Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Receptive-field properties of deafferentated visual cortical neurons after topographic map reorganization in adult cats

When neurons in primary visual cortex of adult cats and monkeys are deprived of their normal sources of activation by matching lesions in the two retinas, they are capable of acquiring new receptive fields based on inputs from regions of intact retina around the lesions. Although these “reactivated” neurons respond to visual stimuli, quantitative studies of their response characteristics have not been attempted. Thus, it is not known whether these neurons have normal or abnormal features that could contribute to or disrupt an analysis of a visual scene. In this study, we used extracellular single-unit recording methods to investigate their stimulus selectivity and responsiveness. Specifically, we measured the sensitivity of individual neurons to stimulus orientation, direction of drift, spatial frequency, and contrast. Over 98% of all units in the denervated zone of cortex acquired new receptive fields after 3 months of recovery. Newly activated units exhibited strikingly normal orientation tuning, direction selectivity, and spatial frequency tuning when high-contrast (< 40%) stimuli were used. However, contrast thresholds of most neurons were abnormally elevated, and the maximum response amplitude under optimal stimulus conditions was significantly reduced. The results suggest that the striate cortical neurons reactivated during topographic reorganization are capable of sending functionally meaningful signals to more central structures provided that the visual scene contains relatively high contrast images.
Extraction of 1-dimensional reaction-diffusion structure in SISO linear dynamical networks

In this paper, we propose a model order reduction method for SISO linear dynamical networks, where a large number of subsystems are interconnected according to a network. In this method, the structure of spatially one-dimensional reaction-diffusion that a SISO linear dynamical network has is extracted by way of Householder transformation ordering the state variables according to the distance from the source (i.e., an input) of the diffusion. Based on this structure, a model order reduction method with the diffusion structure of the system preserved is presented, which can be applied for large-scale systems. In addition, an easily-computable error bound via the proposed model reduction is derived.
Development of refractive error and strabismus in children with Down syndrome.

PURPOSE To investigate the development of refractive errors and strabismus in a cohort of children with Down syndrome. METHOD Data for 55 children with Down syndrome who are participating in this longitudinal study of visual development, first examined by us when aged less than 2 years and on at least two other occasions, were analyzed. Mohindra retinoscopy was used to measure refractive error. Ocular alignment was assessed using the Hirschberg test and, when possible, the cover test. RESULTS Despite the high prevalence of large refractive errors in children with Down syndrome, longitudinal data showed that these are not always present in early infancy. Twenty-one (38%) of the children were emmetropic throughout the study. Of the 24 children with a significant refractive error at the outset, only 6 (25%) showed emmetropization. The others retained or increased their refractive errors. The remaining 10 children were emmetropic at the outset, but then had a significant refractive error develop. There is a high prevalence of strabismus in children with Down syndrome (29% of the total group), which cannot be attributed to the presence of hypermetropia or anisometropia. CONCLUSIONS The retention or development of infantile refractive errors in many children with Down syndrome indicates a failure of emmetropization. All children were at risk of strabismus whatever the refractive error. The findings have implications for timing of screening programs.
Activated platelet-derived microparticle numbers are elevated in patients with severe fungal (Candida albicans) sepsis

Background The treatment of severe sepsis highly depends on the identification of bacteria or fungi from blood and/or other body materials. Although widely available blood culturing and risk assessment scores are not completely reliable, current guidelines do not recommend the wide empirical use of antifungal medications based on questionable benefit or possible side-effects. We aimed to test whether platelet-derived microparticle (MP) measurements can improve the early detection of the infective agent behind sepsis. Methods Thirty-three consecutive severe septic patients from our university intensive care unit were included in our prospective study. MP number and surface antigen characteristics were followed by flow cytometry on days 1 (admission), 3 and 5. For microbiological identification, various specimens were collected on admission and in case of overall status deterioration. Results On admission, septic patients showed elevated annexin V and constitutive platelet marker (CD41)-positive MP numbers compared with volunteers. Mixed fungal septic patients showed significantly elevated annexin V and CD41-positive particle numbers on day 1 (P < 0.05) compared with the non-fungal septic group. Adhesive platelet marker (CD42a) harbouring vesicles were negligible in the non-fungal group, while fungal septic patients showed significantly elevated numbers in all measurements (P < 0.01). Particles from activated platelets (PAC1) had elevated numbers in the first and fifth study days compared with non-fungal septic patients (P < 0.05). Conclusions The measurement of CD42a- and PAC1-positive microparticles may provide important additional information which can help to improve the early instalment of antifungal therapy of severe septic patients.
Antibiotic Therapy of Experimental Staphylococcus epidermidis Endocarditis

