Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Spatiotemporal Spike Coding of Behavioral Adaptation in the Dorsal Anterior Cingulate Cortex

The frontal cortex controls behavioral adaptation in environments governed by complex rules. Many studies have established the relevance of firing rate modulation after informative events signaling whether and how to update the behavioral policy. However, whether the spatiotemporal features of these neuronal activities contribute to encoding imminent behavioral updates remains unclear. We investigated this issue in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) of monkeys while they adapted their behavior based on their memory of feedback from past choices. We analyzed spike trains of both single units and pairs of simultaneously recorded neurons using an algorithm that emulates different biologically plausible decoding circuits. This method permits the assessment of the performance of both spike-count and spike-timing sensitive decoders. In response to the feedback, single neurons emitted stereotypical spike trains whose temporal structure identified informative events with higher accuracy than mere spike count. The optimal decoding time scale was in the range of 70–200 ms, which is significantly shorter than the memory time scale required by the behavioral task. Importantly, the temporal spiking patterns of single units were predictive of the monkeys’ behavioral response time. Furthermore, some features of these spiking patterns often varied between jointly recorded neurons. All together, our results suggest that dACC drives behavioral adaptation through complex spatiotemporal spike coding. They also indicate that downstream networks, which decode dACC feedback signals, are unlikely to act as mere neural integrators.
Electromyographic Response to Manual Passive Stretch of the Hemiplegic Wrist: Accuracy, Reliability, and Correlation With Clinical Spasticity Assessment and Function

Background. The management of spasticity is important in neurorehabilitation and needs to be assessed accurately. The commonly used clinical tools have been criticized for lack of validity and sensitivity. Objective. To investigate the reliability of electromyographic (EMG) response to manual stretches of the hemiplegic wrist and its correlation with clinical assessments of spasticity and physical function. Methods. EMG activity was measured in 10 stroke patients and control participants (53.7 ± 10 and 32 ± 9.1 years respectively, mean ± SEM) during 3 cycles of 10 seconds passive manual movements of the wrist at 60 to 360° • s-1. Isometric maximal voluntary contractions (MVC) strength, range of movement (ROM) of the wrist flexors and extensors, spasticity (Modified Ashworth Scale [MAS]) and hand function (Block and Box Test [BBT]) were also assessed. Results. EMG activity of the stroke patients increased with velocity from 4% to 40% MVC (P < .001) but there was none in the controls. It was unaffected by repetition and good to moderate reliability occurred at all speeds (ICC, 0.71-0.81). EMG correlated negatively with MVC strength (r = -.9), active wrist flexion ROM ( r = -.8), and hand function scores (r = —.7), but not with clinical measures of spasticity except at the lowest velocity (r = .72). Conclusions. Consistent and accurate stretch velocities and EMG responses can be achieved with manual wrist stretches for the assessment of the neural component of spasticity. These objective tests did not correlate well with the standard clinical assessment of spasticity. They showed significant negative relationships with function, indicating that increased reflex excitability contributes to hand disability after stroke.
The Optimal Corepressor Function of Nuclear Receptor Corepressor (NCoR) for Peroxisome Proliferator-activated Receptor γ Requires G Protein Pathway Suppressor 2*

Background: PPARγ tends to adopt an active conformation that cannot be directly bound by NCoR. Results: GPS2 binds to active PPARγ, facilitates its repression by NCoR, and is required for the optimal NCoR corepressor function for PPARγ. Conclusion: GPS2 mediates a novel NCoR repression pathway targeting active PPARγ. Significance: The GPS2-dependent pathway provides new insights into how NCoR regulates PPARγ function in vivo. Repression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ)-dependent transcription by the nuclear receptor corepressor (NCoR) is important for homeostatic expression of PPARγ target genes in vivo. The current model states that NCoR-mediated repression requires its direct interaction with PPARγ in the repressive conformation. Previous studies, however, have shown that DNA-bound PPARγ is incompatible with a direct, high-affinity association with NCoR because of the inherent ability of PPARγ to adopt the active conformation. Here we show that NCoR acquires the ability to repress active PPARγ-mediated transcription via G protein pathway suppressor 2 (GPS2), a component of the NCoR corepressor complex. Unlike NCoR, GPS2 can recognize and bind the active state of PPARγ. In GPS2-deficient mouse embryonic fibroblast cells, loss of GPS2 markedly reduces the corepressor function of NCoR for PPARγ, leading to constitutive activation of PPARγ target genes and spontaneous adipogenesis of the cells. GPS2, however, is dispensable for repression mediated by unliganded thyroid hormone receptor α or a PPARγ mutant unable to adopt the active conformation. This study shows that GPS2, although dispensable for the intrinsic repression function of NCoR, can mediate a novel corepressor repression pathway that allows NCoR to directly repress active PPARγ-mediated transcription, which is important for the optimal corepressor function of NCoR for PPARγ. Interestingly, GPS2-dependent repression specifically targets PPARγ but not PPARα or PPARδ. Therefore, GPS2 may serve as a unique target to manipulate PPARγ signaling in diseases.
Electromagnetic scattering by multiple three-dimensional scatterers buried under multilayered media. I. Theory

