julilili42/papers huggingface dataset:
The Tourniquet Ischemia Test in the Diagnosis of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome
2020-10-19

Abstract Background The tourniquet ischemia test (IT) is a hitherto rarely used tool for the diagnostic work‐up of patients with suspected complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS). This analysis aims to determine the sensitivity and specificity of this test, and elucidate factors that can influence the test result. Methods Consecutive data on clinical presentation, results of the IT and other diagnostic tests, and clinical characteristics were analyzed from patients presenting at our autonomic laboratory between 2000 and 2011. IT results were compared with the final clinical diagnosis at discharge, and statistical analysis was performed to determine specificity, sensitivity, and positive and negative predictive values of the IT. Results A total of 78 patients were assessed. IT results were positive (≥50% reduction in pain during ischemia) in 26 cases and negative in 52 cases. CRPS was the final diagnosis in 45 cases, and in 33 cases, a different diagnosis was made. This results in a test sensitivity of 49% and a specificity of 88%, with a positive predictive value of 85% and a negative predictive value of 56%. Age, sex, the type and stage of CRPS, and the affected extremity did not influence the test result in a statistically significant manner. Specificity worsened to 76% if any pain reduction was rated as a positive test result. Conclusions A positive tourniquet IT has a high positive predictive value for the diagnosis of CRPS. It is thus useful as a confirmatory assay in patients with suspected CRPS. Low sensitivity rules out its use as a screening test. Significance This study retrospectively analyzed the clinical significance of the tourniquet IT that was routinely used in patients with suspected CRPS. It showed that a positive IT result is useful as a confirmatory assay in patients fulfilling the clinical criteria.
Disease, demons and masks in the Iron Age Mediterranean
2020-10-19

This article first addresses the issue of defining ancient masks and briefly explores masking cultures in the Iron Age Mediterranean, then emphasizes the role that Carthage appears to have played in both maintaining and renewing the Levantine disguised traditions. Among the newly invented masks of Carthage, it focuses on and reviews a small group of masks and amulets portraying black African twisted faces and dating to between the seventh and mid-sixth century BC. These masks support the existence of wooden prototypes and currently provide the earliest evidence of black African imagery used for ritual purposes. Based on their features and compelling parallels, it is argued that their iconography was inspired by facial paralysis and they should be interpreted as images of a demon used in curing rituals.
A Computational Model to Inform Effective Control Interventions against <em>Yersinia enterocolitica</em> Coinfection
2020-10-19

The complex interplay among pathogens, host factors, and the integrity and composition of the endogenous microbiome determine the course and outcome of gastrointestinal infections. The model organism Yersinia entercolitica (Ye) is one of the five top frequent causes of bacterial gastroenteritis based on the Epidemiological Bulletin of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) published on September 10, 2020. A fundamental challenge in predicting the course of an infection is to understand whether co-infection with two Yersinia strains differing only in their capacity to resist killing by the host immune system may decrease the overall virulence by competitive exclusion or increase it by acting cooperatively. Herein, we study the primary interactions among Ye, the host immune system and the microbiota, and their influence on Yersinia population dynamics. The employed model considers two host compartments, the intestinal mucosa and lumen, commensal bacteria, the co-existence of wild-type and mutant Yersinia strains, as well the host immune responses. We determine four possible equilibria: the disease-free, wild-type-free, mutant-free, and co-existence of wild-type and mutant equilibrium. We also calculate the reproduction number for each strain as a threshold parameter to determine if the population may either be eradicated or persist within the host. We conclude that the infection should disappear if the reproduction numbers for each strain fall below one, and the commensal bacteria&amp;rsquo;s growth rate exceeds the pathogens&amp;rsquo; growth rates. These findings will help inform public health control strategies. The supplement includes MATLAB source script, Maple workbook, and figures.
Haunted Oppressors: The Deconstruction of Manliness in the Imperial Gothic Stories of Rudyard Kipling and Arthur Conan Doyle
2020-10-19