Endocarditis was produced in rabbits with a methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis isolate. Subpopulations resistant to other semisynthetic penicillins and cephalosporins were detected in the isolate. Their presence was probably responsible for the increase in minimum bactericidal concentrations and minimum inhibitory concentrations when tests with high inocula, rather than low inocula were pursued. Rabbits were treated for either 2 or 7 days with nafcillin, cephalothin, cefamandole, vancomycin, rifampin, or gentamicin. Spontaneous death was uncommon in either controls (84% survival) or treated animals (80 to 94% survival). There was no significant difference in the number of bacteria in vegetations of rabbits treated for 7 days with cephalothin, cefamandole, nafcillin, or no antibiotic (control). There was a significant reduction in total bacteria in vegetations of rabbits given vancomycin, gentamicin, or rifampin for 7 days as compared with cephalothin, cefamandole, nafcillin or control. Gentamicin or rifampin sterilized significantly more vegetations after 7 days than cephalothin, cefamandole, nafcillin, or control; rifampin was more effective in sterilizing vegetations than either gentamycin or vancomycin after 2 days. Mutants resistant to 10 μg of rifampin per ml comprised the total bacterial population cultured from vegetations of 2 of 17 rabbits treated with this antibiotic for 7 days; there was no change in the susceptibility of vegetation isolates to other antibiotics. Rifampin, vancomycin, or gentamicin may prove to be more effective in humans than cephalosporins or semisynthetic penicillins in the treatment of methicillin-resistant S. epidermidis endocarditis.
Tight Interconnection and Multi-Level Control of Arabidopsis MYB44 in MAPK Cascade Signalling

Abiotic stress poses a huge, ever-increasing problem to plants and agriculture. The dissection of signalling pathways mediating stress tolerance is a prerequisite to develop more resistant plant species. Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades are universal signalling modules. In Arabidopsis, the MAPK MPK3 and its upstream regulator MAPK kinase MKK4 initiate the adaptation response to numerous abiotic and biotic stresses. Yet, molecular steps directly linked with MKK4 – MPK3 activation are largely unknown. Starting with a yeast-two-hybrid screen for interacting partners of MKK4, we identified a transcription factor, MYB44. MYB44 is controlled at multiple levels by and strongly inter-connected with MAPK signalling. As we had shown earlier, stress-induced expression of the MYB44 gene is regulated by a MPK3-targeted bZIP transcription factor VIP1. At the protein level, MYB44 interacts with MPK3 in vivo. MYB44 is phosphorylated by MPK3 in vitro at a single residue, Ser145. Although replacement of Ser145 by a non-phosphorylatable (S145A) or phosphomimetic (S145D) residue did not alter MYB44 subcellular localisation, dimerization behaviour nor DNA-binding characteristics, abiotic stress tolerance tests in stable transgenic Arabidopsis plants clearly related S145 phosphorylation to MYB44 function: Compared to Arabidopsis wild type plants, MYB44 overexpressing lines exhibit an enhanced tolerance to osmotic stress and are slightly more sensitive to abscisic acid. Interestingly, overexpression of the S145A variant revealed that impaired phosphorylation does not render the MYB44 protein non-functional. Instead, S145A lines are highly sensitive to abiotic stress, and thereby remarkably similar to mpk3-deficient plants. Its in vivo interaction with the nuclear sub-pools of both MPK3 and MKK4 renders MYB44 the first plant transcription factor to have a second function as putative MAPK cascade scaffolding protein.
HOST DEFENSE AGAINST BACTERIAL ENDOTOXEMIA: MECHANISM IN NORMAL ANIMALS

