A computational analysis of Turkish makam music based on a probabilistic characterization of segmented phrases

This study targets automatic analysis of Turkish makam music pieces on the phrase level. While makam is most simply defined as an organization of melodic phrases, there has been very little effort to computationally study melodic structure in makam music pieces. In this work, we propose an automatic analysis algorithm that takes as input symbolic data in the form of machine-readable scores that are segmented into phrases. Using a measure of makam membership for phrases, our method outputs for each phrase the most likely makam the phrase comes from. The proposed makam membership definition is based on Bayesian classification and the algorithm is specifically designed to process the data with overlapping classes. The proposed analysis system is trained and tested on a large data set of phrases obtained by transferring phrase boundaries manually written by experts of makam music on printed scores, to machine-readable data. For the task of classifying all phrases, or only the beginning phrases to come from the main makam of the piece, the corresponding F-measures are.52 and.60 respectively.Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey, TUBITAK (112E162

An international Delphi consensus statement on metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease and risk of chronic kidney disease

Background: With the rising global prevalence of fatty liver disease related to metabolic dysfunction, the association of this common liver condition with chronic kidney disease (CKD) has become increasingly evident. In 2020, the more inclusive term metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) was proposed to replace the term non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The observed association between MAFLD and CKD and our understanding that CKD can be a consequence of underlying metabolic dysfunction support the notion that individuals with MAFLD are at higher risk of having and developing CKD compared with those without MAFLD. However, to date, there is no appropriate guidance on CKD in individuals with MAFLD. Furthermore, there has been little attention paid to the link between MAFLD and CKD in the Nephrology community. Methods and Results: Using a Delphi-based approach, a multidisciplinary panel of 50 international experts from 26 countries reached a consensus on some of the open research questions regarding the link between MAFLD and CKD. Conclusions: This Delphi-based consensus statement provided guidance on the epidemiology, mechanisms, management and treatment of MAFLD and CKD, as well as the relationship between the severity of MAFLD and risk of CKD, which establish a framework for the early prevention and management of these two common and interconnected diseases.Fil: Sun, Dan Qin. Jiangnan University Medical Center; China. Nantong University; ChinaFil: Targher, Giovanni. Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Integrata Verona; ItaliaFil: Byrne, Christopher D.. University of Southampton; Reino UnidoFil: Wheeler, David C.. University College London; Estados UnidosFil: Wong, Vincent Wai Sun. Chinese University of Hong Kong; ChinaFil: Fan, Jian Gao. Shanghai Jiao Tong University; ChinaFil: Tilg, Herbert. Medical University Innsbruck; AustriaFil: Yuan, Wei Jie. Shanghai Jiao Tong University; ChinaFil: Wanner, Christoph. Würzburg University Clinic; AlemaniaFil: Gao, Xin. Fudan University; ChinaFil: Long, Michelle T.. Boston University School of Medicine; Estados UnidosFil: Kanbay, Mehmet. Koc University School of Medicine; TurquíaFil: Nguyen, Mindie H.. Stanford University Medical Center; Estados UnidosFil: Navaneethan, Sankar D.. Baylor College of Medicine; Estados UnidosFil: Yilmaz, Yusuf. Marmara University; Turquía. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University; TurquíaFil: Huang, Yuli. Southern Medical University; ChinaFil: Gani, Rino A.. Universitas Indonesia; IndonesiaFil: Marzuillo, Pierluigi. Università della Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”; ItaliaFil: Boursier, Jérôme. Angers University; FranciaFil: Zhang, Huijie. Southern Medical University; ChinaFil: Jung, Chan Young. Yonsei University; Corea del SurFil: Chai, Jin. Army Medical University; ChinaFil: Valenti, Luca. Università degli Studi di Milano; ItaliaFil: Papatheodoridis, George. Kapodistrian University of Athens; GreciaFil: Sookoian, Silvia Cristina. Centro de Investigacion Traslacional En Salud (cenitres) ; Facultad de Cs. de la Salud ; Universidad Maimonides; . Universidad Abierta Interamericana; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Chunsun, Dai. Nanjing Medical University; ChinaFil: Eslam, Mohammed. University of Sydney; AustraliaFil: Wei, Lai. Tsinghua University; ChinaFil: George, Jacob. University of Sydney; AustraliaFil: Zheng, Ming Hua. Wenzhou Medical University; Chin

