Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Free-paced high-performance brain–computer interfaces

Neural prostheses aim to improve the quality of life of severely disabled patients by translating neural activity into control signals for guiding prosthetic devices or computer cursors. We recently demonstrated that plan activity from premotor cortex, which specifies the endpoint of the upcoming arm movement, can be used to swiftly and accurately guide computer cursors to the desired target locations. However, these systems currently require additional, non-neural information to specify when plan activity is present. We report here the design and performance of state estimator algorithms for automatically detecting the presence of plan activity using neural activity alone. Prosthesis performance was nearly as good when state estimation was used as when perfect plan timing information was provided separately (∼5 percentage points lower, when using 200 ms of plan activity). These results strongly suggest that a completely neurally-driven high-performance brain–computer interface is possible.
Transactive Memory Systems, Conflict, Size and Performance in Teams

Drawing on transactive memory theory, we propose that transactive memory systems (TMS) operate as a meta-resource that enhances team performance directly by generating resource surpluses and indirectly by diminishing the unnecessary expenditure of resources on intermember conflict. We also propose that -this mediated relationship is moderated by team size. In conceptualizing TMS as a meta-resource, we advance a theoretical model which posits a critical role for TMS in preventing resource losses stemming from dysfunctional member interactions. This model also helps to explain the performance benefits observed in previous TMS research and the boundary conditions exerted by group size.
Lemons and Trust: the Contribution of Anesthesia to the Study of the Neural Substrates of Concrete and Abstract Word Processing

11 CHAPTER 1. CONCRETE AND ABSTRACT WORD PROCESSING 13 1.1 THEORETICAL MODELS TO EXPLAIN THE CONCRETENESS EFFECT 14 1.1.1 Dual Coding Theory (DCT) 15 1.1.2 Context Availability Theory 17 1.1.3 Conclusion 20 1.2 CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL DATA 20 1.2.1 Neuropsychological studies 21 1.2. 3 Neuroimaging studies 24 1.2. 2 Event-related potential (ERP) studies 28 1.2. 4 Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) 30 1.2. 5 Conclusion 32 1.3 THE REVERSAL OF THE CONCRETENESS EFFECT CHALLENGES CLASSICAL THEORIES 33 CHAPTER 2. RETENTION WITHOUT REMEMBERING. IMPLICIT MEMORY AND ANAESTHESIA 39 2.1 IMPLICIT MEMORY, PRIMING AND WORD STEM COMPLETION 40 2.1.
The Superiority of Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation Over Chemotherapy Alone in the Treatment of Acute Myeloid Leukemia Patients with Mixed Lineage Leukemia (MLL) Rearrangements

Background Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients with mixed lineage leukemia (MLL) gene rearrangements always had a very poor prognosis. In this study, we report the incidence of MLL rearrangements in AML patients using gene analysis, as well as the clinical significance and prognostic features of these rearrangements. Material/Methods This retrospective study took place from April 2008 to November 2011 in the People’s Liberation Army General Hospital. A total 433 AML patients were screened by multiple nested reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to determine the incidence of the 11 MLL gene rearrangements. There were 68 cases of MLL gene rearrangements, for a positive rate of 15.7%. A total of 24 patients underwent allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (Allo-HSCT), and 34 patients received at least 4 cycles of chemotherapy. Ten patients were lost to follow-up. Results The median follow-up was 29 months. The complete remission (CR) rate was 85.4%. The overall survival (OS) was 57.4±5.9 months for the Allo-HSCT group and 21.0±2.1 months for the chemotherapy group. The Allo-HSCT group had superior survival compared with the chemotherapy group (5-year OS: 59±17% vs. 13±8%, P<0.01; 5-year disease-free survival [DFS]: 65±10% vs. 40±16%, P>0.05). Multivariate analysis showed that transplantation, platelets >50×109/L at onset, and CR are associated with a better OS in MLL rearranged AML patients. Patients with thrombocytopenia and extramedullary involvement were prone to relapse. Conclusions Our results suggest that Allo-HSCT is superior to chemotherapy alone for treating MLL rearranged AML patients. Patients treated with Allo-HSCT have a better prognosis and a longer survival. CR is an independent prognostic factor for OS, and extramedullary involvement is an independent prognostic factor for DFS. MLL rearranged AML patients with thrombocytopenia at onset <50×109 had very bad OS and DFS.
The influence of size and coverage on test suite effectiveness

