julilili42/papers huggingface dataset:
Magnetic resonance imaging of vaginal support structure before and after Vecchietti procedure in women with Mayer–Rokitansky–Küster–Hauser syndrome
2018-03-31

Abstract Introduction It is unclear how pelvic floor supporting structures might be affected by the absence of the vagina. It was the aim of this prospective study to analyze the magnetic resonance imaging morphology of pelvic support prior and after a Vecchietti procedure in women suffering Mullerian agenesis (Mayer–Rokitansky–Küster–Hauser syndrome). Material and methods 26 women with a diagnosis of Mayer–Rokitansky–Küster–Hauser syndrome associated vaginal agenesis were recruited prospectively prior to the laparoscopic creation of a neovagina according to the Vecchietti procedure. The primary outcome measure was the magnetic resonance imaging morphology of supporting structures. Secondary outcome measures were anatomical and functional vaginal length. Follow up was conducted six months after surgery. Results Twenty‐six women were analyzed. Mean age was 19.8 ± 4.4 years (±SD) and mean body mass index was 23.7 ± 4.3 kg/m 2 (±SD). All were Caucasian. Supporting structures consistent with cardinal and uterosacral ligaments were visible on magnetic resonance imaging in all cases (100%). There were no levator ani defects. The vaginal apex could be visualized postoperatively in 12 women (46.2%) reaching up to Level I. The vagina was visible in both Level II and III with normal relations to the pelvic walls in all cases. On gynecological examination, vaginal length was 8.8 ± 2.1 cm (mean ± SD) anatomically and 10.2 ± 2.2 cm (mean ± SD) functionally. Conclusions The preoperative presence of pelvic support structures into which the vagina is lengthened by the surgery likely explains the uncommon occurrence of vaginal prolapse in women who had the Vecchietti procedure.
Blue Diaper Syndrome and PCSK1 Mutations
2018-04-01

Blue diaper syndrome (BDS) (Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man number 211000) is an extremely rare disorder that was first described in 1964. The characteristic finding is a bluish discoloration of urine spots in the diapers of affected infants. Additional clinical features of the first described patients included diarrhea, inadequate weight gain, hypercalcemia, and nephrocalcinosis. An intestinal defect of tryptophan absorption was postulated as the underlying pathology. However, functional evidence for this theory is lacking. No genetic cause has been identified so far. Here, we report on a boy who presented with neonatal-onset diarrhea, metabolic acidosis, transient hepatopathy, recurrent hypoglycemia, and blue-stained urine spots in his diapers. An ultra-performance liquid chromatography–electrospray ionization–tandem mass spectrometry analysis of urine samples at different time points demonstrated the constant presence of indigo derivatives, thereby confirming the diagnosis of BDS. Of note, the visibility of indigo derivatives in the urine was highly dependent on the urine’s pH. To identify the underlying genetic cause of the disease, whole-exome sequencing was performed, leading to the identification of a homozygous frameshift mutation in proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 1 (PCSK1; NM_000439.4: c.679del, p.[Val227Leufs*12]). PCSK1 encodes prohormone convertase 1/3, and mutations within this gene have been reported as a rare cause of early-onset malabsorptive diarrhea and multiple endocrine dysfunction. In our report, we suggest that BDS can be caused by PCSK1 mutations.
Patient satisfaction in 1,827 patients following various methods of facial reconstruction based on age, defect size and site
2018-04-01