Obstructive Sleep Apnea Is Associated with Liver Damage and Atherosclerosis in Patients with Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

We assessed whether obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and nocturnal hypoxemia are associated with severity of liver fibrosis and carotid atherosclerosis in patients with biopsy-proven NAFLD and low prevalence of morbid obesity. Secondary aim was to explore the association of OSA and hypoxemia with NASH and severity of liver pathological changes

Antifibrotic Effects of the Dual CCR2/CCR5 Antagonist Cenicriviroc in Animal Models of Liver and Kidney Fibrosis

Background & Aims Interactions between C-C chemokine receptor types 2 (CCR2) and 5 (CCR5) and their ligands, including CCL2 and CCL5, mediate fibrogenesis by promoting monocyte/macrophage recruitment and tissue infiltration, as well as hepatic stellate cell activation. Cenicriviroc (CVC) is an oral, dual CCR2/CCR5 antagonist with nanomolar potency against both receptors. CVC’s anti-inflammatory and antifibrotic effects were evaluated in a range of preclinical models of inflammation and fibrosis. Methods Monocyte/macrophage recruitment was assessed in vivo in a mouse model of thioglycollate-induced peritonitis. CCL2-induced chemotaxis was evaluated ex vivo on mouse monocytes. CVC’s antifibrotic effects were evaluated in a thioacetamide-induced rat model of liver fibrosis and mouse models of diet-induced non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and renal fibrosis. Study assessments included body and liver/kidney weight, liver function test, liver/kidney morphology and collagen deposition, fibrogenic gene and protein expression, and pharmacokinetic analyses. Results CVC significantly reduced monocyte/macrophage recruitment in vivo at doses ≥20 mg/kg/day (p < 0.05). At these doses, CVC showed antifibrotic effects, with significant reductions in collagen deposition (p < 0.05), and collagen type 1 protein and mRNA expression across the three animal models of fibrosis. In the NASH model, CVC significantly reduced the non-alcoholic fatty liver disease activity score (p < 0.05 vs. controls). CVC treatment had no notable effect on body or liver/kidney weight. Conclusions CVC displayed potent anti-inflammatory and antifibrotic activity in a range of animal fibrosis models, supporting human testing for fibrotic diseases. Further experimental studies are needed to clarify the underlying mechanisms of CVC’s antifibrotic effects. A Phase 2b study in adults with NASH and liver fibrosis is fully enrolled (CENTAUR Study 652-2-203; NCT02217475)

An international Delphi consensus statement on metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease and risk of chronic kidney disease

BACKGROUND: With the rising global prevalence of fatty liver disease related to metabolic dysfunction, the association of this common liver condition with chronic kidney disease (CKD) has become increasingly evident. In 2020, the more inclusive term metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) was proposed to replace the term non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The observed association between MAFLD and CKD and our understanding that CKD can be a consequence of underlying metabolic dysfunction support the notion that individuals with MAFLD are at higher risk of having and developing CKD compared with those without MAFLD. However, to date, there is no appropriate guidance on CKD in individuals with MAFLD. Furthermore, there has been little attention paid to the link between MAFLD and CKD in the Nephrology community. METHODS AND RESULTS: Using a Delphi-based approach, a multidisciplinary panel of 50 international experts from 26 countries reached a consensus on some of the open research questions regarding the link between MAFLD and CKD. CONCLUSIONS: This Delphi-based consensus statement provided guidance on the epidemiology, mechanisms, management and treatment of MAFLD and CKD, as well as the relationship between the severity of MAFLD and risk of CKD, which establish a framework for the early prevention and management of these two common and interconnected diseases