We study the relationship between three properties of test suites: size, structural coverage, and fault-finding effectiveness. In particular, we study the question of whether achieving high coverage leads directly to greater effectiveness, or only indirectly through forcing a test suite to be larger. Our experiments indicate that coverage is sometimes correlated with effectiveness when size is controlled for, and that using both size and coverage yields a more accurate prediction of effectiveness than size alone. This in turn suggests that both size and coverage are important to test suite effectiveness. Our experiments also indicate that no linear relationship exists among the three variables of size, coverage and effectiveness, but that a nonlinear relationship does exist.
The DART Imaging And CaT Survey of the Fornax Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy

Aims. As part of the DART project we have used the ESO ESO/2.2m Wide Field Imager in conjunction with the VLT/FLAMES(star star) GIRAFFE spectrograph to study the detailed properties of the resolved stellar population of the Fornax dwarf spheroidal galaxy out to and beyond its tidal radius. Fornax dwarf spheroidal galaxy has had a complicated evolution and contains significant numbers of young, intermediate age and old stars. We investigate the relation between these different components by studying their photometric, kinematic and abundance distributions. Methods. We re-derived the structural parameters of the Fornax dwarf spheroidal using our wide field imaging covering the galaxy out to its tidal radius, and analysed the spatial distribution of the Fornax stars of different ages as selected from colour-magnitude diagram analysis. We have obtained accurate velocities and metetallicities from spectra in the Ca II triplet wavelength region for 562 Red Giant Branch stars which have velocities consistent with membership of the Fornax dwarf spheroidal. Results. We have found evidence for the presence of at least three distinct stellar components: a young population ( few 100 Myr old) concentrated in the centre of the galaxy, visible as a Main Sequence in the colour-magnitude diagram; an intermediate age population ( 2-8 Gyr old); and an ancient population ( (> 10 Gyr), which are distinguish distinguishable from each other kinematically, from the metallicity, distribution and in the spatial distribution of stars found in the colour-magnitude diagram. Conclusions. From our spectroscopic analysis we find that the "metal rich" stars ([Fe/H] > -1.3) show a less extended and more concentrated spatial distribution, and display colder kinematics than the "metal poor" stars ([Fe/H] <-1.3). There is tentative evidence that the ancient stellar population in the centre of Fornax does not exhibit equilibrium kinematics. This could be a sign of a relatively recent accretion of external material, such as the mer merger of another galaxy or other means of gas accretion at some point in the fairly recent past, consistent with other recent evidence of substructure ( Coleman et al. 2004, AJ, 127, 832; 2005, AJ, 129, 1443).
Recovery of sparse signals from amplitude-limited sample sets

Motivated by the compelling application of interference mitigation at wideband receivers in wireless communication and sensing systems, we consider the recovery of a frequency-sparse signal from samples of small magnitude. The standard ℓ1-norm minimization results in an inadequate signal-dependent recovery performance, and hence we introduce three techniques to improve the quality of recovery. The performance of each of these three techniques is characterized through numerical simulations, from which we conclude that each of the proposed techniques show the promise of substantially improving recovery performance.
The Impact of Physical Activity on Sleep during Pregnancy: A Secondary Analysis