The present study defines the early response of normal rabbits to the intravenous injection of a single, sublethal dose of endotoxin. Within the first few hours following endotoxin there occurs in the circulating plasma of recipients a decrease in ionized calcium, a threefold increase in the heat-stable, organo-phosphate-resistant esterase level, and a striking increase in the endotoxin-detoxifying capacity. These results are fully consistent with the thesis that circulating plasma represents a principal site of detoxification and that plasma esterases of the nonspecific, carboxylic type are of major concern in defense against circulating endotoxins.
Decoherence and Relaxation of a Quantum Bit in the Presence of Rabi Oscillations

The dissipative dynamics of a quantum bit driven by a strong resonant field and interacting with a heat bath is investigated. We derive generalized Bloch equations and find modifications of the qubit's damping rates caused by Rabi oscillations. The nonequilibrium decoherence and relaxation of a phase qubit inductively coupled to a resonant tank circuit is considered as an illustration of the general results.
Cantú Syndrome Resulting from Activating Mutation in the KCNJ8 Gene

ATP‐sensitive potassium (KATP) channels, composed of inward‐rectifying potassium channel subunits (Kir6.1 and Kir6.2, encoded by KCNJ8 and KCNJ11, respectively) and regulatory sulfonylurea receptor (SUR1 and SUR2, encoded by ABCC8 and ABCC9, respectively), couple metabolism to excitability in multiple tissues. Mutations in ABCC9 cause Cantú syndrome (CS), a distinct multiorgan disease, potentially via enhanced KATP channel activity. We screened KCNJ8 in an ABCC9 mutation‐negative patient who also exhibited clinical hallmarks of CS (hypertrichosis, macrosomia, macrocephaly, coarse facial appearance, cardiomegaly, and skeletal abnormalities). We identified a de novo missense mutation encoding Kir6.1[p.Cys176Ser] in the patient. Kir6.1[p.Cys176Ser] channels exhibited markedly higher activity than wild‐type channels, as a result of reduced ATP sensitivity, whether coexpressed with SUR1 or SUR2A subunits. Our results identify a novel causal gene in CS, but also demonstrate that the cardinal features of the disease result from gain of KATP channel function, not from a Kir6‐independent SUR2 function.
Determinants of Priority for Risk Reduction: The Role of Worry

One hundred twenty‐two members (experts) of the Society for Risk Analysis completed a mailed questionnaire and 150 nonexperts completed a similar questionnaire on the World Wide Web. Questions asked included those about priorities on personal and government action for risk reduction, badness of the risk, number of people affected, worry, and probabilities for self and others. Individual differences in mean desire for action were largely explained in terms of worry. Worry, in turn, was largely affected by probability judgments, which were lower for experts than for nonexperts. Differences across risks in the desire for action, within each subject, were also determined largely by worry and probability. Belief in expert knowledge about the risk increased worry and the priority for risk reduction. A second study involving 91 nonexperts (42 interviewed and 49 on the Web) replicated the main findings for nonexperts from the first study. Interviews also probed the determinants of worry, attitudes toward government versus personal control, and protective behaviors.
Predicting Dangerousness With Two Millon Adolescent Clinical Inventory Psychopathy Scales: The Importance of Egocentric and Callous Traits

