Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Increased visual after-effects following pattern adaptation in migraine: a lack of intracortical excitation?

Much research on visual function in migraine has examined early aspects of visual processing, often using detection or discrimination measures and stimuli reported to trigger an attack, e.g. striped patterns or flickering lights. Differences between people with and without migraine have been attributed to abnormal cortical processing in migraine, variously described by interictal hyperexcitability, heightened responsiveness, a lack of habituation and/or a lack of intra-cortical inhibition. Here, two experiments are presented that explore a uniquely cortical phenomenon, pattern or contrast adaptation, one using the motion after-effect, one the tilt after-effect. Pattern adaptation reflects specific interactions between groups of neurones and is therefore ideally suited to address proposed models of cortical function in migraine. These models lead to specific predictions in an adaptation study: there should be smaller effects in people with migraine than in people without. The results from both adaptation experiments, however, revealed larger effects in migraine sufferers than in headache-free control subjects. There were no differences between migraine subgroups classified according to the presence or absence of aura. These results are discussed in terms of models of cortical function in migraine.
Mechanism Responsible for T-Cell Antigen Receptor- and CD28- or Interleukin 1 (IL-1) Receptor-Initiated Regulation of IL-2 Gene Expression by NF-κB

ABSTRACT Initiation of the T-helper lymphocyte activation program is regulated through the T-cell receptor (TCR) and costimulatory receptors. Analysis of TCR and either anti-CD28- or interleukin 1 (IL-1)-mediated activation of the IL-2 promoter shows that costimulatory signals augment promoter activity through NF-κB sites. This study comparatively evaluates the mechanisms whereby signals initiated from the TCR and these two costimulatory receptors converge to synergistically increase NF-κB transcriptional activity. IL-1 alone stimulates an acute but transient NF-κB nuclear localization and a suboptimal NF-κB transcriptional response. In contrast, anti-CD3–anti-CD28 or anti-CD3–IL-1 synergistically stimulate prolonged NF-κB nuclear localization and NF-κB-mediated transcription. Both TCR- and costimulatory receptor-initiated synergistic NF-κB responses result from prolonging high rates of cytosolic IκB degradation during the second phase of the biphasic NF-κB nuclear localization. However, in contrast to previous reports, prolonged nuclear localization of NF-κB complexes is not necessarily associated with long-term depletion of IκBβ. In response to either costimulus, c-Rel selectively translocated to the nucleus as a result of induced c-Rel expression and the continued production of c-Rel–IκBα complexes, which turn over rapidly due to the high rate of IκBα degradation in the cytosol during the second phase of the response. In contrast, IκBβ is nearly completely degraded during the acute response to either IL-1 or anti-CD3–IL-1 while anti-CD3–anti-CD28 stimulates only a partial reduction (35 to 40%) in cytosolic IκBβ. Cyclosporine (CsA), which inhibits stimulus-induced NF-κB transcriptional activity, selectively inhibits the stimulus-induced c-Rel nuclear localization and the rapid formation and degradation of c-Rel–IκBα complexes in the cytosol. CsA also inhibits both the prolonged, high rate of IκBα degradation and the lower level of IκBβ turnover during the second phase of the activation response. Together, these results suggest a mechanism by which signals from the T-cell antigen receptor and either CD28 or IL-1 synergistically regulate IL-2 gene transcription by modulating NF-κB nuclear translocation.
Prognostic Value of Yes-Associated Protein 1 (YAP1) in Various Cancers: A Meta-Analysis

