Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Learning to See the Difference Specifically Alters the Most Informative V4 Neurons

Perceptual learning is an instance of adult plasticity whereby training in a sensory (e.g., a visual task) results in neuronal changes leading to an improved ability to perform the task. Yet studies in primary visual cortex have found that changes in neuronal response properties were relatively modest. The present study examines the effects of training in an orientation discrimination task on the response properties of V4 neurons in awake rhesus monkeys. Results indicate that the changes induced in V4 are indeed larger than those in V1. Nonspecific effects of training included a decrease in response variance, and an increase in overall orientation selectivity in V4. The orientation-specific changes involved a local steepening in the orientation tuning curve around the trained orientation that selectively improved orientation discriminability at the trained orientation. Moreover, these changes were largely confined to the population of neurons whose orientation tuning was optimal for signaling small differences in orientation at the trained orientation. Finally, the modifications were restricted to the part of the tuning curve close to the trained orientation. Thus, we conclude that it is the most informative V4 neurons, those most directly involved in the discrimination, that are specifically modified by perceptual learning.
Sleep disturbances in chronic progressive external ophthalmoplegia

Background: Chronic progressive external ophthalmoplegia (CPEO) is a relatively common mitochondrial disorder. In addition to extraocular muscle weakness, various other organs can typically be affected, including laryngeal and limb muscles, cerebrum, cerebellum, and peripheral nerves. Given this multi‐organ involvement, patients are likely to be prone to sleep disturbances. Here, we determined the nature, prevalence, and determinants of sleep disturbances in CPEO.
Changes in heart rate and R-wave amplitude with posture.

BACKGROUND Effect of gravity on heart rate and blood pressure are well documented but the effect of posture on R-wave amplitude has not been studied. AIM To investigate the effect of posture on the heart rate (HR) and R-wave amplitude (RWA). METHODS The electrocardiograph (ECG) was recorded in 20 young subjects on two occasions. A 5 minute recording of resting ECG was taken with the subject adopting the following postural cycle: lying, sitting, standing, sitting and lying positions. RESULTS The standing HR was significantly higher than that in sitting and lying positions, but the RWA was significantly lower in standing compared to the sitting and lying postures. The HR significantly increased at the initial phase of postural changes, irrespective of the position. For example, the HR increased from lying to sitting (66.6+/-2.3 to 85.0+/-10.9 beat x min(-1)) but also increased when changed from sitting to lying (70.6+/-10.6 to 85.2+/-8.7 beat x min(-1)). CONCLUSION Body posture has an effect on HR and RWA. The changes are probably related to orthostatic haemodynamic stress as well as changes in cardiac electrical axis. Whether the cause of the initial increase in the HR during postural change was attributed to skeletal muscle reflex or venous return requires further investigation.
Memory-Efficient Inference in Relational Domains

Propositionalization of a first-order theory followed by satisfiability testing has proved to be a remarkably efficient approach to inference in relational domains such as planning (Kautz & Selman 1996) and verification (Jackson 2000). More recently, weighted satisfiability solvers have been used successfully for MPE inference in statistical relational learners (Singla & Domingos 2005). However, fully instantiating a finite first-order theory requires memory on the order of the number of constants raised to the arity of the clauses, which significantly limits the size of domains it can be applied to. In this paper we propose LazySAT, a variation of the Walk-SAT solver that avoids this blowup by taking advantage of the extreme sparseness that is typical of relational domains (i.e., only a small fraction of ground atoms are true, and most clauses are trivially satisfied). Experiments on entity resolution and planning problems show that LazySAT reduces memory usage by orders of magnitude compared to Walk-SAT, while taking comparable time to run and producing the same solutions.
Endemic Acinetobacter baumannii in a New York Hospital

