Notes

Exercising aerobically training-induced alterations in serum adropin level tend to be related to decreased arterial stiffness inside middle-aged and seniors.
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is characterized by intrusions, avoidance, and hyperarousal while patients of the dissociative subtype (PTSD-D) experience additional dissociative symptoms. A neurobiological model proposes hyper-inhibition of limbic structures mediated by prefrontal cortices to underlie dissociation in PTSD. Here, we tested whether functional alterations in fronto-limbic circuits are underpinned by white matter network abnormalities on a network level. 23 women with PTSD-D and 19 women with classic PTSD participated. We employed deterministic diffusion tractography and graph theoretical analyses. Mean fractional anisotropy (FA) was chosen as a network weight and group differences assessed using network-based statistics. No significant white matter network alterations comprising both frontal and limbic structures in PTSD-D relative to classic PTSD were found. A subsequent whole brain exploratory analysis revealed relative FA alterations in PTSD-D in two subcortical networks, comprising connections between the left amygdala, hippocampus, and thalamus as well as links between the left ventral diencephalon, putamen, and pallidum, respectively. Dissociative symptom severity in the PTSD-D group correlated with FA values within both networks. Our findings suggest fronto-limbic inhibition in PTSD-D may present a dynamic neural process, which is not hard-wired via white matter tracts. Our exploratory results point towards altered fiber tract communication in a limbic-thalamic circuit, which may underlie (a) an initial strong emotional reaction to trauma reminders before conscious regulatory processes are enabled and (b) deficits in early sensory processing. In addition, aberrant structural connectivity in low-level motor regions may present neural correlates for dissociation as a passive threat-response.PURPOSE We propose a novel methodology for generating synthetic X-rays from 2D RGB images. This method creates accurate simulations for use in non-diagnostic visualization problems where the only input comes from a generic camera. Traditional methods are restricted to using simulation algorithms on 3D computer models. To solve this problem, we propose a method of synthetic X-ray generation using conditional generative adversarial networks (CGANs). METHODS We create a custom synthetic X-ray dataset generator to generate image triplets for X-ray images, pose images, and RGB images of natural hand poses sampled from the NYU hand pose dataset. This dataset is used to train two general-purpose CGAN networks, pix2pix and CycleGAN, as well as our novel architecture called pix2xray which expands upon the pix2pix architecture to include the hand pose into the network. RESULTS Our results demonstrate that our pix2xray architecture outperforms both pix2pix and CycleGAN in producing higher-quality X-ray images. We measure higher similarity metrics in our approach, with pix2pix coming in second, and CycleGAN producing the worst results. Our network performs better in the difficult cases which involve high occlusion due to occluded poses or large rotations. CONCLUSION Overall our work establishes a baseline that synthetic X-rays can be simulated using 2D RGB input. We establish the need for additional data such as the hand pose to produce clearer results and show that future research must focus on more specialized architectures to improve overall image clarity and structure.Female entertainment and sex workers (FESW) are vulnerable to violence, which impedes safer sex behaviors and increases risk of HIV. FESW are also disproportionately affected by co-occurring psychosocial health conditions, including substance use, depression, and economic insecurity, which increased risk of exposure to violence. We used a syndemic framework to examine the effects of co-occurring psychosocial conditions on the risk of client-perpetrated physical and sexual violence against FESW. Data were collected among 1198 Cambodian FESW on recent client-perpetrated physical and sexual violence, and psychosocial conditions (psychological distress, alcohol consumption, amphetamine-type stimulant (ATS) use, debts, housing, and food insecurity). Bivariate and multivariate logistic regressions were conducted. Prevalence of physical and sexual violence from clients was 4.8% and 6.9%, respectively. Client-perpetrated physical violence was associated with housing insecurity, ATS use, and psychological distress. All psychosocial conditions, except ATS, were associated with exposure to sexual violence. In multivariable models, odds of client-perpetrated physical violence were twice higher among women with ≥ 4 compared to ≤ 3 psychosocial conditions. Risk of sexual violence increased with the number of psychosocial conditions. Compared to those with ≤ 1 condition, FESW with two psychosocial conditions had twice the odds (AOR = 2.08; 95% CI 1.00-4.31) and women with 5-6 psychosocial conditions had eightfold higher odds (AOR = 8.10; 95% CI 3.4-19.31) of sexual violence from clients. Our findings support a syndemic model of co-occurring psychosocial conditions among FESW that are associated with increased risk of violence. Violence prevention interventions targeting FESW should adopt comprehensive approaches that address co-occurring psychosocial conditions.There are a number of psychophysical and electrophysiological measures that are correlated with SGN density in animal models, and these same measures can be performed in humans with cochlear implants (CIs). Thus, these measures are potentially applicable in humans for estimating the condition of the neural population (so called "neural health" or "cochlear health") at individual sites along the electrode array and possibly adjusting the stimulation strategy in the CI