Summary Background Defect coverage following tumor excision requires a case‐by‐case decision as regards the optimal reconstruction technique. In the head and neck region in particular, the cosmetic outcome is of major importance. The objective of the present study was to compare various reconstruction methods in terms of their functional and aesthetic outcome based on patient age, defect size and site. Patients and methods Overall, 1,827 patients (age: 18–92 years, median age: 56 years) were contacted. Using a standardized questionnaire, they were asked to assess postoperative complications, cosmetic and functional outcome, and the overall result of the surgical procedure. In addition, patient records were used to collect data on defect size and site as well as the type of surgical procedure employed. Results Rated as very good or good (86 %), defect closure by advancement flaps received the highest scores in terms of overall result. Other flaps and skin grafts were rated less favorably. Postoperative complications were significantly more common after local flaps. Irrespective of defect size (&lt; 150 mm 2 , 150–300 mm 2 , &gt; 300 mm 2 ), older patients considered the visibility of the scar to be less prominent than younger individuals. Scars in the central facial region were perceived to be more visible. Gender and smoking habits had no impact on the results of the survey. Conclusions Scars in the central facial region were perceived to be more prominent. Overall, older individuals considered their scars to be less conspicuous. Even though they are initially associated with greater tension, advancement flaps resulted in very good aesthetic and functional results and a high level of patient satisfaction.
Topological characterization versus synchronization for assessing (or not) dynamical equivalence
2018-04-01

Model validation from experimental data is an important and not trivial topic which is too often reduced to a simple visual inspection of the state portrait spanned by the variables of the system. Synchronization was suggested as a possible technique for model validation. By means of a topological analysis, we revisited this concept with the help of an abstract chemical reaction system and data from two electrodissolution experiments conducted by Jack Hudson's group. The fact that it was possible to synchronize topologically different global models led us to conclude that synchronization is not a recommendable technique for model validation. A short historical preamble evokes Jack Hudson's early career in interaction with Otto E. Rössler.
Automatic Motion Artifact Detection for Whole-Body Magnetic Resonance Imaging
2018-04-01

Magnetic resonance (MR) plays an important role in medical imaging. It can be flexibly tuned towards different applications for deriving a meaningful diagnosis. However, its long acquisition times and flexible parametrization make it on the other hand prone to artifacts which obscure the underlying image content or can be misinterpreted as anatomy. Patient-induced motion artifacts are still one of the major extrinsic factors which degrade image quality. In this work, an automatic reference-free motion artifact detection, including localization and quantification, is proposed which can be used prospectively as quality control (e.g. scan adjustment) or retrospectively as quality control (e.g. supported diagnosis). The detection is achieved via trained convolutional neural networks (CNN). This study focuses on investigating the optimal CNN architecture and required training set composition to derive a general and robust network for MR motion artifact detection. In a volunteer cohort an average accuracy of 91% was achieved.
Light Microscopy of Development of the Olfactory Organ of European WeatherfishMisgurnus fossilis(Тeleostei: Cobitidae)
2018-04-01

We studied the formation of the olfactory organ of European weatherfish Misgurnus fossilis (Linnaeus, 1758) from the formation of its placodes to the formation of lamellae using light microscopy. The aim of the present investigation was to determine which morphogenetic features of the olfactory organ ate associated with the demersal lifestyle. The olfactory organ of European weatherfish goes through such developmental stages as olfactory placode, olfactory pit, and olfactory chamber with lamellae. Formation of the olfactory pit occurs in prolarvae, but a considerable increase in size takes place during the switch to exogenous feeding. In late larva, lamellae are formed in the aboral part olfactory chamber as an outward fold at its bottom. At the same time, incurrent and excurrent nostrils start being formed as the result of approximation of lateral and medial margins in the rostal part above the olfactory cavity. In contrast to other fishes, the peculiarity of morphogenesis of olfactory organ of M. fossilis is its late formation followed by intensive postembryonic development.
T58. SARCASM COMPREHENSION AS A SOCIAL COGNITION MEASURE IN SCHIZOPHRENIA – A SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE SEARCH AND META-ANALYSIS ON THE USE OF THE TASIT
2018-04-01