Psychopathy in youth has received increased recognition as a critical clinical construct for the evaluation and management of adolescents who have come into contact with the law (e.g., Forth, Hare, & Hart, 1990; Frick, 1998; Lynam, 1996, 1998). Although considerable attention has been devoted to the adult construct of psychopathy and its relation to recidivism, psychopathy in adolescents has been less thoroughly researched. Recently, a psychopathy scale (Murrie and Cornell Psychopathy Scale; Murrie & Cornell, 2000) was developed from items of the Millon Adolescent Clinical Inventory (MACI; Millon, 1993). This scale was found to be highly related to the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (Hare, 1991) and was judged to have demonstrated good criterion validity. A necessary step in the validation process of any psychopathy scale is establishing its predictive validity. With this in mind, we investigated the ability of the MACI Psychopathy Scale to predict recidivism with 55 adolescent offenders 2 years after they had been evaluated at a juvenile court evaluation unit. In addition, we devised a psychopathy scale from MACI items that aligned more closely with Cooke and Michie (2001) and Frick, Bodin, and Barry's (2001) recommendations for the refinement of psychopathy and tested its predictive validity. Results indicate that both scales had predictive utility. Interpersonal and affective components of the revised scale were particularly important in the prediction of both general and violent reoffending.
The diffusion of liquids into resins and composites

Existing methods of assessing the resistance of a polymer to environmental attack are of only limited use. A new technique, which utilizes radiolabelled diffusants, has been developed to study the diffusion of liquids into thick sections of polymer-and glass-fiber-reinforced laminates. This technique allows the construction of concentration profiles of the liquid in the polymer at any time, and diffusion coefficients can be calculated from short-term data. The application of this method of measurement has given a clear picture of the way in which water diffuses into vinyl ester resins and their glass-reinforced laminates. The effects of stress and damage on this diffusion pattern have been quantified. It has been found that the presence of stress enhances the diffusion, and that the diffusion coefficient is further increased by the presence of a stress concentration. No evidence has been found, however, to suggest that the liquid “wicks” along the fibers when stress concentrations are absent.
Inhibition of the Proprotein Convertases Represses the Invasiveness of Human Primary Melanoma Cells with Altered p53, CDKN2A and N-Ras Genes

Background Altered tumor suppressor p53 and/or CDKN2A as well as Ras genes are frequently found in primary and metastatic melanomas. These alterations were found to be responsible for acquisition of invasive and metastatic potential through their defective regulatory control of metalloproteinases and urokinase genes. Methodology/Principal Findings Using primary human melanoma M10 cells with altered p53, CDKN2A and N-Ras genes, we found that inhibition of the proprotein convertases (PCs), enzymes involved in the proteolytic activation of various cancer-related protein precursors resulted in significantly reduced invasiveness. Analysis of M10 cells and their gastric and lymph node derived metastatic cells revealed the presence of all the PCs found in the secretory pathway. Expression of the general PCs inhibitor α1-PDX in these cells in a stable manner (M10/PDX) had no effect on the mRNA expression levels of these PCs. Whereas, in vitro digestion assays and cell transfection experiments, revealed that M10/PDX cells display reduced PCs activity and are unable to process the PCs substrates proIGF-1R and proPDGF-A. These cells showed reduced migration and invasion that paralleled decreased gelatinase MMP-2 activity and increased expression and secretion of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1) and TIMP-2. Furthermore, these cells showed decreased levels of urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR) and increased levels of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1). Conclusions Taken together, these data suggest that inhibition of PCs activity results in decreased invasiveness of primary human melanoma cells despite their altered p53, CDKN2A and N-Ras genes, suggesting that PCs may serve as novel therapeutic targets in melanoma.
Blood schizontocidal activity of azithromycin and its combination with α/β arteether against multi-drug resistant Plasmodium yoelii nigeriensis, a novel MDR parasite model for antimalarial screening