Building on Patrick Brantlinger’s description of imperial Gothic fiction as “that blend of adventure story with Gothic elements”, this article compares the narrative formula of adventure fiction to two tales of haunting produced in a colonial context: Rudyard Kipling’s “The Mark of the Beast” (1890) and Arthur Conan Doyle’s “The Brown Hand” (1899). My central argument is that these stories form an antithesis to adventure fiction: while adventure stories reaffirm the belief in the imperial mission and the racial superiority of the British through the display of hypermasculine heroes, Kipling’s and Conan Doyle’s Gothic tales establish connections between imperial decline and masculine failure. In doing so, they destabilise the binary construction between civilised Western self and savage Eastern Other and thus anticipate one of the major concerns of postcolonial criticism. This article proposes, therefore, that it is useful to examine “The Mark of the Beast” and “The Brown Hand” through a postcolonial lens.
Biochemical and Cellular Biomarkers in Brown Trout (Salmo trutta f. fario) in Response to the Antidepressants Citalopram and Venlafaxine
2020-10-19

Abstract Background: During the last decades, a worldwide increase in the number of cases of depression accompanied by rising prescription rates of antidepressants was recorded. In Germany, the two most prescribed antidepressants are the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) citalopram and the serotonin and noradrenalin reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) venlafaxine, taking about 30 % of the market share. Both antidepressants are found frequently in surface waters and have the potential of adversely affecting aquatic organisms. Most studies dealing with antidepressants address apical endpoints and behaviour, however, only few studies investigate biochemical biomarkers and histopathological alterations. We conducted citalopram and venlafaxine exposure experiments with brown trout eggs in the eyed ova stage for five months, as well as with juvenile brown trout for four weeks. Exposure concentrations ranged from environmentally relevant 1 μg/L up to 1 mg/L. In this study, we investigated the effects of the antidepressants on b-esterase activity (neurotoxicity), stress protein level (proteotoxicity) and superoxide dismutase activity (oxidative stress). Additionally, we assessed the health status of the liver by means of histopathological analyses.Results: We were able to show that both antidepressants did neither induce proteotoxic nor neurotoxic effects in brown trout. But for the antidepressant venlafaxine, the biochemical biomarker for oxidative stress (superoxide dismutase activity) was significantly increased in larvae exposed to at least 10 μg/L venlafaxine at 7°C. With regard to liver histopathology, fish exposed to higher citalopram concentrations were in a worse health condition than control fish irrespective of their life stage. Also the energy storage of fish exposed to 1 mg/L citalopram was reduced. Conclusion: Thus, we here report citalopram-dependent histopathological alterations in brown trout liver, and the induction of oxidative stress by venlafaxine.
Exitorial
2020-10-19

This issue of Ethnologia Europaea presents an exciting and timely themed section on "Brexit Matters" which discusses the departure of the UK from the EU in a comparative mode.Brexit "matters" in many ways, as the contributions to this section show by considering from an ethnographic perspective previous "exits" or disintegration processes in the ongoing history of European ruptures, thereby contextualizing and historicizing current developments in the UK.
Iron mineral dissolution releases iron and associated organic carbon during permafrost thaw
2020-10-19

It has been shown that reactive soil minerals, specifically iron(III) (oxyhydr)oxides, can trap organic carbon in soils overlying intact permafrost, and may limit carbon mobilization and degradation as it is observed in other environments. However, the use of iron(III)-bearing minerals as terminal electron acceptors in permafrost environments and thus their stability and capacity to prevent carbon mobilization during permafrost thaw is poorly understood. We have followed the dynamic interactions between iron and carbon, using a space for time-approach, across a thaw gradient in Abisko (Sweden), where wetlands are expanding rapidly due to permafrost thaw. We show through bulk (selective extractions, EXAFS) and nanoscale analysis (correlative SEM and nanoSIMS) that organic carbon is bound to reactive Fe primarily in the transition between organic and mineral horizons in palsa underlain by intact permafrost (41.8 &amp;plusmn; 10.8 mg carbon per g soil, 9.9 to 14.8% of total soil organic carbon). During permafrost thaw, water-logging and O2&amp;nbsp;limitation lead to reducing conditions and an increase in abundance of Fe(III)-reducing bacteria which favor mineral dissolution and drive mobilization of both iron and carbon along the thaw gradient. By providing a terminal electron acceptor, this rusty carbon sink is effectively destroyed along the thaw gradient and cannot prevent carbon release with thaw.&amp;nbsp;
Decision making biases in the allied health professions: A systematic scoping review
2020-10-20

