Geometrically Aligned Transfer Encoder for Inductive Transfer in Regression Tasks

Transfer learning is a crucial technique for handling a small amount of data that is potentially related to other abundant data. However, most of the existing methods are focused on classification tasks using images and language datasets. Therefore, in order to expand the transfer learning scheme to regression tasks, we propose a novel transfer technique based on differential geometry, namely the Geometrically Aligned Transfer Encoder (GATE). In this method, we interpret the latent vectors from the model to exist on a Riemannian curved manifold. We find a proper diffeomorphism between pairs of tasks to ensure that every arbitrary point maps to a locally flat coordinate in the overlapping region, allowing the transfer of knowledge from the source to the target data. This also serves as an effective regularizer for the model to behave in extrapolation regions. In this article, we demonstrate that GATE outperforms conventional methods and exhibits stable behavior in both the latent space and extrapolation regions for various molecular graph datasets.Comment: 12+11 pages, 6+1 figures, 0+7 table

Morphological and genetic characteristics of Nicotiana langsdorffii, N. glauca and its hybrid

Plant tumors, including genetic tumors, are disorganized and proliferate in an uncontrolled fashion. In this report we describe the morphological, physiological and genetic properties of Nicotiana. langsdorffii and Nicotiana. glauca and their hybrids (Nicotiana. langsdorffii x Nicotiana. Glauca). Nicotiana. langsdorffii leaves are oblate and pubescent with winged petioles, while Nicotiana. glauca leaf-blades are rubbery and oval-to-heart-shaped. The hybrid plants are intermediate in leaf shape, with anisocytic stomata and well-developed trichomes. In addition, they produce tumors in the absence of bacteria and exogenous hormones. Tumor growth in the hybrid plants was not affected by indole-3-acetic acid or kinetin. Genetic polymorphism was analyzed by the randomly amplified polymorphic DNA technique in the parents (Nicotiana. langsdorffii and Nicotiana. glauca) and in the genetic tumors produced by the hybrids. A total of 128 randomly amplified polymorphic DNA fragments were scored from fifteen random primers, and pronounced differences were found between the genetic tumors and their parents. These observations show that randomly amplified polymorphic DNA markers are might informative about genetic similarities and dissimilarities

Rates of Reoperation in Duane Retraction Syndrome

PURPOSE: To investigate the types of strabismus surgeries performed and the reoperation rate in patients with Duane retraction syndrome (DRS). DESIGN: Retrospective cohort analysis. PARTICIPANTS: An insurance claims data set was used to identify patients diagnosed with DRS between 2007 and 2021. METHODS: We recorded the type of strabismus surgery performed and the timing and frequency of reoperations. The hazard ratios (HRs) for reoperation were estimated according to the surgical methods using Cox regression analysis. RESULTS: Of the 9435 patients diagnosed with DRS, 1023 (10.8%) underwent ≥ 1 strabismus operation. The median age at surgery was 5.0 years, and patients were followed for an average of 3.8 ± 3.0 years after their initial strabismus surgery. Most of the surgeries only involved horizontal muscle(s) (n = 734 [71.7%]). However, some patients underwent surgeries on vertical muscle(s) (n = 132 [12.9%]), vertical muscle(s) with transposition (n = 102 [10.0%]), and horizontal muscle with transposition (n = 51 [5.0%]). The estimated 5-year rate of reoperation was 18.2% (95% confidence interval [CI], 15.0%–22.2%). Compared with surgery on horizontal muscle(s) only, vertical muscle surgery (HR, 2.01; 95% CI, 1.30–3.11; P = 0.002) and vertical muscle surgery coupled with transposition (HR, 1.79; 95% CI, 1.06–3.02; P = 0.03) had an increased risk of reoperation. CONCLUSIONS: Strabismus surgery on ≥ 1 horizontal muscles is the most common type of strabismus surgery performed on patients with DRS. Approximately 1 in 7 patients with DRS who had strabismus surgery underwent a reoperation. Patients who underwent vertical muscle surgery had a higher risk of undergoing a reoperation. FINANCIAL DISCLOSURES: Proprietary or commercial disclosure may be found in the Footnotes and Disclosures at the end of this article