Many different drug-resistant lines of rodent malaria are available as screening models. It is obligatory to screen new compounds for antimalarial activity against a series of resistant lines in order to identify a compound with potential for the treatment of multi-drug resistant (MDR) malaria infections. Instead of using a battery of resistant lines, a single MDR Plasmodium yoelii nigeriensis strain that shows a wide spectrum of drug resistance to high doses of chloroquine, mepacrine, amodiaquine, mefloquine, quinine, quinidine, halofantrine as well as tetracyclines, fluoroquinolines and erythromycin, was used to assess the blood schizontocidal efficacy of a new macrolide azithromycin and other antibiotics. The present study shows that only azithromycin has the potential to control an MDR P. y. nigeriensis infection in Swiss mice, provided the treatment with a dose of 50–100 mg/kg/day by oral route is continued for a period of 7 days. Tetracycline, oxytetracycline, doxycyline, erythromycin, ciprofloxacin and norfloxacin, although active in vitro, failed to protect the mice. Tetracycline, ciprofloxacin and norfloxacin combinations with chloroquine did not control the infection. Additionally, the antimalarial efficacy of azithromycin can be potentiated with the addition of arteether, which is an ethyl ether derivative of artemisinin. A total (100%) curative effect has been obtained with a shorter regimen of 4 days only.
DECT urate deposits: now you see them, now you don't

Dual energy CT (DECT) scanning has recently been applied to the detection of urate deposits in patients with gout.1 It is highly specific, with potential for use as a diagnostic tool.2 However, few studies have compared DECT with other advanced imaging modalities. We have recently studied a group of gout patients using 3T MRI scanning as well as DECT imaging and have discovered that a significant anomaly exists for the identification of urate which is contingent upon DECT software settings. This could have a major impact on the diagnosis of gout in individual patients. We performed DECT scans of the dominant wrist in 10 patients with tophaceous gout,3 with an average disease duration of 19 years. All participants provided written informed consent and this study was approved by the Northern X Regional Ethics Committee of New Zealand. A dual x-ray tube 128-detector-row scanner (Siemens Medical, Erlangen, Germany) was used. Patients were scanned prone with arm outstretched from finger-tips to distal radius with acquisitions at 40×0.6 mm and pitch of 0.7. Tube A was operated at 80 kV/260 mAs and tube B at 140 kV/130 mAs. Images were reconstructed using bone and soft tissue algorithms, 512 matrix, 0.75-mm slices with 0.5-mm increment. Data were treated in two …
On Multiplicative Multitask Feature Learning

We investigate a general framework of multiplicative multitask feature learning which decomposes each task's model parameters into a multiplication of two components. One of the components is used across all tasks and the other component is task-specific. Several previous methods have been proposed as special cases of our framework. We study the theoretical properties of this framework when different regularization conditions are applied to the two decomposed components. We prove that this framework is mathematically equivalent to the widely used multitask feature learning methods that are based on a joint regularization of all model parameters, but with a more general form of regularizers. Further, an analytical formula is derived for the across-task component as related to the task-specific component for all these regularizers, leading to a better understanding of the shrinkage effect. Study of this framework motivates new multitask learning algorithms. We propose two new learning formulations by varying the parameters in the proposed framework. Empirical studies have revealed the relative advantages of the two new formulations by comparing with the state of the art, which provides instructive insights into the feature learning problem with multiple tasks.
Neurodegeneration and Sensorimotor Deficits in the Mouse Model of Traumatic Brain Injury

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) can result in persistent sensorimotor and cognitive deficits, which occur through a cascade of deleterious pathophysiological events over time. In this study, we investigated the hypothesis that neurodegeneration caused by TBI leads to impairments in sensorimotor function. TBI induces the activation of the caspase-3 enzyme, which triggers cell apoptosis in an in vivo model of fluid percussion injury (FPI). We analyzed caspase-3 mediated apoptosis by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) staining and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) and annexin V western blotting. We correlated the neurodegeneration with sensorimotor deficits by conducting the animal behavioral tests including grid walk, balance beam, the inverted screen test, and the climb test. Our study demonstrated that the excess cell death or neurodegeneration correlated with the neuronal dysfunction and sensorimotor impairments associated with TBI.