This scoping review provides an overview of studies investigating whether decisions made by allied health professionals are influenced by cognitive, affective or other biases. Biases have the potential to seriously impact the quality, consistency and accuracy of decision making in allied health practice. The findings highlight a need for further research particularly in professional disciplines outside of psychology, using methods that reflect real life healthcare decision making.
Hepatitis E Virus Infection: Circulation, Molecular Epidemiology, and Impact on Global Health
2020-10-20

Infection with hepatitis E virus (HEV) represents the most common source of viral hepatitis globally. Although infecting over 20 million people annually in endemic regions, with major outbreaks described since the 1950s, hepatitis E remains an underestimated disease. This review gives a current view of the global circulation and epidemiology of this emerging virus. The history of HEV, from the first reported enteric non-A non-B hepatitis outbreaks, to the discovery of the viral agent and the molecular characterization of the different human pathogenic genotypes, is discussed. Furthermore, the current state of research regarding the virology of HEV is critically assessed, and the challenges towards prevention and diagnosis, as well as clinical risks of the disease described. Together, these points aim to underline the significant impact of hepatitis E on global health and the need for further in-depth research to better understand the pathophysiology and its role in the complex disease manifestations of HEV infection.
CellRank for directed single-cell fate mapping
2020-10-20

Abstract Computational trajectory inference enables the reconstruction of cell-state dynamics from single-cell RNA sequencing experiments. However, trajectory inference requires that the direction of a biological process is known, largely limiting its application to differentiating systems in normal development. Here, we present CellRank ( https://cellrank.org ) for mapping the fate of single cells in diverse scenarios, including perturbations such as regeneration or disease, for which direction is unknown. Our approach combines the robustness of trajectory inference with directional information from RNA velocity, derived from ratios of spliced to unspliced reads. CellRank takes into account both the gradual and stochastic nature of cellular fate decisions, as well as uncertainty in RNA velocity vectors. On data from pancreas development, we show that it automatically detects initial, intermediate and terminal populations, predicts fate potentials and visualizes continuous gene expression trends along individual lineages. CellRank also predicts a novel dedifferentiation trajectory during regeneration after lung injury, which we follow up experimentally by confirming the existence of previously unknown intermediate cell states.
Molecular Epidemiology of Mansonella Species in Gabon
2020-10-20

Abstract Mansonella perstans, a filarial nematode, infects large populations in Africa and Latin America. Recently, a potential new species, Mansonella sp “DEUX,” was reported. Carriage of endosymbiotic Wolbachia opens treatment options for Mansonella infections. Within a cross-sectional study, we assessed the prevalence of filarial infections in 834 Gabonese individuals and the presence of the endosymbiont Wolbachia. Almost half of the participants (400/834 [48%]) were infected with filarial nematodes, with Mansonella sp “DEUX” being the most frequent (295/400 [74%]), followed by Loa loa (273/400 [68%]) and Mansonella perstans (82/400 [21%]). Being adult/elderly, male, and living in rural areas was associated with a higher risk of infection. Wolbachia carriage was confirmed in M. perstans and Mansonella sp “DEUX.” In silico analysis revealed that Mansonella sp “DEUX” is not detected with currently published M. perstans–specific assays. Mansonella infections are highly prevalent in Gabon and might have been underreported, likely also beyond Gabon.
Storm Event–Driven Occurrence and Transport of Dissolved and Sorbed Organic Micropollutants and Associated Effects in the Ammer River, Southwestern Germany
2020-10-20