Disturbed sleep is independently associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes. The primary aim of this research which tested Pender’s Model of Health Promotion was to evaluate the contribution of physical activity (PA) to sleep parameters in pregnant women, with pre-pregnant body mass index (BMI) as a confounder. Sleep and physical activity data were drawn from a parent study in which 29 sedentary women in the second trimester were enrolled in an 8-week PA intervention pilot study and randomly assigned to intervention or control group. Steps per day, as measured by pedometer, and sleep parameters (sleep onset latency [SOL], wake time after sleep onset [WASO], sleep duration, and sleep quality), obtained from sleep diaries, were used to evaluate the daily interaction between PA levels and sleep. Hierarchical linear modelling (HLM) was used for analysis, as data were nested within persons. Pre-pregnant BMI contributed negatively to PA levels (p=0.003). PA levels were positively predictive (p=0.037) of sleep onset latency (SOL) and negatively predictive (p=0.01) of sleep quality, demonstrating a negative effect of PA on sleep during pregnancy when measured daily. These results confirm results from the only other published study that looked at daily measures, but contradict findings from other studies that evaluated the PA level-sleep relationship over a week or month. Both PA and sleep are modifiable factors that affect pregnancy outcomes. Further studies are needed to understand the complex relationship between PA, sleep, and weight in pregnancy.
Libby amphibole‐induced mesothelial cell autoantibodies bind to surface plasminogen and alter collagen matrix remodeling

Lamellar pleural thickening (LPT) is a fibrotic disease induced by exposure to Libby amphibole (LA) asbestos that causes widespread scarring around the lung, resulting in deterioration of pulmonary function. Investigating the effects of autoantibodies to mesothelial cells (MCAA) present in the study populations has been a major part of the effort to understand the mechanism of pathogenesis. It has been shown in vitro that human mesothelial cells (Met5a) exposed to MCAA increase collagen deposition into the extracellular matrix (ECM). In this study, we sought to further elucidate how MCAA drive increased collagen deposition by identifying the protein targets bound by MCAA on the cellular surface using biotinylation to label and isolate surface proteins. Isolated surface protein fractions were identified as containing MCAA targets using ELISA. The fractions that demonstrated binding by MCAA were then analyzed by tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) and MASCOT analysis. The most promising result from the MASCOT analysis, plasminogen (PLG), was tested for MCAA binding using purified human PLG in an ELISA. We report that serum containing MCAA bound at an optical density (OD) 3 times greater than that of controls, and LA‐exposed subjects had a high frequency of positive tests for anti‐PLG autoantibodies. This work implicates the involvement of the plasminogen/plasmin system in the mechanism of excess collagen deposition in Met5a cells exposed to MCAA. Elucidating this mechanism could contribute to the understanding of LPT.
Subcluster Merger and Galaxy Infall in A2151

We have obtained a 12.5 ksec image of the Hercules Cluster, A2151, with the {\it ROSAT} PSPC. Comparison of the optical and X-ray data suggest the presence of at least three distinct subclusters in A2151. The brightest X-ray emission coincides with the highest-density peak in the galaxy distribution, and is bimodal. The northern subclump, distinct in position and velocity, has {\it no} detectable X-ray gas. The eastern subclump, apparent in the optical contour map, is indistinguishable from the main clump in velocity space but is clearly visible in the X-ray image. X-ray spectra derived from the central peak of emission yield a best-fit temperature of 1.6 keV. The emission coincident with the eastern clump of galaxies is cooler, 0.8 keV, and is outside the 90\% confidence intervals of the central peak temperature. We suggest that the eastern and central subclusters have recently undergone a merger event. The lack of X-ray emission to the north suggests that those galaxies do not form a physically-distinct structure (i.e. they are not located within a distinct gravitational potential), but rather that they are falling into the cluster core along the filament defined by the Hercules Supercluster.
Microfilament Depolymerization Is a Pre-requisite for Stem Cell Formation During In vitro Shoot Regeneration in Arabidopsis