Social cognition tasks with higher ecologically validity could be helpful both as an outcome measure for training and for social cognition impairment in schizophrenia. The comprehension of sarcasm and irony is a candidate for a valid, replicable task. Tests and paradigms as well as studies in schizophrenia are available in English, Dutch, German, Italian, Greek, Japanese and other languages. The Awareness of Social Inference Test (TASIT) (McDonald et al.,J head trauma rehabil 2003,) is currently the by far most applied paradigm. Here, we present a systematic literature research and meta-analysis on application of these paradigms in patients with schizophrenia. 25 studies with data from n=2185 patients with schizophrenia and n=1474 controls used the TASIT. This exceeds the numbers for other irony comprehension paradigms. Separate meta-analyses were calculated for the “sarcasm-enriched” and “sarcasm-minimal” subtests with data from 5 different English language studies. In both subtests, patients with schizophrenia showed significant impairment. Non-English translations of the TASIT show a comparable picture. Longitudinal data are available from 4 studies. Studies in high risk populations showed mixed results, however the TASIT is included in longitudinal cohort studies such as NAPLS-2. We discuss differences with other task such as paradigms without prosodic or face information or the available fMRI investigations.
0162 Zeitgebers And Their Association With Rest-activity Patterns
2018-04-01

Zeitgebers such as light, eating and physical activity provide input to the circadian clock. Chronic circadian misalignment is associated with significant adverse health effects. An improved understanding of the impact of the timing of zeitgebers on the stability of 24-hour rest-activity rhythm in free-living settings may identify behavioural and environmental intervention targets. A total of 133 healthy adults, aged 21–60 years, wore a wrist actigraph for 7 consecutive days. We applied a non-parametric analysis to activity counts to derive rest-activity patterns. We administered a questionnaire through a smartphone app to collect self-reported timing of light exposure, eating episodes and physical activity. To assess the relationship between timing exposures (first and last exposure to outdoor light, first exposure to indoor light, last eating episode, first eating episode, morning physical activity proportion, evening physical activity proportion) and rest-activity or sleep outcomes (bedtimes, total sleep time, inter-daily stability, intra-daily variability, L5 and M10 midpoint), we first calculated Spearman correlations, using the false discovery rate method to control for multiple comparisons. From those significant associations, we then fit regression models adjusting for age, sex, race, household income, education level, study site, body mass index, as well as physical activity. Finally, we tested for interaction between chronotype and each timing-related exposure and stratified the analysis by morning type. All zeitgebers, except for evening physical activity proportion, were correlated with at least four of the seven sleep and rest-activity outcomes. In adjusted analysis, later timing of first (after 6:30 to 7:45 AM versus earlier) and last exposure to indoor light (after 11:00 PM versus earlier) and first (after 7:45–9:45 AM versus earlier) and last eating episode (after 8:00–09:00 PM versus earlier) were associated with a shift of 0.60–1.39 hours to later bedtimes, M10 and L5 midpoints (i.e. timing of peak activities or inactivities). Later timing of first exposure to outdoor light (after 09:30 AM versus earlier) was also associated with 0.51 (95% CI: 0.19 to 0.83) hours longer total sleep time. Higher morning physical activity proportion (&gt; 33%) was associated with 0.95 (95% CI: −1.38 to −0.53) hours earlier in-bed time and 0.69 (95% CI: −1.14 to −0.24) hours earlier out-of-bed time, 0.92 (95% CI: −1.41 to −0.42) hours earlier M10 and 0.96 (95% CI: −1.42 to −0.49) min earlier L5 midpoint. The results did not change substantially with further adjustment for total activity. There was a significant interaction between morning chronotype and first eating episode with rest-activity patterns (<i>p</i> &lt; 0.05), with first eating episode associating with timing of activities only in non-morning type adults. Timing of zeitgebers was associated with sleep and rest-activity patterns, including bedtimes, L5 and M10 midpoint. Future research should evaluate the impact of manipulating zeitgebers on both circadian rhythms and health outcomes.
T41. MODIFIED COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL THERAPY FOR ELDERLY PATIENTS WITH SCHIZOPHRENIA: A RANDOMIZED, CONTROLLED PILOT TRIAL
2018-04-01