Abstract Storm events lead to agricultural and urban runoff, to mobilization of contaminated particulate matter, and to input from combined sewer overflows into rivers. We conducted time-resolved sampling during a storm event at the Ammer River, southwest Germany, which is representative of small river systems in densely populated areas with a temperate climate. Suspended particulate matter (SPM) and water from 2 sampling sites were separately analyzed by a multi-analyte liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) method for 97 environmentally relevant organic micropollutants and with 2 in vitro bioassays. Oxidative stress response (AREc32) may become activated by various stressors covering a broad range of physicochemical properties and induction of aryl hydrocarbon receptor–chemical-activated luciferase gene expression (AhR-CALUX) by hydrophobic compounds such as dioxins and dioxin-like molecules. Compound numbers, concentrations, their mass fluxes, and associated effect fluxes increased substantially during the storm event. Micropollutants detected in water and on SPM pointed toward inputs from combined sewer overflow (e.g., caffeine, paracetamol), urban runoff (e.g., mecoprop, terbutryn), and agricultural areas (e.g., azoxystrobin, bentazone). Particle-facilitated transport of triphenylphosphate and tris(1-chloro-2-propyl) phosphate accounted for up to 34 and 33% of the total mass flux even though SPM concentrations were &amp;lt;1 g L–1. Effect fluxes attributed to SPM were similar or higher than in the water phase. The important role of SPM-bound transport emphasizes the need to consider not only concentrations but also mass and effect fluxes for surface water quality assessment and wastewater/stormwater treatment options. Environ Toxicol Chem 2021;40:88–99. © 2020 The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of SETAC.
Carbenaporphyrins: No Longer Missing Ligands in N‐Heterocyclic Carbene Chemistry
2020-10-20

Abstract The synthesis of an NHC‐containing porphyrinoid ligand is presented. The formally antiaromatic 20 πe − macrocyclic framework can be obtained via a 1,3‐dipolar cycloaddition (“click‐reaction”) to form two triazole moieties which were alkylated to the respective triazolium macrocycle. Deprotonation of the ligand precursor with lithium bases to the respective dilithio carbenaporphyrin complex and transmetallation to scandium lead to complexes that exhibit orange fluorescence. Optical property combined with TD‐DFT studies verify an aromatic character for each heterocyclic moiety rather than an antiaromatic macrocycle in the ligand precursor as well as in the complexes. While the geometric features of the carbenaporphyrin ligand strongly resemble those of porphyrin, DFT calculations reveal a stronger electron‐donating ability of the new ligand.
An extreme particle accelerator in the Galactic plane: HESS J1826−130
2020-10-20

The unidentified very-high-energy (VHE; E &gt; 0.1 TeV) γ -ray source, HESS J1826−130, was discovered with the High Energy Stereoscopic System (HESS) in the Galactic plane. The analysis of 215 h of HESS data has revealed a steady γ -ray flux from HESS J1826−130, which appears extended with a half-width of 0.21° ± 0.02 stat ° ± 0.05 sys °. The source spectrum is best fit with either a power-law function with a spectral index Γ = 1.78 ± 0.10 stat ± 0.20 sys and an exponential cut-off at 15.2 −3.2 +5.5 TeV, or a broken power-law with Γ 1 = 1.96 ± 0.06 stat ± 0.20 sys , Γ 2 = 3.59 ± 0.69 stat ± 0.20 sys for energies below and above E br = 11.2 ± 2.7 TeV, respectively. The VHE flux from HESS J1826−130 is contaminated by the extended emission of the bright, nearby pulsar wind nebula, HESS J1825−137, particularly at the low end of the energy spectrum. Leptonic scenarios for the origin of HESS J1826−130 VHE emission related to PSR J1826−1256 are confronted by our spectral and morphological analysis. In a hadronic framework, taking into account the properties of dense gas regions surrounding HESS J1826−130, the source spectrum would imply an astrophysical object capable of accelerating the parent particle population up to ≳200 TeV. Our results are also discussed in a multiwavelength context, accounting for both the presence of nearby supernova remnants, molecular clouds, and counterparts detected in radio, X-rays, and TeV energies.
Cortical parameters predict bone strength at the tibial diaphysis, but are underestimated by HR‐pQCT and μCT compared to histomorphometry
2020-10-20