Outcome of 200 patients after an extracardiac Fontan procedure

OBJECTIVES: Despite the known advantages of the extracardiac conduit Fontan procedure, the long-term outcomes related to the longevity of the conduit and anticoagulation therapy have not been determined. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the outcome of hospital survivors with an extracardiac Fontan circulation. METHODS AND RESULTS: Between 1996 and 2006, 200 patients had the extracardiac conduit Fontan operation. The median age at operation was 3.4 years. Most patients (89.5%) underwent a bidirectional cavopulmonary shunt. Fenestration was required in 85 patients. Overall, the 10-year survival was 92.4% +/- 2.1%. Multivariate analysis identified severe infection during the early postoperative period and a high pulmonary arterial pressure during the preoperative period as independent risk factors for patient mortality. The Kaplan-Meier estimate for freedom from reoperation was 82.4% +/- 4.1% at 10 years. Arrhythmia occurred in 32 patients after the Fontan operation; freedom from arrhythmia was 85.1% +/- 4.4% at 10 years. The risk factors for arrhythmia were the heterotaxy syndrome, follow-up duration, and age at Fontan operation. Freedom from thromboembolism at 10 years was 92.9% +/- 1.9%. Among all of the patients, 95.2% were classified in New York Heart Association class I. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study showed that during 10 years of follow-up, the overall survival and the functional status of the survivors after an extracardiac Fontan procedure were satisfactory. We might infer that fenestration provided benefit inasmuch as the high-risk Fontan patients fenestrated had similar outcomes to those not fenestrated, who were presumably low risk. The incidence of late death, reoperation, obstruction of the cavopulmonary pathway, arrhythmias, and thromboembolism was low

Evaluation of the brain activation induced by functional electrical stimulation and voluntary contraction using functional magnetic resonance imaging

BACKGROUND: To observe brain activation induced by functional electrical stimulation, voluntary contraction, and the combination of both using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). METHODS: Nineteen healthy young men were enrolled in the study. We employed a typical block design that consisted of three sessions: voluntary contraction only, functional electrical stimulation (FES)-induced wrist extension, and finally simultaneous voluntary and FES-induced movement. MRI acquisition was performed on a 3.0 T MR system. To investigate activation in each session, one-sample t-tests were performed after correcting for false discovery rate (FDR; p < 0.05). To compare FES-induced movement and combined contraction, a two-sample t-test was performed using a contrast map (p < 0.01). RESULTS: In the voluntary contraction alone condition, brain activation was observed in the contralateral primary motor cortex (MI), thalamus, bilateral supplementary motor area (SMA), primary sensory cortex (SI), secondary somatosensory motor cortex (SII), caudate, and cerebellum (mainly ipsilateral). During FES-induced wrist movement, brain activation was observed in the contralateral MI, SI, SMA, thalamus, ipsilateral SII, and cerebellum. During FES-induced movement combined with voluntary contraction, brain activation was found in the contralateral MI, anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), SMA, ipsilateral cerebellum, bilateral SII, and SI. The activated brain regions (number of voxels) of the MI, SI, cerebellum, and SMA were largest during voluntary contraction alone and smallest during FES alone. SII-activated brain regions were largest during voluntary contraction combined with FES and smallest during FES contraction alone. The brain activation extent (maximum t score) of the MI, SI, and SII was largest during voluntary contraction alone and smallest during FES alone. The brain activation extent of the cerebellum and SMA during voluntary contraction alone was similar during FES combined with voluntary contraction; however, cerebellum and SMA activation during FES movement alone was smaller than that of voluntary contraction alone or voluntary contraction combined with FES. Between FES movement alone and combined contraction, activated regions and extent due to combined contraction was significantly higher than that of FES movement alone in the ipsilateral cerebellum and the contralateral MI and SI. CONCLUSIONS: Voluntary contraction combined with FES may be more effective for brain activation than FES-only movements for rehabilitation therapy. In addition, voluntary effort is the most important factor in the therapeutic process

Outcomes in 102 patients that present to the emergency department with chemotherapy- induced febrile neutropenia Kemoterapi kaynaklı febril nötropeni şikâyetiyle acil servise başvuran 102 hastanın sonuçları