Background Yes-associated protein 1 (YAP1) is an effector of Hippo pathway, which is critical for regulating organ size, cell proliferation and tumor growth in mammals. Many previous studies have explored the relationship between YAP1 and various types of cancer. However, these studies were limited by the small samples size and the findings were inconsistent among them. Therefore, a meta-analysis was conducted to assess the association between YAP1 and malignancies. Methods A systematic literature search was conducted for eligible studies in the PubMed, Corchane Library, Web of Knowledge, EMBASE and CBM disc databases from inception to August 1st 2014. After heterogeneity analysis, pooled harzad ratio (HR) with 95% confidence interval (95%CI) using both fixed and random effect models were estimated in STATA 10.0. Meta regression analysis, subgroup analysis and sensitivity analysis were performed to explore the potential sources of heterogeneity and to evaluate the robustness of the result. Publication bias was assessed by Egger’s test and funnel plot. Results A total of 21 unique articles from 2009 to 2014, comprising 2983 patients, were analyzed in the meta-analysis. The association of YAP1 expression and overall survival time (OS) was evaluated in 20 studies including 2067 patients. Positive YAP1 showed poorer OS (HR = 1.826; 95% CI = 1.465–2.275; p <0.002). For evaluating disease-free survival time (DFS), 10 studies with 1139 patients were analyzed. Positive YAP1 indicated worse DFS (HR = 2.114; 95%CI = 1.406–3.179; p <0.001). Subgroup analysis showed that both positive nuclear YAP1 (HR = 1.390, 95% CI: 0.810–2.400, p = 0.729) and up-regulation overall YAP1 (HR = 2.237, 95% CI: 1.548–3.232, p <0.001) had poorer OS for patients with malignancies. Similarly, both positive nuclear YAP1 (HR = 3.733, 95% CI: 1.469–9.483, p = 0.001) and up-regulation overall YAP1 (HR = 1.481, 95% CI: 1.163–1.886, p = 0.554) showed worse DFS. The patients with urogenital system cancer had the poorest OS (HR = 2.133, 95% CI: 1.549–2.937, p = 0.020). The patients with alimentary system cancer had the most significant impact on DFS (HR = 1.879, 95% CI: 1.537–2.297, p <0.001). Conclusion Both overall and nuclear YAP1 overexpression are intimately associated with adverse OS and DFS in numerous cancers, suggesting that YAP1 may act as a potential therapeutic targets of these malignancies in the future.
On Analyzing Circadian Rhythms Data Using Nonlinear Mixed Models with Harmonic Terms

Summary Wang, Ke, and Brown (2003, Biometrics59, 804–812) developed a smoothing‐based approach for modeling circadian rhythms with random effects. Their approach is flexible in that fixed and random covariates can affect both the amplitude and phase shift of a nonparametrically smoothed periodic function. In motivating their approach, Wang et al. stated that a simple sinusoidal function is too restrictive. In addition, they stated that “although adding harmonics can improve the fit, it is difficult to decide how many harmonics to include in the model, and the results are difficult to interpret. ” We disagree with the notion that harmonic models cannot be a useful tool in modeling longitudinal circadian rhythm data. In this note, we show how nonlinear mixed models with harmonic terms allow for a simple and flexible alternative to Wang et al.'s approach. We show how to choose the number of harmonics using penalized likelihood to flexibly model circadian rhythms and to estimate the effect of covariates on the rhythms. We fit harmonic models to the cortisol circadian rhythm data presented by Wang et al. to illustrate our approach. Furthermore, we evaluate the properties of our procedure with a small simulation study. The proposed parametric approach provides an alternative to Wang et al.'s semiparametric approach and has the added advantage of being easy to implement in most statistical software packages.
FIR differentiators for quantized signals

The impact of quantization noise on a signal whose rate is to be estimated using a FIR differentiator is analyzed, concentrating on the important constant-rate case in order that the filter be optimized for systems with low-frequency rates of change. Formulae for the mean-squared error of the filter, the corresponding spectral characteristics, and general formulae governing the filter coefficients are derived. The characteristics of four specific differentiators, including a representative wideband differentiator, are examined and compared. It is shown that a differentiator that is optimum in terms of its attenuation of white noise can also be considered optimum with respect to quantization noise attenuation in certain circumstances. An elegant relationship is derived between worst-case RMS error and the fractional value of the rate at which this error occurs. Minimization of this worst-case mean-squared error is shown to be achieved with a simple differentiator. However, the corresponding average error is poor, and a simple nonlinear filter that minimizes the worst-ease error, while retaining a similar average mean-squared error to that of the "optimum" differentiator, is proposed. The equivalence between FIR differentiators and the decoders used in single-loop sigma-delta modulators is also highlighted.
Studies on ketone metabolism in man. II. The effect of glucose, insulin, cortisone and hypoglycemia on splanchnic ketone production.