A general procedure is developed for the analysis of electromagnetic (EM) scattering by multiple three-dimensional (3D) dielectric and/or conducting objects buried under one-dimensional (1D) multilayered media. In this first part of a two-part paper, general closed-form formulations for the electric fields excited by an arbitrarily oriented electric dipole under the layered media are first presented, from which electric-field integral equations for the buried dielectric objects, pure conducting objects, and their combinations are then obtained, and the scattered electric fields in the upper space are formulated. Finally, the physical significance of the above formulations is discussed. In the second part, numerical implementations for these integral equations and the scattered fields are investigated.
Sub-1mm2 High Detection Capability PMUTS-on-CMOS Array for Ultrasound Images

This paper presents an annular multi-element piezoelectric micromachined ultrasonic transducer (PMUT) array fabricated monolithically over a 130 nm complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) analog front-end circuitry that offers an interesting solution in terms of resolution and area for IVUS catheters. The PMUT-on-CMOS array consists of five concentric rings formed of several elements with a total area less than 1 mm2 where each single element is a square AlScN PMUT with 40 μm side. The high levels of transmit pressure (28.3 kPapp·mm) and receive sensitivity (691.5 mV/MPa) in water at 8.6 MHz allow the detection of targets in the far-field region with dimensions below 100 μm. Demonstrations of ultrasound images in water are provided by using five wires of different diameters and materials.
Development the Mechanical Properties of (AL-Li-Cu) Alloy

The aim of this research is to develop mechanical properties of a new aluminium-lithium-copper alloy. This alloy prepared under control atmosphere by casting in a permanent metal mould. The microstructure was examined and mechanical properties were tested before and after heat treatment to study the influence of heat treatment on its mechanical properties including; modulus of elasticity, tensile strength, impact, and fatigue. The results showed that the modulus of elasticity of the prepared alloy is higher than standard alloy about 2%. While the alloy that heat treated for 6 h and cooled in water, then showed a higher ultimate tensile stress comparing with as-cast alloy. The homogenous heat treatment gives best fatigue behaviour comparing with as-cast and other heat treatment alloys. Also, the impact test illustrates that the homogeneous heat treatment alloy gives the highest value.
Physician cost profiling--reliability and risk of misclassification.

BACKGROUND Insurance products with incentives for patients to choose physicians classified as offering lower-cost care on the basis of cost-profiling tools are increasingly common. However, no rigorous evaluation has been undertaken to determine whether these tools can accurately distinguish higher-cost physicians from lower-cost physicians. METHODS We aggregated claims data for the years 2004 and 2005 from four health plans in Massachusetts. We used commercial software to construct clinically homogeneous episodes of care (e.g., treatment of diabetes, heart attack, or urinary tract infection), assigned each episode to a physician, and created a summary profile of resource use (i.e., cost) for each physician on the basis of all assigned episodes. We estimated the reliability (signal-to-noise ratio) of each physician's cost-profile score on a scale of 0 to 1, with 0 indicating that all differences in physicians' cost profiles are due to a lack of precision in the measure (noise) and 1 indicating that all differences are due to real variation in costs of services (signal). We used the reliability results to estimate the proportion of physicians in each specialty whose cost performance would be classified inaccurately in a two-tiered insurance product in which the physicians with cost profiles in the lowest quartile were labeled as "lower cost. " RESULTS Median reliabilities ranged from 0.05 for vascular surgery to 0.79 for gastroenterology and otolaryngology. Overall, 59% of physicians had cost-profile scores with reliabilities of less than 0.70, a commonly used marker of suboptimal reliability. Using our reliability results, we estimated that 22% of physicians would be misclassified in a two-tiered system. CONCLUSIONS Current methods for profiling physicians with respect to costs of services may produce misleading results.
A Study on Diesel Spray Characteristics for Small- Quantity Injection