Abstract Objective: Febrile neutropenia (FN) is a major toxic responseto chemotherapy requiring prompt medical attention. There are a limited number of reports on clinical outcome in patients with FN that present to emergency departments. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively evaluated clinical manifestations, therapeutic outcomes, and risk factors for FN in 102 adult patients that presented to the emergency department between 1 January 2006 and 31 March 2009. FN was defined as a body temperature&gt;38°C and a neutrophil count &gt;0.5×10 9 /L on the day of fever onset or the day after. Results: Mean age of the patients was 57 years. Mean absolute neutrophil count (ANC) was 436.8/mm 3 (range: 0-1000/mm 3 ). In all, 23 of the patients (22.5%) died due to complications related to FN. There were not a statistical difference in therapeutic outcome among tumor types, performance status, sex, depth of neutropenia, or time from emergency department presentationto initiation of antibiotic therapy. Age was an important prognostic factor for therapeutic outcome. Mean age of fatal cases was 65 years versus 56 years for non-fatal cases (p=0.016). Bacteremia was noted in 19 patients, 10 (53%) of which died. The mortality rate was significantly higher in thepatients with blood culture-proven bacteria than in those whose blood culture yielded no organism (p=0.013). Conclusion: FN patients that presented to the emergency department had a high mortality rate that increased with age. Given the increasing age of patients diagnosed with cancer as well as therapeutic interventions, the high mortality rate associated withchemotherapy-induced FN in elderly patients requires further study in order to reduce the risk of death. (Turk J Hematol 2011; 28: 193-7

Characteristics of Body Fat, Body Fat Percentage and Other Body Composition for Koreans from KNHANES IV

Accurate measurement of fat mass has become increasingly important with the increasing incidence of obesity. We assessed fat and muscle mass of Koreans with the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey IV (KNHANES IV). We studied 10,456 subjects (aged 20 to 85 yr; 4,476 men, 5,980 women). Fat and muscle mass were measured by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry. Reference values of body compositions were obtained using the LMS method. The fat mass index (FMI, body fat mass/height2; kg/m2) of Korean men did not correlate with age (P = 0.452), but those of Korean women (P < 0.001) did. The ratio of percentage of fat in the trunk and legs was positively related with age in both the genders. The appendicular lean mass/height2 (kg/m2) of Korean men was negatively related to age (P < 0.001). In women, this ratio increased with age (P < 0.001). When we defined obesity according to the FMI classification, the rates of obesity were 6.1% (FMI > 9 kg/m2) in men and 2.7% (FMI > 13 kg/m2) in women. It is concluded that the muscle mass decreases and obesity increases with aging in Korean men, whereas both fat mass and obesity increase with aging in Korean women

Surgical Management of Left Ventricular Outflow Tract Obstruction after Biventricular Repair of Double Outlet Right Ventricle

Regardless of the preoperative morphology and the type of operation, left ventricular outflow tract obstruction (LVOTO) after biventricular repair of double outlet right ventricle (DORV) may develop. This report presents our 10-yr experience with surgical management of LVOTO after biventricular repair of DORV. Between 1996 and 2006, 15 patients underwent reoperation for subaortic stenosis after biventricular repair of DORV. The mean age at biventricular repair was 23.3±18.3 months (1.1-64.2). Biventricular repairs included tunnel constructions from the left ventricle to the aorta in 14 cases and an arterial switch operation in one. The mean left ventricle-to-aorta peak pressure gradient was 54.0±37.7 mmHg (15-140) after a mean follow-up of 9.5±6.3 yr. We performed extended septoplasty in nine patients and fibromuscular resection in six. There were no early or late mortality. There was one heart block and one aortic valve injury after an extended septoplasty, and two and one after a fibromuscular resection. No patient required reoperation for recurrent subaortic stenosis. The mean pressure gradient was 11.2±11.4 mmHg (0-34) after a mean follow-up of 5.6±2.7 yr. Extended septoplasty is a safe and effective method for the treatment of subaortic stenosis, especially in cases with a long-tunnel shaped LVOTO