We have previously described a technique which utilizes hepatic venous catheterization for the estimation of net splanchnic ketone body production (NSKP) in man (1). In a series of subjects without metabolic abnormality, a small but significant endogenous NSKP was detected in the postabsorptive state, and upon the intravenous administration of a ketone body precursor, sodium octanoate, the NSKP was increased fivefold. The present report concerns the application of this technique to the study of the effects of glucose, insulin, cortisone and hypoglycemia on ketone body production in man.
Long-term tracking of budding yeast cells in brightfield microscopy: CellStar and the Evaluation Platform

With the continuous expansion of single cell biology, the observation of the behaviour of individual cells over extended durations and with high accuracy has become a problem of central importance. Surprisingly, even for yeast cells that have relatively regular shapes, no solution has been proposed that reaches the high quality required for long-term experiments for segmentation and tracking (S&T) based on brightfield images. Here, we present CellStar, a tool chain designed to achieve good performance in long-term experiments. The key features are the use of a new variant of parametrized active rays for segmentation, a neighbourhood-preserving criterion for tracking, and the use of an iterative approach that incrementally improves S&T quality. A graphical user interface enables manual corrections of S&T errors and their use for the automated correction of other, related errors and for parameter learning. We created a benchmark dataset with manually analysed images and compared CellStar with six other tools, showing its high performance, notably in long-term tracking. As a community effort, we set up a website, the Yeast Image Toolkit, with the benchmark and the Evaluation Platform to gather this and additional information provided by others.
Resonant Saturable Absorber Mirrors for Dispersion Control in Ultrafast Lasers

We discuss a concept for incorporating dispersion compensation into a saturable absorber mirror. This integrated device relies on an absorber layer embedded in a resonator structure and can provide negative dispersion of several 1000 fs2, similar to the spectral phase characteristics of a Gires-Tournois interferometer. A similar integration is possible also for semiconductor gain structures, as they are employed in semiconductor disk lasers. We will provide a detailed analysis of the dispersion compensation capacities of our approach, linking dispersion scaling and nonlinear properties of the device. The theoretical part will be illustrated by dispersion measurements on prototypical devices. We believe that our concept paves the way for fully integrated vertical semiconductor femtosecond lasers but may also find numerous applications in solid state lasers and femtosecond fiber lasers
Build It, and They Will Come? Secondary Railways and Population Density in French Algeria

"By the end of the 19th century, the Algerian railway network played a crucial role as an instrument for settlement expansion and colonial control. A growing amount of research shows that railway expansion at this time allowed previously marginalized regions to participate in international trade and thereby boosting growth. Yet few studies point out that it also increased marginalization and reinforced dual economies in areas that did not experience access to the infrastructure or that did not have the required economies to profit from and engage in international markets. This paper looks into the effect of gaining railroad access on the indigenous and settler population density in French Algeria during this period. By taking advantage of unique territorial population data at a sub-municipal level and digitized historical colonization maps in the Constantine region, it measures the effect of gaining railway access in relatively isolated areas – areas in which the infrastructure arrived later – using a differences- in-differences methodology. Results show that the indigenous population responded positively to railroad infrastructure only in those regions where settlers were already located while the settler density did not respond to the infrastructure. To provide an explanation, it then analyzes freight and passenger transport at a more detailed level. In line with literature on Algerian railways, the results suggest that the potential gains were restricted by tariffs, which mirrored Constantine’s difficulty to engage in scale economies due to geographical restrictions, such as the limited fertile land and the vulnerability of agricultural production to climate. "
Association between the T29-->C polymorphism in the transforming growth factor beta1 gene and breast cancer among elderly white women: The Study of Osteoporotic Fractures.

