trough is a high exploration risk province because of its complicated structural and thermal history. USGS estimates of original recoverable petroleum resources (ultimate) of the central and east-central Africa provinces as of December 1982 are approximately 21 billion barrels of oil (BBO) and 83 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of gas, most of which is in the Upper Nile, Chad, and Doba-Doseo (Chari) Basins.
Ocean response to a hurricane, part II : data tabulations and numerical modeling

Abstract : Field observations of the ocean's forced stage response to hurricanes Norbert (1984), Josephine (1984) and Gloria (1985) are analyzed and presented in a storm centered coordinate system. Data are simulated with two different numerical ocean models. All 3 hurricanes had a non-dimensional speed of O(1) and produced a strongly rightward biased response of the ocean surface mixed layer (SML) transport and current. This asymmetry arises because the wind stress vector rotates clockwise on the right side of the track and remains nearly parallel with the inertially rotating SML current during most of the hurricane passage. The maximum layer-averaged SML currents varied from 0.8 m/s in response to Josephine, a fairly weak hurricane, to 1.7 m/s in response to Gloria which was much stronger. In these cases the current amplitude is set primarily by the strength of the wind stress and its efficiency of coupling with the SML current, and the depth of vertical mixing of the SML - - all of which are local phenomena that can be accounted for in a one-dimensional model. However, in the Norbert case where the SML Burger number was appreciable, the SML current was also affected by significant pressure - coupling with the thermocline - - an inherently non-local phenomenon. Observations and results from a three- dimensional simulation model show appreciable upwelling by inertial pumping and strong thermocline - depth currents, up to 0.3 m/s, under the trailing edge of Norbert. The observed SML current has a vertical shear in direction of the local wind of about 0.01/s beneath the high stress regions of the hurricanes.
Development and evaluation of a smartphone app to reduce excessive alcohol consumption : self-regulatory factors

Alcohol consumption is a major public health issue. Alcohol is responsible for millions of deaths each year, is a causal factor in over 200 diseases and conditions and is a leading contributor to the global burden of disease. Brief interventions to reduce alcohol consumption have demonstrated a record of effectiveness, whether delivered face-to-face or digitally. Most digital behaviour change interventions (DBCIs) for alcohol reduction have been performed on a computer. Smartphone apps are a new and, due to their widespread adoption and rich technological capacities, potentially very useful modality for delivering DBCIs. However, there is currently little evidence of the effectiveness of health behaviour change apps in general and alcohol reduction apps in particular. This thesis describes the development and evaluation of an app to help people reduce their consumption of alcohol. The aim is to identify which behaviour change techniques (BCTs) may be most effective in helping people reduce their alcohol consumption when delivered in this modality. In a series of three studies, BCTs have been selected for evaluation and their implementation refined. The first study examined the BCTs used in existing popular alcohol-reduction apps; the second undertook a meta-regression of the effectiveness of BCTs used in DBCIs; the third determined how the implementation of the BCTs selected for evaluation could be improved in response to user feedback. Accompanying work reviewed the literature for potentially effective BCTs for alcohol reduction. In the fourth and final study, the BCTs chosen for inclusion in the app were placed into a series of five modules: self-monitoring and feedback, action planning, normative feedback, identity change and cognitive bias retraining, and were evaluated in a factorial randomised control trial (RCT).
Font Comparison System Based on Multiple Similarity Metrics

: Digital fonts are widely used in various fields such as documents, webpages, movie subtitles, etc., thus, how to select the best font for the content is an important issue. For the same font, the similarity calculated using different metrics is different. In this paper, we propose a font comparison system that considers different similarities by sorting the similarity of each font. For measuring similarity, we use MSE, PSNR, SSIM
The effect of depression on fracture healing and osteoblast differentiation in rats