Abstract Cortical bone and its microstructure are crucial for bone strength, especially at the long bone diaphysis. However, it is still not well‐defined how imaging procedures can be used as predictive tools for mechanical bone properties. This study evaluated the capability of several high‐resolution imaging techniques to capture cortical bone morphology and assessed the correlation with the bone's mechanical properties. The microstructural properties (cortical thickness [Ct.Th], porosity [Ct.Po], area [Ct.Ar]) of 11 female tibial diaphysis (40–90 years) were evaluated by dual‐energy X‐ray absorptiometry (DXA), high‐resolution peripheral‐quantitative‐computed‐tomography (HR‐pQCT), micro‐CT (μCT) and histomorphometry. Stiffness and maximal torque to failure were determined by mechanical testing. T ‐Scores determined by DXA ranged from 0.6 to −5.6 and a lower T ‐Score was associated with a decrease in Ct.Th ( p ≤ 0.001) while the Ct.Po ( p ≤ 0.007) increased, and this relationship was independent of the imaging method. With decreasing T ‐Score, histology showed an increase in Ct.Po from the endosteal to the periosteal side ( p = 0.001) and an exponential increase in the ratio of osteons at rest to those after remodelling. However, compared to histomorphometry, HR‐pQCT and μCT underestimated Ct.Po and Ct.Th. A lower T ‐Score was also associated with significantly reduced stiffness ( p = 0.031) and maximal torque ( p = 0.006). Improving the accuracy of Ct.Po and Ct.Th did not improve prediction of the mechanical properties, which was most closely related to geometry (Ct.Ar). The ex‐vivo evaluation of mechanical properties correlated with all imaging modalities, with Ct.Th and Ct.Po highly correlated with the T ‐Score of the tibial diaphysis. Cortical microstructural changes were underestimated with the lower resolution of HR‐pQCT and μCT compared to the histological ‘gold standard’. The increased accuracy did not result in an improved prediction for local bone strength in this study, which however might be related to the limited number of specimens and thus needs to be evaluated in a larger collective.
Unintended cue learning: Lessons for deep learning from experimental psychology
2020-10-20

Recently, Deep Neural Networks (DNNs) have become a major tool and model in vision science. However, DNNs often fail unexpectedly. For example, they are highly vulnerable to noise and struggle to transfer their performance from the lab to the real world. In experimental psychology, unexpected failures are often the consequence of unintended cue learning. For example, rats trained to perform a colour discrimination experiment may appear to have learned the task but fail unexpectedly once the odour of the colour paint is controlled for, revealing that they exploited an unintended cue---smell---to solve what was intended to be a vision experiment. Here we ask whether unexpected failures of DNNs too may be caused by unintended cue learning. We demonstrate that DNNs are indeed highly prone to picking up on subtle unintended cues: neural networks love to cheat. For instance, in a simple classification paradigm with two equally predictive cues, object silhouette and object location, human observers unanimously relied on object silhouette whereas DNNs used object location, a strategy which fails once an object appears at a different location. Drawing parallels to other recent findings, we show that a wide variety of DNN failures can be understood as a consequence of unintended cue learning: their over-reliance on object background and context, adversarial examples, and a number of stunning generalisation errors. The perspective of unintended cue learning unifies some of the key challenges for DNNs as useful models of the human visual system. Drawing inspiration from experimental psychology (with its years of expertise in identifying unintended cues), we argue that we will need to exercise great care before attributing high-level abilities like "object recognition" or "scene understanding" to machines. Taken together, this opens up an opportunity for the vision sciences to contribute towards a better and more cautionary understanding of deep learning.