Background Acinetobacter baumannii is an increasingly multidrug-resistant (MDR) cause of hospital-acquired infections, often associated with limited therapeutic options. We investigated A. baumannii isolates at a New York hospital to characterize genetic relatedness. Methods Thirty A. baumannii isolates from geographically-dispersed nursing units within the hospital were studied. Isolate relatedness was assessed by repetitive sequence polymerase chain reaction (rep-PCR). The presence and characteristics of integrons were assessed by PCR. Metabolomic profiles of a subset of a prevalent strain isolates and sporadic isolates were characterized and compared. Results We detected a hospital-wide group of closely related carbapenem resistant MDR A. baumannii isolates. Compared with sporadic isolates, the prevalent strain isolates were more likely to be MDR (p = 0.001). Isolates from the prevalent strain carried a novel Class I integron sequence. Metabolomic profiles of selected prevalent strain isolates and sporadic isolates were similar. Conclusion The A. baumannii population at our hospital represents a prevalent strain of related MDR isolates that contain a novel integron cassette. Prevalent strain and sporadic isolates did not segregate by metabolomic profiles. Further study of environmental, host, and bacterial factors associated with the persistence of prevalent endemic A. baumannii strains is needed to develop effective prevention strategies.
Explicit Solutions for Replicator-Mutator Equations: Extinction versus Acceleration

We consider a class of nonlocal reaction-diffusion problems, referred to as replicator-mutator equations in evolutionary genetics. By using explicit changes of unknown function, we show that they are equivalent to the heat equation and, therefore, compute their solution explicitly. Based on this, we then prove that, in the case of beneficial mutations in asexual populations, solutions dramatically depend on the tails of the initial data: they can be global, become extinct in finite time or, even, be defined for no positive time. In the former case, we prove that solutions are accelerating, and in many cases converge for large time to some universal Gaussian profile. This sheds light on the biological relevance of such models.
Approximate performance of periodic hypersonic cruise trajectories for global reach

This paper develops the analytical framework to compare the approximate performance of periodic hypersonic cruise trajectories with previously proposed hypersonic trajectory profiles for global reach. Specifically, range, ΔV, and payload-carrying capacity are evaluated for various trajectory types to illustrate the enhanced performance achieved by flying periodic hypersonic cruise trajectories with existing hypersonic vehicle aerodynamic, propulsion, and structures technology. Analytical results reveal that periodic hypersonic cruise trajectories achieve better fuel-consumption savings and deliver more payload over long distances (≅20,000 km) than other trajectory types proposed for high-speed flight. Over 20% improvement in fuel consumption savings is possible for a Mach 10 vehicle with a modest L/D of 4, and a curve-fitted rocket-based combined cycle engine model.
Concordance between Self-Reports and Medicare Claims among Participants in a National Study of Chronic Disease Self-Management Program

Objectives To evaluate the concordance between self-reported data and variables obtained from Medicare administrative data in terms of chronic conditions and health care utilization. Design Retrospective observational study. Participants We analyzed data from a sample of Medicare beneficiaries who were part of the National Study of Chronic Disease Self-Management Program (CDSMP) and were eligible for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) pilot evaluation of CDSMP (n = 119). Methods Self-reported and Medicare claims-based chronic conditions and health care utilization were examined. Percent of consistent numbers, kappa statistic (κ), and Pearson’s correlation coefficient were used to evaluate concordance. Results The two data sources had substantial agreement for diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (κ = 0.75 and κ = 0.60, respectively), moderate agreement for cancer and heart disease (κ = 0.50 and κ = 0.47, respectively), and fair agreement for depression (κ = 0.26). With respect to health care utilization, the two data sources had almost perfect or substantial concordance for number of hospitalizations (κ = 0.69–0.79), moderate concordance for ED care utilization (κ = 0.45–0.61), and generally low agreement for number of physician visits (κ ≤ 0.31). Conclusion Either self-reports or claim-based administrative data for diabetes, COPD, and hospitalizations can be used to analyze Medicare beneficiaries in the US. Yet, caution must be taken when only one data source is available for other types of chronic conditions and health care utilization.
Dynamic temperature control strategy with a temperature drop improves responses of greenhouse tomatoes and sweet peppers to long photoperiods of supplemental lighting and saves energy

