Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Multisensory integration in the basal ganglia

Sensorimotor co‐ordination in mammals is achieved predominantly via the activity of the basal ganglia. To investigate the underlying multisensory information processing, we recorded the neuronal responses in the caudate nucleus (CN) and substantia nigra (SN) of anaesthetized cats to visual, auditory or somatosensory stimulation alone and also to their combinations, i.e. multisensory stimuli. The main goal of the study was to ascertain whether multisensory information provides more information to the neurons than do the individual sensory components. A majority of the investigated SN and CN multisensory units exhibited significant cross–modal interactions. The multisensory response enhancements were either additive or superadditive; multisensory response depressions were also detected. CN and SN cells with facilitatory and inhibitory interactions were found in each multisensory combination. The strengths of the multisensory interactions did not differ in the two structures. A significant inverse correlation was found between the strengths of the best unimodal responses and the magnitudes of the multisensory response enhancements, i.e. the neurons with the weakest net unimodal responses exhibited the strongest enhancement effects. The onset latencies of the responses of the integrative CN and SN neurons to the multisensory stimuli were significantly shorter than those to the unimodal stimuli. These results provide evidence that the multisensory CN and SN neurons, similarly to those in the superior colliculus and related structures, have the ability to integrate multisensory information. Multisensory integration may help in the effective processing of sensory events and the changes in the environment during motor actions controlled by the basal ganglia.
Mechanisms Underlying Age- and Performance-related Differences in Working Memory

This study took advantage of the subsecond temporal resolution of ERPs to investigate mechanisms underlying age- and performance-related differences in working memory. Young and old subjects participated in a verbal n-back task with three levels of difficulty. Each group was divided into high and low performers based on accuracy under the 2-back condition. Both old subjects and low-performing young subjects exhibited impairments in preliminary mismatch/match detection operations (indexed by the anterior N2 component). This may have undermined the quality of information available for the subsequent decision-making process (indexed by the P3 component), necessitating the appropriation of more resources. Additional anterior and right hemisphere activity was recruited by old subjects. Neural efficiency and the capacity to allocate more resources to decision-making differed between high and low performers in both age groups. Under low demand conditions, high performers executed the task utilizing fewer resources than low performers (indexed by the P3 amplitude). As task requirements increased, high-performing young and old subjects were able to appropriate additional resources to decision-making, whereas their low-performing counterparts allocated fewer resources. Higher task demands increased utilization of processing capacity for operations other than decision-making (e.g., sustained attention) that depend upon a shared pool of limited resources. As demands increased, all groups allocated additional resources to the process of sustaining attention (indexed by the posterior slow wave). Demands appeared to have exceeded capacity in low performers, leading to a reduction of resources available to the decision-making process, which likely contributed to a decline in performance.
Metabolic Stress Responses in Drosophila Are Modulated by Brain Neurosecretory Cells That Produce Multiple Neuropeptides

In Drosophila, neurosecretory cells that release peptide hormones play a prominent role in the regulation of development, growth, metabolism, and reproduction. Several types of peptidergic neurosecretory cells have been identified in the brain of Drosophila with release sites in the corpora cardiaca and anterior aorta. We show here that in adult flies the products of three neuropeptide precursors are colocalized in five pairs of large protocerebral neurosecretory cells in two clusters (designated ipc-1 and ipc-2a): Drosophila tachykinin (DTK), short neuropeptide F (sNPF) and ion transport peptide (ITP). These peptides were detected by immunocytochemistry in combination with GFP expression driven by the enhancer trap Gal4 lines c929 and Kurs-6, both of which are expressed in ipc-1 and 2a cells. This mix of colocalized peptides with seemingly unrelated functions is intriguing and prompted us to initiate analysis of the function of the ten neurosecretory cells. We investigated the role of peptide signaling from large ipc-1 and 2a cells in stress responses by monitoring the effect of starvation and desiccation in flies with levels of DTK or sNPF diminished by RNA interference. Using the Gal4-UAS system we targeted the peptide knockdown specifically to ipc-1 and 2a cells with the c929 and Kurs-6 drivers. Flies with reduced DTK or sNPF levels in these cells displayed decreased survival time at desiccation and starvation, as well as increased water loss at desiccation. Our data suggest that homeostasis during metabolic stress requires intact peptide signaling by ipc-1 and 2a neurosecretory cells.
Clinical Supervision: An Intensive Case Study