Background: Depressive disorder has been proven to be associated with disturbed bone metabolism. However, the effect of depression on fracture healing still lacks evidence. Materials and methods: A rat depressive model was first established by exposing the animals to chronic unpredictable stress, which was assessed using the sucrose preference test, forced swimming test, and open field test. Subsequently, the bone repairing ability was detected by micro-computed tomography and histological analysis of the femoral condyle defect rats with or without depression. To further investigate the potential mechanisms of depression on fracture healing, the osteogenic differentiation and autophagic level were compared between the bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) derived from depressive and normal rats. Results: Our results showed that rats with depressive disorder significantly slowed the healing process at 4 and 8 weeks postinjury. Furthermore, the osteogenic potential and autophagy remarkably decreased in BMSCs from the depressive rats, suggesting an inherent relationship between autophagy and osteogenic differentiation. Finally, rapamycin, an autophagic agonist, significantly improved osteogenic differentiation of depressive BMSCs through autophagy activation. Conclusion: The present study indicated that depression had a negative effect on fracture healing with low osteoblast differentiation of BMSCs. Also, autophagy activation in BMSCs offers a novel therapeutic target for depressive patients with poor fracture healing.
Pentacyclic Triterpene Distribution in Various Plants – Rich Sources for a New Group of Multi-Potent Plant Extracts

Pentacyclic triterpenes are secondary plant metabolites widespread in fruit peel, leaves and stem bark. In particular the lupane-, oleanane-, and ursane triterpenes display various pharmacological effects while being devoid of prominent toxicity. Therefore, these triterpenes are promising leading compounds for the development of new multi-targeting bioactive agents. Screening of 39 plant materials identified triterpene rich (> 0.1% dry matter) plant parts. Plant materials with high triterpene concentrations were then used to obtain dry extracts by accelerated solvent extraction resulting in a triterpene content of 50 ‑ 90%. Depending on the plant material, betulin (birch bark), betulinic acid (plane bark), oleanolic acid (olive leaves, olive pomace, mistletoe sprouts, clove flowers), ursolic acid (apple pomace) or an equal mixture of the three triterpene acids (rosemary leaves) are the main components of these dry extracts. They are quantitatively characterised plant extracts supplying a high concentration of actives and therefore can be used for development of phytopharmaceutical formulations.
Lyra’s Geometry in a Bianchi Type II String Dust Cosmological Model with an Electromagnetic Field

We have investigated a Bianchi type II string dust cosmological model with an electromagnetic field in Lyra’s Geometry. The magnetic field is due to the electric current flowing along the x-axis such that F 23 is the only non-vanishing component of F ij . We have assumed the condition R = S n between a metric potential to get a determinate solution. We found that the model starts with big bang and expansion decreases with time. Furthermore, anisotropy is maintained throughout but the model isotropizes when n = 1 . The physical and geometrical aspects of the model are also discussed.
Editorial : Mental practice : clinical and experimental research in imagery and action observation

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Advances Toward a Norovirus Antiviral: From Classical Inhibitors to Lethal Mutagenesis

Human noroviruses are a leading cause of gastroenteritis worldwide, yet there are no licensed antivirals. There is an urgent need for norovirus therapeutics, particularly for chronic infections in immunocompromised individuals, but also a potential need for prophylactic use in epidemics. Continued research has led to the identification of compounds that inhibit norovirus replication in vitro and, at least in some cases, are also effective in vivo against murine norovirus. Progress has included classical approaches targeting viral proteins and harnessing the antiviral action of interferon, strategies targeting essential host cell factors, and novel strategies exploiting the high mutation rate of noroviruses.
Intrusion Detection