Supplemental lighting is essential for year-round greenhouse crop production in regions with low natural light. Supplemental lighting to increase the daily light integral can be added via lengthening photoperiods or increasing light intensity. Light addition via long photoperiods is preferred because of the lower light-fixture costs in comparison with the use of high light intensity. However, long photoperiods cause photoinjury, such as leaf chlorosis in tomatoes and sweet peppers. This photoinjury has limited the yield increase from long-photoperiod lighting. In our previous study, we found that a temperature drop with dynamic temperature integration (TI) can promote photoassimilate translocation from leaf to fruit and thus has the potential to reduce photoinjury. Therefore, this study was initiated in 2013 with the aim of testing this temperature-control strategy to improve the response to long photoperiods, including both overhead high-pressure sodium (HPS) lighting and light-emitting diode (LED) intra-canopy lighting. The study was conducted over three winters (from 2013 to 2016) in eight greenhouse compartments, each with 50 m2 growing area. Two photoperiods (control and long photoperiod) of overhead HPS lighting and two temperature integration strategies (control TI with no temperature drop; dynamic TI with a temperature drop to 13.5°C for tomatoes or 15.5°C for sweet peppers at the end of the photoperiod) were applied in eight greenhouse compartments. Four intra-canopy LED photoperiods were applied to the four plots inside each compartment. Dynamic TI with a temperature drop significantly reduced photoinjury and increased fruit yield at long photoperiods for both tomatoes and sweet peppers. It also reduced heating energy use during cold winter months in the tomato experiments. Therefore, dynamic TI with a temperature drop is an energy-efficient climate-control strategy for improving the response of greenhouse tomatoes and sweet peppers to long photoperiods of supplemental lighting.
Effectiveness of double-surface intensive phototherapy versus single-surface intensive phototherapy for neonatal hyperbilirubinemia.

OBJECTIVE To compare the efficacy and adverse effects of double-surface intensive phototherapy (DsIPT) and single-surface intensive phototherapy (SsIPT) in term newborn infants with hyperbilirubinemia. DESIGN Prospective randomized controlled trial. MATERIAL AND METHOD Healthy full-term infants with nonhemolytic hyperbilirubinemia (total serum bilirubin between 13.0 to 19.9 mg/dl) were allocated randomly to two modes of phototherapy. Group 1 infants received single-surface intensive phototherapy. Group 2 infants received double-surface intensive phototherapy Serum bilirubin, body weight, body temperature and number of defecation were measured at 24 and 48 hours after phototherapy. RESULTS Sixty infants were studied, 30 in each group. Baseline characteristics were similar in both groups. The initial mean serum bilirubin had no statistically significant difference between SsIPT and the DsIPT groups. After 24 and 48 hours of phototherapy, mean serum bilirubin in the group receiving SsIPT declined 3.5 +/- 1.7 and 6.5 +/- 2.3 mg/dl, while in the DsIPT group, the mean serum bilirubin declined 5.4 +/- 2.0 and 8.4 +/- 2.1 mg/dl respectively. The mean body temperature after 24 hours of phototherapy in the DsIPT group was higher than SsIPT group significantly. The number of defecation in the SsIPT group increased significantly after 24 and 48 hours of phototherapy, but the body weight change in both groups was not statistically significant. CONCLUSION DsIPT was significantly more effective in reducing serum bilirubin than SsIPT in the term jaundiced infants after 24 and 48 hours of treatment. The adverse effect of DsIPT found in the present study was the increased of body temperature after 24 hours of phototherapy.
Human Mitochondrial Hsp70 (Mortalin): Shedding Light on ATPase Activity, Interaction with Adenosine Nucleotides, Solution Structure and Domain Organization