Multi-stage injection with pilot injection and post injection has been widely used for the noise and emissions reduction of diesel engines. Considering many parameters to be decided for optimal combustion, computer simulations such as three dimensional computational fluid dynamics (3D-CFD) and lower dimensional codes should play a role for optimal selection of intervals and quantity ratios. However, the data for the sprays are insufficient for reproducing the actual fuel-air mixture formation process related to pilot and post injection. Hence, there is a need for experimental data with a small-quantity injection. The small-quantity injection is characterized with an injection rate shape similar to a triangle rather than a rectangle. This study is mainly focused on the spray characteristics of diesel sprays in which the entire process is dominated by unsteady injection processes. The effects of injection parameters and nozzle hole diameter on spray penetration, spray angle, and fuel concentration are studied with the help of a rapid compression and expansion machine. A hybrid of shadowgraph and Mie scattering imaging set-up is used to visualize both spray liquid phase and vapor phase at the same time. A high-speed camera with a frame rate of 90,000 fps is used to acquire spray images. Two injectors with a nozzle hole diameter of 0.12 mm and 0.14 mm are used. The studies are performed at the injection pressure of 40, 80, and 120 MPa while environmental temperature of 850 K. The experimental results show that the development of the spray tip is proportional to t and then to t 1/2 at the later stage, and after the end of the injection, the spray tip penetration is found to follow t 1/4 . Also, the spray liquid penetration, spray dispersion, and air-fuel mixing processes are evaluated and compared with various injection parameters. In addition, the instantaneous behavior of the near-nozzle spray angle is studied carefully in order to provide reliable input data for spray models.
Fe II lifetimes and transition probabilities

Fe II radiative lifetimes were measured applying the time-resolved nonlinear laser-induced fluoresence technique. We investigated 21 levels of up to 47 000 cm −1 . The uncertainties are typically 2−3%. The lifetimes provide an improved absolute scale to our branching fractions which were measured with a Fourier transform spectrometer and a high-resolution grating spectrometer and which have been published earlier. We report absolute transition probabilities of 140 Fe II lines in the wavelength range 220-780 nm. The overall uncertainties are estimated to be 6% for the strong and up to 26% for the weak transitions. The results are compared with recent experimental data from the literature. Our large set of accurate data can be used for a reliability check of theoretical data calculated for iron abundances in astrophysical plasmas.
Rewarding Morphine-Induced Synaptic Function of δ-Opioid Receptors on Central Glutamate Synapses

The rewarding effect of opioids, the driving force for compulsive behaviors of opioid abuse and addiction, is primarily mediated by the μ-opioid receptor. However, the role of the δ-opioid receptor (DOR) in opioid reward and addiction is still poorly understood. The recently discovered adaptive DOR property of exocytotic translocation in sensory neurons after chronic opioid exposure provides a new avenue of conceptual thoughts to exploring the DOR function in this psychoneurological disease. In this study, we investigated potential adaptive function of DOR in neurons of the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA), a forebrain structure increasingly recognized for mediating stimulus reward learning in drug addiction. Using whole-cell recordings in CeA slices, we found that in rats displaying morphine-induced behavior of conditioned place preference, a behavioral measure of drug reward, the overall synaptic strength of glutamate synapses in CeA neurons was significantly enhanced. The selective DOR agonist [d-Pen2,d-Pen5]-enkephalin, having no apparent effect on glutamatergic excitatory postsynaptic current (EPSC) in neurons from control rats, produced a significant, dose-dependent inhibition of the synaptic current in neurons from those morphine-treated rats. Detailed analyses of EPSC properties revealed that DOR activation inhibited the EPSC by reducing presynaptic release of glutamate, indicating functional DOR emerging on presynaptic glutamate terminals. The morphine treatment also significantly increased DOR proteins in CeA preparations of synaptosomes. These findings provide functional evidence for an adaptive modulation by presynaptic DOR of a key synaptic activity altered by morphine, thus implying likely important involvement of DOR in opioid reward and addiction.
Osteomyelitis: An Update for Hospitalists

Abstract Osteomyelitis is a common and challenging condition for hospitalists to manage. The 3 main types of osteomyelitis that are commonly seen in the hospital setting are 1) contiguous spread from decubitus or diabetic ulcers, 2) hematogenous spread, such as in vertebral or long bone metaphyses, and 3) infections associated with a prosthetic joint. In patients with diabetes, osteomyelitis is the underlying cause of about 20% of foot infections, and greatly increases the chance that the patient will eventually need an amputation and be subject to perioperative risks. Osteomyelitis from hematogenous spread is increasing. The prevalence of vertebral osteomyelitis is also increasing, particularly in intravenous drug users and patients treated with immune-modulating agents. Prosthetic joint infections are perhaps the most challenging type to treat, and require hospitalists, orthopedic surgeons, and infectious disease specialists to work closely together to plan for effective treatment. Due to increasing antibiotic resistance, the microorganisms involved are also proving more difficult to treat. Emerging resistance to the commonly used antibiotics is resulting in changes in treatment choices. Community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus is commonly seen, and there is increasing concern about emerging vancomycin resistance. Treatment of osteomyelitis is still based largely on expert opinion rather than evidence from controlled studies.
Physicochemical and Sensorial Characterization of Honey Spirits