De novo shoot regeneration is widely used in fundamental studies and agricultural applications. Actin microfilaments are involved in many aspects of plant cell division, cell morphogenesis and cell signal transduction. However, the function of actin microfilaments during de novo shoot regeneration is poorly understood. Here, we investigated the organization of actin microfilaments during this process and found that stem cell formation was associated with microfilament depolymerization. Furthermore, inhibition of microfilament depolymerization by phalloidin treatment or downregulation of actin depolymerizing factors (ADFs) restrained stem cell initiation and shoot regeneration. Inhibition of ADF expression affected the architecture of microfilaments during stem cell formation, and the polar transport and distribution of auxin were also disrupted. Together, our results demonstrate that organization of the microfilament cytoskeleton play important roles in stem cell formation and shoot meristem induction during shoot regeneration.
Gene and translation initiation site prediction in metagenomic sequences

MOTIVATION Gene prediction in metagenomic sequences remains a difficult problem. Current sequencing technologies do not achieve sufficient coverage to assemble the individual genomes in a typical sample; consequently, sequencing runs produce a large number of short sequences whose exact origin is unknown. Since these sequences are usually smaller than the average length of a gene, algorithms must make predictions based on very little data. RESULTS We present MetaProdigal, a metagenomic version of the gene prediction program Prodigal, that can identify genes in short, anonymous coding sequences with a high degree of accuracy. The novel value of the method consists of enhanced translation initiation site identification, ability to identify sequences that use alternate genetic codes and confidence values for each gene call. We compare the results of MetaProdigal with other methods and conclude with a discussion of future improvements. AVAILABILITY The Prodigal software is freely available under the General Public License from http://code.google. com/p/prodigal/.
Survival after Abdominoperineal and Sphincter-Preserving Resection in Nonmetastatic Rectal Cancer: A Population-Based Time-Trend and Propensity Score-Matched SEER Analysis

Background. Abdominoperineal resection (APR) has been associated with impaired survival in nonmetastatic rectal cancer patients. It is unclear whether this adverse outcome is due to the surgical procedure itself or is a consequence of tumor-related characteristics. Study Design. Patients were identified from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database. The impact of APR compared to coloanal anastomosis (CAA) on survival was assessed by Cox regression and propensity-score matching. Results. In 36,488 patients with rectal cancer resection, the APR rate declined from 31.8% in 1998 to 19.2% in 2011, with a significant trend change in 2004 at 21.6% (P < 0.001). To minimize a potential time-trend bias, survival analysis was limited to patients diagnosed after 2004. APR was associated with an increased risk of cancer-specific mortality after unadjusted analysis (HR = 1.61, 95% CI: 1.28–2.03, P < 0.01) and multivariable adjustment (HR = 1.39, 95% CI: 1.10–1.76, P < 0.01). After optimal adjustment of highly biased patient characteristics by propensity-score matching, APR was not identified as a risk factor for cancer-specific mortality (HR = 0.85, 95% CI: 0.56–1.29, P = 0.456). Conclusions. The current propensity score-adjusted analysis provides evidence that worse oncological outcomes in patients undergoing APR compared to CAA are caused by different patient characteristics and not by the surgical procedure itself.
ACUTE IMMUNE COMPLEX DISEASE IN RABBITS

By depletion of C3 from rabbits undergoing acute experimental immune complex disease with an anticomplementary factor in cobra venom, it has been possible to demonstrate that deposition of the complexes in arteries and glomeruli does not require the complement components reacting after C2. Immunological reactions, in which platelets release their vasoactive amines, have been examined in rabbits undergoing immune complex disease. A correlation was obtained between the presence of a complement-independent reaction which required blood leukocytes, antigen and platelets, the deposition of immune complexes, and the induction of glomerulonephritis. C3 depletion did, however, have a marked alleviating effect on the severity of the arterial lesions. Neutrophil accumulation and the subsequent necrotizing arteritis were prevented. In contrast, the character and severity of the glomerulonephritis was not altered by depletion of later-acting complement components.
Analysis of λ = 6 cm VLBI polarization observations of a complete sample of northern BL Lacertae objects