CONTEXT Transgenic animal experiments suggest that increased expression of transforming growth factor beta1 (TGF-beta1) is protective against early tumor development, particularly in breast cancer. A T-->C (thymine to cytosine) transition in the 29th nucleotide in the coding sequence results in a leucine to proline substitution at the 10th amino acid and is associated with increased serum levels of TGF-beta1. OBJECTIVE To determine whether an association exists between this TGF-beta1 polymorphism and breast cancer risk. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS The Study of Osteoporotic Fractures, a prospective cohort study of white, community-dwelling women aged 65 years or older who were recruited at 4 US centers between 1986 and 1988. Three thousand seventy-five women who provided sufficient clinical information, buffy coat samples, and adequate consent for genotyping are included in this analysis. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE Breast cancer cases during a mean (SD) follow-up of 9.3 (1.9) years, verified by medical chart review and compared by genotype. RESULTS Risk of breast cancer was similar in the 1124 women with the T/T genotype (56 cases; 5.4 per 1000 person-years) and the 1493 women with the T/C genotype (80 cases; 5.8 per 1000 person-years) but was significantly lower (P =.01) in the 458 women with the C/C genotype (10 cases; 2.3 per 1000 person-years). In analyses that adjusted for age, age at menarche, age at menopause, estrogen use, parity, body mass index, and bone mineral density, women with the C/C genotype had a significantly lower risk of developing breast cancer compared with women with the T/T or T/C genotype (hazard ratio [HR], 0.36; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.17-0.75). There was no significant difference between the risk for women with the T/C genotype compared with women with the T/T genotype (adjusted HR, 1.04; 95% CI, 0.73-1.48). CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that TGF-beta1 genotype is associated with risk of breast cancer in white women aged 65 years or older. Because the T allele is the common variant and confers an increased risk, it may be associated with a large proportion of breast cancer cases.
Coping Strategies of Southern Italian Women Predict Distress Following Breast Cancer Surgery

The present study was aimed at investigating the role of coping strategies in predicting emotional distress following breast cancer, over and above the illness severity, operationalized in terms of the type of surgery performed. In order to achieve this goal, two groups of newly diagnosed breast cancer women were selected and compared on the basis of the type of surgical treatment received. A subsample of 30 women with quadrantectomy and sentinel lymph-node biopsy (SLNB) and a subsample of 31 patients with mastectomy and axillary dissection (MAD) filled in the Brief Cope scale and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Summarizing, results showed that emotional support, venting, and humor explained a statistically significant increment of variance in psychological distress indices. Implication for clinical practice and future research were discussed.
User modeling for point-of-interest recommendations in location-based social networks: the state-of-the-art

The rapid growth of location-based services(LBSs)has greatly enriched people's urban lives and attracted millions of users in recent years. Location-based social networks(LBSNs)allow users to check-in at a physical location and share daily tips on points-of-interest (POIs) with their friends anytime and anywhere. Such check-in behavior can make daily real-life experiences spread quickly through the Internet. Moreover, such check-in data in LBSNs can be fully exploited to understand the basic laws of human daily movement and mobility. This paper focuses on reviewing the taxonomy of user modeling for POI recommendations through the data analysis of LBSNs. First, we briefly introduce the structure and data characteristics of LBSNs,then we present a formalization of user modeling for POI recommendations in LBSNs. Depending on which type of LBSNs data was fully utilized in user modeling approaches for POI recommendations, we divide user modeling algorithms into four categories: pure check-in data-based user modeling, geographical information-based user modeling, spatio-temporal information-based user modeling, and geo-social information-based user modeling. Finally,summarizing the existing works, we point out the future challenges and new directions in five possible aspects
Differences between diabetes patients who are interested or not in the use of a patient Web portal.