An European society growing older sets the need to explore treatment options for elderly patients. Here we aimed to gather evidence on the effectiveness of a modified cognitive behavioural therapy (mCBT) in elderly schizophrenia patients as compared to treatment as usual (TAU). 43 schizophrenia patients > 55y (mean 60 y), were assessed in a randomized, single blind controlled pilot trial with parallel groups: TAU+mCBT vs. TAU and intention to treat (ITT) last observation carried forward (LOCF) analysis. Subjects were recruited in Germany among in- and outpatients. MCBT comprised 30 sessions in 9 month, and a 6 month follow-up including a) physical and social activation, b) problem solving c) social skills. Primary outcomes were pre/post change in either PANSS total score, UPSA-brief score or Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia. From 43 patients, 40 were randomized. 15 mCBT and 16 TAU-patients comprised the ITT sample. None of the primary outcome measures reached significance. When assessing effect sizes we found little pre-/post change in PANSS total score (d=0.14) and the UPSA-brief (d=0.14). Depression symptoms however improved with treatment (pre/post d=0.75 and pre/FU d=0.52). Among secondary outcomes, global assessment of functioning significantly improved in the mCBT-group pre/post (d=.074) and pre/follow-up (d=.080). Our results provide evidence for the feasibility of a sufficiently powered phase-III study targeting depressive symptoms and global functioning in long-term treated elderly schizophrenia patients. A history of about twenty years of pharmacological treatment does not imply there is no room for improvement in depression and global functioning following a modified cognitive behavioral therapy in this specific patient group. Supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF-01GV0909); ICTRP/DRKS: DRKS00003623.
S79. ENHANCING WORKING MEMORY IN SCHIZOPHRENIA USING 1MA AND 2MA TRANSCRANIAL DIRECT STIMULATION TO THE LEFT DORSOLATERAL PREFRONTAL CORTEX
2018-04-01

Cognitive impairment is a key symptom of schizophrenia, causing patients’ occupational disability and worsening their life quality. Yet, the treatment options are still scarce. Recent research suggests that transcranial direct stimulation (tDCS) to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) could enhance a crucial cognitive process such as working memory. Here, for the first time we examined the effects of tDCS on simultaneous working memory performance in schizophrenia patients in regard of stimulation intensity and cognitive load. Forty schizophrenia patients (N = 40) participated in two separate double-blind, sham-controlled experiments, both consisting of a pre-stimulation baseline, an active anodal and a sham tDCS single-session. Stimulation application was conducted to the F3 (anode) and to the right deltoid muscle (cathode) for 21 min. In Experiment 1 (N = 20) patients received tDCS at 1 mA and Experiment 2 (N = 20) – at 2 mA. In total, 120 experimental sessions were performed. Working memory was measured during stimulation using a verbal n-back task with three cognitive loads - 1-back, 2-back, 3-back. Applying the Signal Detection Theory, we estimated the discriminability index d prime, which together with reaction times served as study outcomes. Using several RM-ANOVAs we compared working memory performance during sham and active tDCS across all cognitive loads for each experiment. In a subsequent mixed-model RM-ANOVA, we pooled data from both experiments and analyzed differences in working memory performance in regard of stimulation intensity. Data analysis showed significant greater d prime values during active tDCS than during sham tDCS only in Experiment 1 (F1, 19 = 4.48, p = .048). In Experiment 2, there was a numeric improvement of d prime during tDCS that however did not reach significance (F1, 19 = 2.31, p = .145). The subsequent mixed-model RM-ANOVA revealed a significant overall effect of brain stimulation, prompting higher d prime values (F1, 38 = 6.05, p = .019), but no main of stimulation intensity (p = .392). Analysis on reaction times revealed no significant results. This is the first study comparing the online effects of 1mA and 2mA tDCS on working memory in schizophrenia patients. In line with previous research, tDCS improved working memory functioning in schizophrenia. However, this enhancement did not differ between stimulation intensities, implying that tDCS effects on cognition could be dose independent. Overall, our results provide further evidence that tDCS may be an effective and feasible intervention for cognitive impairment in schizophrenia and underline the need for future research on the specific stimulation parameters.
0087 Sleep’s Differential Influences On Emotional Response Change Over Time
2018-04-01