The results of very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) total intensity (I) and linear polarization (P) observations at are presented for 10 radio bright BL Lacertae objects. These images complete first-epoch polarization observations for the 1-Jy sample of northern BL Lacertae objects defined by Kuhr & Schmidt. Estimates of superluminal speeds are presented for several sources, bringing the total number of sources in the sample for which such estimates are available to 16. Second-epoch observations currently being reduced should yield speed estimates for VLBI features in essentially all the sources in the sample. The jet magnetic fields of these BL Lacertae objects are usually transverse to the local jet direction, but a sizeable minority (about 30 per cent) have VLBI jet components with longitudinal magnetic fields. This may suggest that the conditions in the VLBI jets of BL Lacertae objects are favourable for the formation of relativistic shocks; alternatively, it may be that the toroidal component of the intrinsic jet magnetic field is characteristically dominant in these sources.
Students’ and Parents’ Perceptions of Disciplinary Policy: Does Symbolic Representation Matter?

This article examines the effects of symbolic representation and strict disciplinary policy on how students and their parents perceive school discipline. We use data from the 2011-2012 New York City School Survey, combined with data on disciplinary actions from the Office of Civil Rights. Our results suggest that strict disciplinary actions send negative messages to students and their parents about school discipline. We find that as more strict disciplinary actions are administered within a school, students are less likely to perceive discipline as fair or legitimate. The negative effects of disciplinary actions, however, tend to be smaller in schools for which there is a closer racial match between students and teachers and, consequently, a greater likelihood of symbolic representation. We also find that passive representation influences parents’ attitudes toward school discipline in their children’s schools.
Adaptive Multiple Importance Sampling

Abstract. The Adaptive Multiple Importance Sampling algorithm is aimed at an optimal recycling of past simulations in an iterated importance sampling (IS) scheme. The difference with earlier adaptive IS implementations like Population Monte Carlo is that the importance weights of all simulated values, past as well as present, are recomputed at each iteration, following the technique of the deterministic multiple mixture estimator of Owen & Zhou (J. Amer. Statist. Assoc., 95, 2000, 135). Although the convergence properties of the algorithm cannot be investigated, we demonstrate through a challenging banana shape target distribution and a population genetics example that the improvement brought by this technique is substantial.
Students Academic Progress Analysis at the Escola Politècnica Superior of the Universitat de les Illes Balears: Background implications

In this work, the influence of the background of the University students is analyzed. In particular how the average mark of the students affects their academic progress. An anonymously collected data analysis is performed, Among these data are the number of European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) enrolled, the mark exams, average mark exams, access type, etc. Conclusions of each considered degree are presented at the end of the work.
Postendocytotic sorting of the ligand for the polymeric immunoglobulin receptor in Madin-Darby canine kidney cells

The polymeric immunoglobulin receptor (pIg-R) is responsible for the receptor-mediated transcytosis of polymeric immunoglobulins (IgA and IgM) across various epithelia. We have expressed the cDNA for the pIg-R in Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells and found that this system mimics that found in vivo (Mostov, K. E., and D. L. Deitcher. 1986. Cell. 46:613-621). We have now investigated the postendocytotic pathway of the ligand for the pIg-R. After a 5-min internalization at the basolateral surface, approximately 45% of internalized ligand recycles to the basolateral medium and 30% is transcytosed to the apical medium. We have also examined why transcytosis of ligand is unidirectional, going only from basolateral to apical, but not from apical to basolateral. Several factors could explain this, such as proteolytic cleavage of the pIg-R at the apical surface, decreased apical endocytosis of ligand, or an intracellular sorting event. In this report, we show that the protease inhibitor, leupeptin, inhibits the cleavage of the pIg-R but does not alter the unidirectionality of transcytosis. In addition, we demonstrate that there is a significant amount of apical endocytosis of ligand (70% of that observed basolaterally). Finally, we demonstrate that apically endocytosed ligand can return only to the apical surface. Thus, once ligand reaches the apical surface, it is "trapped" and cannot return to the basolateral surface. We propose that the unidirectionality of transcytosis is the result of intracellular sorting, and that this results from a signal(s) present on the pIg-R.