The human mitochondrial Hsp70, also called mortalin, is of considerable importance for mitochondria biogenesis and the correct functioning of the cell machinery. In the mitochondrial matrix, mortalin acts in the importing and folding process of nucleus-encoded proteins. The in vivo deregulation of mortalin expression and/or function has been correlated with age-related diseases and certain cancers due to its interaction with the p53 protein. In spite of its critical biological roles, structural and functional studies on mortalin are limited by its insoluble recombinant production. This study provides the first report of the production of folded and soluble recombinant mortalin when co-expressed with the human Hsp70-escort protein 1, but it is still likely prone to self-association. The monomeric fraction of mortalin presented a slightly elongated shape and basal ATPase activity that is higher than that of its cytoplasmic counterpart Hsp70-1A, suggesting that it was obtained in the functional state. Through small angle X-ray scattering, we assessed the low-resolution structural model of monomeric mortalin that is characterized by an elongated shape. This model adequately accommodated high resolution structures of Hsp70 domains indicating its quality. We also observed that mortalin interacts with adenosine nucleotides with high affinity. Thermally induced unfolding experiments indicated that mortalin is formed by at least two domains and that the transition is sensitive to the presence of adenosine nucleotides and that this process is dependent on the presence of Mg2+ ions. Interestingly, the thermal-induced unfolding assays of mortalin suggested the presence of an aggregation/association event, which was not observed for human Hsp70-1A, and this finding may explain its natural tendency for in vivo aggregation. Our study may contribute to the structural understanding of mortalin as well as to contribute for its recombinant production for antitumor compound screenings.
Effect of clonidine and magnesium sulphate on anaesthetic consumption, haemodynamics and postoperative recovery: A comparative study

This randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blind study was designed to assess the effect of intravenous clonidine and magnesium sulphate on intraoperative haemodynamics, anaesthetic consumption and postoperative recovery. Seventy five patients undergoing elective upper limb orthopaedic surgery were randomised into three groups. Group C received clonidine 3 μg/kg as a bolus before induction and 1μg/kg/hour by infusion intraopertively. Group M received magnesium sulphate 30 mg/kg as a bolus before induction and 10 mg/kg/hour by infusion. Group P received same volume of isotonic saline. Anaesthesia was induced and maintained with fentanyl citrate and propofol. Muscular relaxation was achieved by vecuronium bromide. Induction time, recovery time and consumption of propofol as well as fentanyl citrate were recorded. Induction of anaesthesia was rapid with both clonidine and magnesium sulphate. Time of bispectral index (BIS) to reach 60 was significantly lower in Group C and Group M (P < 0.0001). Requirements of propofol and fentanyl were significantly less in Group C and Group M (P < 0.001). Postoperative recovery was slower in Group M compared with other two groups (P < 0.001). Perioperative use of both clonidine and magnesium sulphate significantly reduced the consumption of propofol and fentanyl citrate. Magnesium sulphate caused a delayed recovery.
A Computer Adaptive Testing Version of the Addiction Severity Index—Multimedia Version (ASI–MV): The Addiction Severity CAT

The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a computer adaptive testing (CAT) version of the Addiction Severity Index—Multimedia Version (ASI–MV), the Addiction Severity CAT. This goal was accomplished in 4 steps. First, new candidate items for Addiction Severity CAT domains were evaluated after brainstorming sessions with experts in substance abuse treatment. Next, this new item bank was psychometrically evaluated on a large nonclinical (n = 4,419) and substance abuse treatment (n = 845) sample. Based on these results, final items were selected and calibrated for the creation of the Addiction Severity CAT algorithms. Once the algorithms were developed for the entire assessment, a fully functioning prototype of an Addiction Severity CAT was created. CAT simulations were conducted, and optimal termination criteria were selected for the Addiction Severity CAT algorithms. Finally, construct validity of the CAT algorithms was evaluated by examining convergent and discriminant validity and sensitivity to change. The Addiction Severity CAT was determined to be valid, sensitive to change, and reliable. Further, the Addiction Severity CAT’s time of completion was found to be significantly less than the average time of completion for the ASI–MV composite scores. This study represents the initial validation of an Addiction Severity CAT based on item response theory, and further exploration of the Addiction Severity CAT is needed.
Remote sensing estimation of forage mass and spatiotemporal change analysis in the Beijing-Tianjin sandstorm source region, China