Distilled spirits are usually made from fermented sugar-based materials, such as wines or fermented fruits, but other products can be used, namely berries or honey. In this work, an evaluation of honey spirits is done based on its physicochemical and sensory characteristics. Fourteen honey spirit samples of different brands of honey spirit were purchased at the market and from artisan Portuguese producers. Several analytical determinations, namely alcoholic strength, dry matter, density, total acidity, chromatic characteristics, methanol, acetaldehyde, ethyl acetate and higher alcohols were done to characterize all samples. The results pointed out several differences in physicochemical composition of samples. In general, these drinks are characterized by an alcohol strength between 37.4% and 53.0% and a low methanol content, quite null for most samples. Samples with higher ethanol content corresponded to the artisanal samples. Significant differences (p < 0.05) were also observed in the volatile composition and chromatic characteristics suggesting different production technologies. A first list of sensory attributes was obtained for this beverage. Therefore, further research must be done in order to characterize this spirit drink, which has gained market value.
Dysfunctional involvement of emotion and reward brain regions on social decision making in excess weight adolescents

Obese adolescents suffer negative social experiences, but no studies have examined whether obesity is associated with dysfunction of the social brain or whether social brain abnormalities relate to disadvantageous traits and social decisions. We aimed at mapping functional activation differences in the brain circuitry of social decision making in adolescents with excess versus normal weight, and at examining whether these separate patterns correlate with reward/punishment sensitivity, disordered eating features, and behavioral decisions. In this fMRI study, 80 adolescents aged 12 to 18 years old were classified in two groups based on age adjusted body mass index (BMI) percentiles: normal weight (n = 44, BMI percentiles 5th–84th) and excess weight (n = 36, BMI percentile ≥ 85th). Participants were scanned while performing a social decision‐making task (ultimatum game) in which they chose to “accept” or “reject” offers to split monetary stakes made by another peer. Offers varied in fairness (Fair vs. Unfair) but in all cases “accepting” meant both players win the money, whereas “rejecting” meant both lose it. We showed that adolescents with excess weight compared to controls display significantly decreased activation of anterior insula, anterior cingulate, and midbrain during decisions about Unfair versus Fair offers. Moreover, excess weight subjects show lower sensitivity to reward and more maturity fears, which correlate with insula activation. Indeed, blunted insula activation accounted for the relationship between maturity fears and acceptance of unfair offers. Excess weight adolescents have diminished activation of brain regions essential for affective tracking of social decision making, which accounts for the association between maturity fears and social decisions. Hum Brain Mapp, 36:–237, 2015. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Organizing and Querying the Big Sensing Data with Event-Linked Network in the Internet of Things

Massive sensing data are generated continuously in the Internet of Things. How to organize and how to query the big sensing data are big challenges for intelligent applications. This paper studies the organization of big sensing data with event-linked network (ELN) model, where events are regarded as primary units for organizing data and links are used to represent the semantic associations among events. Several different types of queries on the event-linked network are also explored, which are different from queries on traditional relational database. We use an instance of smart home to show the effectiveness and efficiency of organization and query approaches based on the event-linked network.
Care of the Elderly

Allen and Doisy of a simple method of assaying ovarian extract by the vaginal smear technique, the stage was set for the isolation of the oestrogenic hormone. At about this time the fundamental facts of sterol chemistry were being elucidated, and the structure of the cyclo-penteno-phenanthrene ring system was finally elucidated by Rosenheim and King. In 1927 Aschheim and Zondek discovered the urine in pregnancy to be a concentrated source of oestrogenic substances, and from this fluid, with the essential information provided by Windaus and Wieland and by Rosenheim and King, five oestrogenic compounds were isolated almost simultaneously by Butenandt, Doisy, Marrian, and Girard in 1932. From the fact that at least five separate oestrogens had been isolated from this sterol structure it occurred to Dodds to see how specific the molecular structure was for oestrogenic activity. After a while it was found that the phenanthrene structure was not essential, and anol, a simple benzene compound, was found to have an oestrogenic potency which appeared to be high. On repetition of the work, however, it was realized that the activity of the original batch of anol was due to a contaminant. Pursuing the work in collaboration with Sir Robert Robinson, the compound stilboestrol was finally made and found to have a very high degree of oestrogenic potency. In concluding his lecture Prof. Dodds emphasized that research was not only for heaven-sent geniuses-an impression which was largely due to the invariable scientific practice of writing the paper backwards, which gave the research an appearance of being a carefully thought out, orderly procedure. In fact, however, the research was done by a series of blundering steps in which the worker was rather like someone in a dark room scrambling for the switch and tripping over the furniture. When he had once found the switch and turned on the light he was able to arrange the furniture in an orderly manner.