How does sleep influence the emotional components of memories? In a recent study in children, we demonstrated that cognitively influenced aspects of emotion, i.e. those which are subject to top-down control mechanisms (measured by the late positive potential [LPP] of the EEG), decreased after a night of sleep compared to a day of wake, while more automatic aspects of emotion (heart rate deceleration, HRD) increased. Here, we examined whether this same pattern emerges in adults and whether the influence of sleep persists after one week. In the encoding session, participants viewed negative and neutral pictures in either the morning (wake group, n = 16) or the evening (sleep group, n = 16). Ten hours later, they completed the first recognition session following a delay filled with daytime wakefulness or an 8-hour nocturnal sleep opportunity in the lab. Participants then returned one week later for a second recognition session. While viewing the images at each session, event-related LPP and HRD responses were measured. Emotional response was calculated as the response to negative images minus the response to neutral images. During recognition sessions, the emotional response measure was limited to pictures that were correctly recognized (hits). Sleep decreased the LPP (F(1,27)=6.51,p=.017) and increased the HRD (F(1,23)=5.46,p=.029) emotional response when compared to wake. After a week, the HRD response remained unchanged (t(11)=.19,p=.85) in the sleep group while the LPP response exhibited a rebound (t(12)=-3.25,p=.007). When compared to wake participants, participants who slept after encoding exhibited a larger emotional response in the LPP (t(27)=2.36,p=.026) but a smaller HRD (t(23)=-2.79,p=.01) emotional response in the long-term. Consistent with our results in children, the memory-associated emotional response decreased in the LPP and increased in the HRD after a night of sleep in adults. A week later, however, the LPP emotional response returned to encoding levels while the HRD remained constant. Though preliminary, these results suggest that sleeping after an emotional experience might provide a short-term benefit to cognitive aspects of emotional memory processing, but these influences might disappear with time. SFB654
LoCoSDN: A local controller for operation of of switches in non-SDN networks
2018-04-01

Hybrid OpenFlow (OF) switches can be operated as legacy switches with a local control plane or as OF switches that are controlled by an SDN controller. As a first thought, hybrid switches are the first choice for network administrators as they facilitate the transition from a traditionally operated towards a software-defined network. However, we encountered several limitations as most of these switches are based on a legacy hardware platform that is augmented with a limited set of OF features. As a consequence, some packet processing pipelines of hybrid switches filter out packets before they pass the OF part. To avoid these issues, we developed LoCoSDN, an SDN architecture that imitates the hybrid switch behavior on OF-only devices, i.e., they can be operated in traditional networks and without any special knowledge about SDN. LoCoSDN contains a Cisco-like CLI and configuration format so that configurations from existing devices can be imported. It differentiates between a startup and running configuration, and provides reconfigurability during operation and support for an additional SDN controller. We implemented LoCoSDN as a lightweight SDN controller for the Ryu SDN controller framework that can be run on a single-board computer.
Quantification of acylated ghrelin and unacylated ghrelin in subjects at risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus before and during oral glucose tolerance tests – prediabetes lifestyle intervention studies
2018-04-01

The orexigenic hormone ghrelin has been implicated in the pathophysiology of obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus with a posttranslational acyl modification regulating its biochemical activity and translocation into the central nervous system.
Otic progenitor cells derived from the human postmortem adult inner ear
2018-04-01

Lost sensory hair cells of the adult mammalian auditory epithelium are not replaced, resulting in permanent hearing loss. It is generally accepted that the intrinsic regenerative capacity of the organ of Corti is lost during late embryonic development, when these cells undergo terminal mitosis. In the adult utricular sensory epithelium of mice self-renewing and sphere forming cells giving rise to hair cell-like cells in vitro and in vivo were described. Here we investigated the presence of native stem cells residing in the adult human utricle and organ of Corti.
Human fat depots show distinct quantitative, qualitative and functional inter-individual differences
2018-04-01

We and others observed healthy and unhealthy obesity. However, determinants are still unknown. In a holistic view we studied different fat depots regarding their quantity, qualitative fatty acid (FA) composition and functional differences (cultured human fat cells) and their crosstalk with fatty liver-derived fetuin-A.