sound processor accordingly. Some measures used to estimate neural health in animals have included the electrically evoked compound potential (ECAP), psychophysical detection thresholds, and multipulse integration (MPI). With regard to ECAP measures, it has been shown that the change in the ECAP response as a function of increasing the stimulus interphase gap ("IPG Effect") also reflects neural density in implanted animals. SecinH3 datasheet These animal studies have typically been conducted using preparations in which the electrode was in a fixed position with reas the IPG Effect and MPI slope might be more suitable for estimating nerve condition in humans for clinical application since they appear to be relatively independent of electrode position.PURPOSE To evaluate the safety of phacoemulsification cataract surgery in the patients undergoing dual antiplatelet therapy with aspirin and clopidogrel. METHODS Consecutive patients undergoing phacoemulsification cataract surgery with a clear corneal incision under topical anesthesia were eligible for inclusion in the study. Thirty-eight eyes from 38 patients on combined aspirin and clopidogrel therapy who continued the treatment were classified into the maintenance group, a matched group of 38 eyes from 38 patients on no antiplatelet/anticoagulant therapy as the control group. The best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and incidences of complications were compared between the two groups. RESULTS There was no significant difference in final BCVA between the maintenance group and the control group (p = 0.178). No significant difference existed in the incidences of hemorrhagic or non-hemorrhagic complications between the two groups (p = 0.529 and p = 0.589, respectively). Moreover, no surgery was postponed or cancelled due to hemorrhagic complications in either group, and no cardiovascular events occurred during the follow-up. There was no case of anterior chamber hemorrhage, vitreous hemorrhage, or suprachoroidal hemorrhage. CONCLUSIONS Our outcomes indicated that phacoemulsification cataract surgery using a clear corneal incision with topical anesthesia could be safely done without stopping dual antiplatelet therapy with aspirin and clopidogrel.The original version of this article unfortunately contained mistakes in the Author Group section. Authors Dandan Zhou and Lei Ji were assigned to incorrect institutions.BACKGROUND JCOG0909 is a phase II trial of definitive chemoradiotherapy including salvage treatment for cStage II-III thoracic esophageal cancer; the radiation field for elective regional lymph node irradiation, which can affect patient outcome and adverse event, varied based on the primary tumor site, i.e., upper (Ut), middle (Mt), and lower thoracic (Lt) esophagus. The impact of different primary sites on the safety and efficacy of definitive chemoradiotherapy in JCOG0909 is not well characterized. METHODS Patients were categorized into three groups (Ut, Mt, and Lt) according to the primary tumor location. We compared acute adverse events during definitive chemoradiotherapy, complete response (CR) rate, 3-year progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS) among the 3 groups. RESULTS Out of the 96 patients enrolled in JCOG0909 between April 2010 and August 2014, 94 patients (16, 59, and 19 patients in the Ut, Mt, and Lt groups, respectively) were included in this exploratory analysis. The proportion of patients with cStage III was 25% in the Ut, 37% in the Mt, and 47% in the Lt group. Grade 3-4 leukopenia, neutropenia, and thrombocytopenia were more frequently observed in the Mt (66%, 54%, and 15%) and Lt groups (84%, 68%, and 16%) than in the Ut group (38%, 44%, and 0%). There was no significant between-group difference with respect to 3-year OS (73.3%, 77.9%, and 57.9%), 3-year PFS (60.0%, 59.3%, and 47.4%), or CR rate (62.5%, 62.7%, and 42.1%). CONCLUSIONS In JCOG0909, the incidence of severe hematological toxicity had a trend toward higher in the Mt and Lt than the Ut esophageal cancer; however, no remarkable difference by primary sites was observed with respect to efficacy endpoints.In a preliminary clinical study, we observed that the combination of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin was effective against SARS-CoV-2 by shortening the duration of viral load in Covid-19 patients. It is of paramount importance to define when a treated patient can be considered as no longer contagious. Correlation between successful isolation of virus in cell culture and Ct value of quantitative RT-PCR targeting E gene suggests that patients with Ct above 33-34 using our RT-PCR system are not contagious and thus can be discharged from hospital care or strict confinement for non-hospitalized patients.Human RNF213, which encodes the protein mysterin, is a known susceptibility gene for moyamoya disease (MMD), a cerebrovascular condition with occlusive lesions and compensatory angiogenesis. Mysterin mutations, together with exposure to environmental trigger factors, lead to an elevated stroke risk since childhood. Mysterin is induced during cell stress, to function as cytosolic AAA+ ATPase and ubiquitylation enzyme. Little knowledge exists, in which context mysterin is needed. Here, we found that genetic ablation of several mitochondrial matrix factors, such as the peptidase ClpP, the transcription factor Tfam, as well as the peptidase and AAA+ ATPase Lonp1, potently induces Rnf213 transcript expression in various organs, in parallel with other components of the innate immune system. Mostly in mouse fibroblasts and human endothelial cells, the Rnf213 levels showed prominent upregulation upon Poly(IC)-triggered TLR3-mediated responses to dsRNA toxicity, as well as upon interferon gamma treatment. Only partial suppression of Rnf213 induction was achieved by C16 as an antagonist of PKR (dsRNA-dependent protein kinase).
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