OBJECTIVE A patient Web portal allows patients to access their personal health record through the Internet. It may improve diabetes outcomes, but the adoption is unsatisfactory. We examined the differences between patients with and without a login in order to optimize its use. PATIENTS AND METHODS A survey was conducted among patients from 62 general practices and one outpatient clinic that all use a diabetes Web portal. Between November 2011 and March 2012 questionnaires were sent to 1,500 patients with and 3,000 patients without a login. Patient groups were stratified according to type of diabetes. Demographic and diabetes-related variables were analyzed with multivariable regression analysis. RESULTS The total response rate was 67%. Fewer than 50% of the patients did request a login. Among 128 patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus, those with a login (89.8%) were younger and more frequently treated by an internist. In 1,262 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, fewer patients had a log-in (41.0%), and the likelihood of having a login was independently associated with younger age, male gender, higher educational level, treatment by an internist, longer duration of diabetes, and polypharmacy (all P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS Patients with type 1 diabetes request a login more frequently than patients with type 2 diabetes, and patients with a login are strikingly different than patients without. The healthcare provider seems to play an important role in patients' Web utilization. Simply promoting use of electronic healthcare methods does not make sense. It is important to address disparities between patient groups to optimize the use of a Web portal.
Small bowel resection rates in Crohn's disease and the indication for surgery over time: Experience from a large tertiary care center

Background:Our primary aim was to determine if the rate of small bowel resection (SBR) has declined over time among Crohn's disease (CD) patients seen at a single academic institution. A secondary aim was to establish whether the indication for surgery has changed. Methods:Patients with a primary or secondary ICD‐9 code for CD (555.0–555.9) who underwent SBR at the University of Pittsburgh were included. Patients were divided into 4 separate time periods based on when they had surgery: 1995–1998 (Period 1), 1999–2001 (Period 2), 2002–2004 (Period 3), and 2005–2007 (Period 4). Medical records were reviewed for the 6 months preceding surgery. Use of 5‐ASAs, immunomodulators (IMs), tumor necrosis factor (TNF) antagonists, and corticosteroids were noted. Disease behavior was defined as nonstricturing, nonpenetrating (B1), stricturing (B2), and penetrating (B3). Proportions of patients undergoing SBR were calculated according to calendar cohort and these rates were examined for time trends. Results:In all, 227 unique patients were analyzed for a total of 236 surgeries. The rates of 5‐ASA, IM, and corticosteroid use were similar across the 4 time periods. By contrast, TNF antagonist usage progressively increased over time (0%, 18%, 34%, 35%; P = 0.0002). The annual rate of SBR per period did not change (1.6%, 1.9%, 1.6%, 1.9%; P = 0.93). Similarly, the disease behavior did not change over time. Conclusions:While the frequency of TNF antagonist use in CD at the University of Pittsburgh has increased over time, the rate of SBR and indication for surgery has remained unchanged. These findings may be explained by long‐standing, complicated disease refractory to medical therapy. Inflamm Bowel Dis 2009
Testing Sleeping Bags According to EN 13537:2002: Details That Make the Difference

The European Standard on sleeping bag requirements (EN 13537:2002) describes a procedure to determine environmental temperature limits for safe usage of sleeping bags regarding their thermal insulation. However, there are several possible sources of error related to this procedure. The main aim of this work was to determine the influence of the various measuring parameters on the acuity of the respective parameters in order to judge the requirements. The results indicated that air velocity, mattress insulation and time between unpacking the bag and measurement had a significant impact on the result, with a difference of up to 5–15% in thermal insulation between minimum and maximum allowable parameter levels. On the other hand, manikin weight, thickness of the artificial ground and presence of a face mask were found to have a negligible influence. The article also discusses more general aspects of the standard including the calculation methods used.