We used a rigorous case study methodology to examine one supervisory dyad's work together during one semester. We used the "best-worst" strategy of several recent researchers, multiple sources of qualitative and quantitative process data, and the perspectives both of the participants and of observers. A number of findings provide hypotheses to guide future research. For example. Session 2 was identified as best by both participants. That it focused on relationship issues between the participants is consistent with other findings that the supervisor-supervisee relationship was a primary focus during the first several supervisory sessions. Despite its shortcomings, the science of counseling and psychotherapy rests on a solid empirical foundation. Yet the same is not true for the science of clinical supervision, which is still very much in its infancy. In commenting on this, Holloway and Hosford (1983) observed that scientific endeavor progresses through a series of stages, the first of which is observing a phenomenon in its natural environment. They maintained that observation should be the proper research emphasis at this particular stage of the science of supervision. At first glance, this prescription would seem inappropriate, for observational data are amply represented in the supervision literature. For example, Searles (1955) used case material to introduce a phenomenon that others since have called parallel processes; Markowitz (1958) presented a retrospective, comparative account of supervision that he received from each of several supervisors; and Mueller and Kell (1972) used observations of supervision for their rich formulations of supervisory processes. The supervision literature is replete with such examples.
Migrating Birds and Tickborne Encephalitis Virus

During spring and autumn 2001, we screened 13,260 migrating birds at Ottenby Bird Observatory, Sweden, and found 3.4% were infested with ticks. Four birds, each a different passerine species, carried tickborne encephalitis virus (TBEV)–infected ticks (Ixodes ricinus). Migrating birds may play a role in the geographic dispersal of TBEV-infected ticks.
Change in LDL particle size is associated with change in plasma triglyceride concentration.

Low density lipoprotein (LDL) particle size is inversely associated with plasma triglyceride concentration in cross-sectional analyses. In the present study, changes in the LDL particle size of 227 participants of the Framingham Offspring Study were analyzed longitudinally by nondenaturing gradient gel electrophoresis at two examinations that were separated by 3-4 years. All subjects had triglyceride concentrations < 400 mg/dl at both exams. Using laser scanning densitometry to assess mean LDL particle size, 56% of samples displayed a change in size: 41% had a one-band size change, 13% had a two-band change, and 2% had a three-band change. These changes in size corresponded to a 15% change in pattern type, based on pattern A and B terminology. There was a significant inverse association between change in LDL size and change in triglyceride (p < 0.0001) and glucose (p < 0.004) concentrations, body weight (p < 0.02), and age (p < 0.03). There was also a significant positive association with change in high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol concentration (p < 0.0001). Change in LDL cholesterol concentration, as calculated by use of the Friedewald formula, however, showed no significant association with change in LDL size (p < 0.9). There was also no significant association with change in smoking or blood pressure, but there was a nonsignificant inverse trend associated with alcohol intake (p < 0.08). (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Constrained spectrum control using MPC

Well-known model predictive control (MPC) theory for constrained linear time-invariant (LTI) systems is extended to accommodate hard constraints and cost penalizations on the spectra of the system's output trajectories. Thus the proposed method facilitates enforcing constraints, and placing weights, on the harmonic content of input-, state- and output-trajectories, in addition to the usual constrained control objectives. The proposed methods are demonstrated by the example problem of reducing torsional vibrations in a drive-shaft.
Metabolic syndrome and pre‐diabetes contribute to racial disparities in breast cancer outcomes: hypothesis and proposed pathways

Women with obesity and type 2 diabetes (T2D) are at greater risk of dying from breast cancer than women without these conditions. Obesity and T2D are associated with insulin resistance and endogenous hyperinsulinemia and are more common in Black women. There is increasing disparity in breast cancer mortality between Black and White women in the USA. We hypothesize that insulin resistance and endogenous hyperinsulinemia in Black women with breast cancer contribute to their greater breast cancer mortality and are associated with increased insulin receptor signalling in tumours.
Apoptotic Pathways Are Inhibited by Leptin Receptor Activation in Neutrophils1

Leptin regulates food intake as well as metabolic, endocrine, and immune functions. It exerts proliferative and antiapoptotic activities in a variety of cell types, including T cells. Leptin also stimulates macrophages and neutrophils, and its production is increased during inflammation. In this study, we demonstrate that human neutrophils express leptin surface receptors under in vitro and in vivo conditions, and that leptin delays apoptosis of mature neutrophils in vitro. The antiapoptotic effects of leptin were concentration dependent and blocked by an anti-leptin receptor mAb. The efficacy of leptin to block neutrophil apoptosis was similar to G-CSF. Using pharmacological inhibitors, we obtained evidence that leptin initiates a signaling cascade involving PI3K- and MAPK-dependent pathways in neutrophils. Moreover, leptin delayed the cleavage of Bid and Bax, the mitochondrial release of cytochrome c and second mitochondria-derived activator of caspase, as well as the activation of both caspase-8 and caspase-3 in these cells. Taken together, leptin is a survival cytokine for human neutrophils, a finding with potential pathologic relevance in inflammatory diseases.
The LINPACK Benchmark: past, present and future

This paper describes the LINPACK Benchmark and some of its variations commonly used to assess the performance of computer systems. Aside from the LINPACK Benchmark suite, the TOP500 and the HPL codes are presented. The latter is frequently used to obtained results for TOP500 submissions. Information is also given on how to interpret the results of the benchmark and how the results fit into the performance evaluation process. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Resilience and trajectories of posttraumatic stress among youth exposed to disaster.