From the Publisher: The proliferation of cracking activity on the Internet has led to astounding developments in intrusion detection technology. This book will lead you through the details and methodologies associated with this important type of security protection. System administrators, programmers, system and software engineers, and managers of technology will find this book invaluable. And anyone associated with information assurance for critical infrastructures will learn how intrusion detection can be applied to their unique security needs. With this book, you will learn about intrusion detection topics including: Commercial tools for intrusion detection Strategies for processing security audit trails Correlation techniques and algorithms Intruder trace back techniques Deception-based honey pots and traps Incident response and disaster recovery
Secuencia sísmica de Lorca: análisis de consecuencias y actuaciones de emergencia y post-emergencia

espanolEl 11 de mayo de 2011, un terremoto de magnitud 5.2 Mw se registro en las proximidades de la ciudad de Lorca, vino antecedido de un terremoto de menor magnitud 4.5, dando lugar junto a las replicas a una secuencia sismica moderada en cuanto a su magnitud pero con un elevado nivel de consecuencias, que afecto especialmente al casco urbano de Lorca, lo que hizo necesario establecer un dispositivo extraordinario para la gestion de la emergencia y adoptar medidas igualmente excepcionales en la post-emergencia encaminadas a la pronta reconstruccion y normalizacion de Lorca. EnglishOn May 11, 2011, an earthquake of magnitude 5.2 Mw was recorded near the town of Lorca. It was preceded by another earthquake of lower magnitude 4.5 Mw. This produced a moderate seismic sequence in terms of magnitude but with a high level of impact. The earthquake particularly affected the town of Lorca, so it was necessary to establish a special device for the emergency management and a set of postemergence measures that were aimed at the rapid recovery of the city.
is aPc hypermethylation a diagnostic biomarker for bladder cancer? a meta-analysis

Objective: Numerous studies have been performed to investigate the association between APC promoter hypermethylation and bladder cancer risk. Nevertheless, the conclusion was uncertain due to small sample size, different ethnicities, and tumor subtype. Hence, to accurately assess the effect of APC promoter hypermethylation on the risk of bladder cancer, we performed the meta-analysis. Materials and methods: We retrieved the relevant literatures from electronic databases such as PubMed, Web of Science, Wanfang, Vapp, and CNKI (Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure). 95% CI and OR were calculated to evaluate the associations of APC promoter hypermethylation with risk and clinical features of bladder cancer. Heterogeneity among studies was assessed with Q test and I 2 statistic. In addition, the diagnostic sensitivity, specificity, and area under the curve (AUC) value of APC hypermethylation for bladder cancer were calculated. Results: In total, 14 articles with 531 controls and 1,293 cases were included to assess the associations of APC promoter hypermethylation with the risk and clinical characteristics of bladder cancer. The significant association between APC promoter hypermethylation and bladder cancer risk was detected (OR = 17.01, CI = 7.40–39.07). Furthermore, the results revealed that APC promoter hypermethylation was significantly correlated with the grade of bladder tumor (pTNM stage: OR = 1.84, CI = 0.87–3.93; grade: OR = 4.11, CI = 1.62–10.43). According to the results of diagnostic evaluation, the diagnostic sensitivity, specificity, and AUC value of APC hypermethylation for bladder cancer risk were 0.52 (95% CI = 0.41–0.63), 0.98 (95% CI = 0.90–1.00), and 0.80 (95% CI = 0.76–0.83), respectively. Conclusion: This meta-analysis revealed that APC promoter hypermethylation was a risk factor for bladder cancer risk. In addition, APC promoter hypermethylation was significantly associated with the grade of bladder cancer. APC hypermethylation might be a useful biomarker for the clinical diagnosis of bladder cancer.
Error analysis for creating 3D face templates based on cylindrical quad-tree structure

Development of new biometric algorithms is parallel to advances in technology of sensing devices. Some of the limitations of the current face recognition systems may be eliminated by integrating 3D sensors into these systems. Depth sensing devices can capture a spatial structure of the face in addition to the texture and color. This kind of data is yet usually very voluminous and requires large amount of computer resources for being processed (face scans obtained with typical depth cameras contain more than 150 000 points per face). That is why defining efficient data structures for processing spatial images is crucial for further development of 3D face recognition methods. The concept described in this work fulfills the aforementioned demands. Modification of the quad-tree structure was chosen because it can be easily transformed into less dimensional data structures and maintains spatial relations between data points. We are able to interpret data stored in the tree as a pyramid of features which allow us to analyze face images using coarse-to-fine strategy, often exploited in biometric recognition systems.