ABSTRACT To improve the ecological situation, the Chinese government launched the Beijing-Tianjin sandstorm source control project in 2001. Concurrently, a series of ecological restoration strategies were implemented to improve grassland ecosystems. Currently, little is known about dynamic variations of grassland forage mass. In this study, spatiotemporal pattern and dynamic change of forage mass are explored using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) data and field survey data from 2000 to 2010 in the Beijing-Tianjin sandstorm source region (BTSSR). The results showed that forage mass (1) averaged 986.59 kg ha–1, (2) exhibited large spatial heterogeneity, decreasing from the south-east to the north-west, and (3) increased clearly in partial areas of the BTSSR. While the implementation of the BTSSR project has had a positive impact on the ecological environment, grassland management should be further strengthened.
Comparative Assessment of the Anticoagulant Activity of Rivaroxaban and Dabigatran in Patients With Nonvalvular Atrial Fibrillation

AbstractThere is a shortage of data in everyday clinical practice about the anticoagulant effects caused by the new oral anticoagulants (NOAs). Our aim was to estimate the intensity of anticoagulant activity induced by rivaroxaban 20 mg qd and dabigatran 110 mg bid among patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NV-AF). We studied 20 patients with NV-AF treated with dabigatran, and 20 patients treated with rivaroxaban. We performed conventional coagulation tests, thrombin generation (TG) test, thromboelastometry (ROTEM), and epinephrine-induced light transmission aggregometry (LTA) in all 40 patients and 20 controls. Hemoclot Thrombin Inhibitors (HTI) and Factor Xa Direct Inhibitor (DiXaI) assay were used to measure dabigatran and rivaroxaban plasma levels, respectively.Measurements of all assays estimating anticoagulant activity across the 2 patient groups were similar, except for aPTT. Patients on dabigatran exhibited statistically significantly prolonged aPTT values (P < 0.001). In LTA, patients on dabigatran also showed decreased aggregation compared to those on rivaroxaban (P = 0.045). Regarding the TG test, there was no association between endogenous thrombin potential (ETP) and rivaroxaban plasma levels (P = 0.33) as opposed to dabigatran levels (P < 0.001), but significant correlations were observed between rivaroxaban plasma concentrations and kinetic parameters of TG assay (Tlag, P = 0.045; Tmax, P = 0.016; and Cmax, P = 0.003). Based on ROTEM and TG assays, the anticoagulant effects induced by the 2 drugs given in the specific dose regimens in real-world patients were comparable. Only platelet aggregation was found to be more affected by dabigatran as compared to rivaroxaban.
The Independent LifeStyle AssistantTM (I.L.S.A.): AI Lessons Learned

The Independent LifeStyle Assistant TM (I.L.S.A.) is an agent- based monitoring and support system to help elderly peo- ple to live longer in their homes by reducing caregiver bur- den. I.L. S.A. is a multiagent system that incorporates a uni- fied sensing model, situation assessments, response planning, real-time responses and machine learning. This paper de- scribes the some of the lessons we learned during the devel- opment and six-month field study.
The Impact of Corporate Sustainability on Organizational Processes and Performance

We investigate the effect of corporate sustainability on organizational processes and performance. Using a matched sample of 180 U.S. companies, we find that corporations that voluntarily adopted sustainability policies by 1993-termed as high sustainability companies-exhibit by 2009 distinct organizational processes compared to a matched sample of companies that adopted almost none of these policies-termed as low sustainability companies. The boards of directors of high sustainability companies are more likely to be formally responsible for sustainability, and top executive compensation incentives are more likely to be a function of sustainability metrics. High sustainability companies are more likely to have established processes for stakeholder engagement, to be more long-term oriented, and to exhibit higher measurement and disclosure of nonfinancial information. Finally, high sustainability companies significantly outperform their counterparts over the long term, both in terms of stock market and accounting performance. This paper was accepted by Bruno Cassiman, business strategy.