OBJECTIVE Multiple trajectories of posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptoms are hypothesized following disaster in a number of theoretical perspectives. Increasingly, those with rapidly declining, transient, or stable low symptoms are defined as resilient. This article examines trajectories to understand acute reactions to disaster, and explores the need to define resilience as more than just symptom trajectories. METHODS An urban school-based sample of youth exposed to both hurricanes Katrina and Gustav (n=141; grades 4 through 8) were assessed for PTS symptoms at 12 months and 6 months pre-Gustav (Times 1 and 2); and then again at 1 month post-Gustav (Time 3). RESULTS Data indicated that there were significant decreases in mean PTS symptoms post-Gustav, but individual trajectories were identified consistent with theory. Whereas an ostensibly resilient group was identified (stable low symptoms), results suggest that the group was heterogeneous in terms of disaster experiences, and that those with low symptoms but relatively high Katrina disaster exposure had a unique coping style. CONCLUSIONS Results provide prospective data to support theories of multiple trauma exposure trajectories, and highlight the importance of empirically identifying resilient youth in terms of both functioning and level of risk exposure in disaster samples.
Impact of Human Factors on Clinical Protocol Performance: A Proposed Assessment Framework and Case Examples

Background: Hyperglycemia is prevalent in critical care and tight control can save lives. Current ad-hoc clinical protocols require significant clinical effort and can often produce highly variable results. Thus, tight control remains elusive as there is not enough understanding of the relationship between control performance and protocol design, particularly with regard to how a given protocol is implemented. Methods: This article examines the role of human factors and how individuals relate to technological protocols in clinical settings. The study consists of an overall brief review that is used to create a first graphical representation of the impact of human factors in clinical medical protocol implementations. This initial framework is examined in the context of two similar, but different, case studies—the specialized relative insulin and nutrition tables glycemic control protocol and the TREAT system for antibiotic selection. Results: A graphical framework relating the human factors impact on medical protocol implementation is created. This framework describes the primary impacts on performance as resulting from clinical burden and protocol transparency. Their primary effect is on compliance with the protocol, which directly affects performance and outcome, particularly in long-term studies versus short pilot studies. Summary: Compliance is a key element in obtaining the best clinical outcome that a given protocol can provide. The issues that most affect compliance are quite often unrelated to the patient or treatment, but are a function of the protocol design and its ability to integrate (by its design) into a given clinical setting. A framework for examining these issues in design and in post-hoc assessment is therefore proposed and examined in two brief case studies.
Inhibition of Xenotropic Murine Leukemia Virus-Related Virus by APOBEC3 Proteins and Antiviral Drugs

ABSTRACT Xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus (XMRV), a gammaretrovirus, has been isolated from human prostate cancer tissue and from activated CD4+ T cells and B cells of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome, suggesting an association between XMRV infection and these two diseases. Since APOBEC3G (A3G) and APOBEC3F (A3F), which are potent inhibitors of murine leukemia virus and Vif-deficient human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), are expressed in human CD4+ T cells and B cells, we sought to determine how XMRV evades suppression of replication by APOBEC3 proteins. We found that expression of A3G, A3F, or murine A3 in virus-producing cells resulted in their virion incorporation, inhibition of XMRV replication, and G-to-A hypermutation of the viral DNA with all three APOBEC3 proteins. Quantitation of A3G and A3F mRNAs indicated that, compared to the human T-cell lines CEM and H9, prostate cell lines LNCaP and DU145 exhibited 50% lower A3F mRNA levels, whereas A3G expression in 22Rv1, LNCaP, and DU145 cells was nearly undetectable. XMRV proviral genomes in LNCaP and DU145 cells were hypermutated at low frequency with mutation patterns consistent with A3F activity. XMRV proviral genomes were extensively hypermutated upon replication in A3G/A3F-positive T cells (CEM and H9), but not in A3G/A3F-negative cells (CEM-SS). We also observed that XMRV replication was susceptible to the nucleoside reverse transcriptase (RT) inhibitors zidovudine (AZT) and tenofovir and the integrase inhibitor raltegravir. In summary, the establishment of XMRV infection in patients may be dependent on infection of A3G/A3F-deficient cells, and cells expressing low levels of A3G/A3F, such as prostate cancer cells, may be ideal producers of infectious XMRV. Furthermore, the anti-HIV-1 drugs AZT, tenofovir, and raltegravir may be useful for treatment of XMRV infection.
Relationships between dendritic morphology, spatial distribution and firing patterns in rat layer 1 neurons

The cortical layer 1 contains mainly small interneurons, which have traditionally been classified according to their axonal morphology. The dendritic morphology of these cells, however, has received little attention and remains ill defined. Very little is known about how the dendritic morphology and spatial distribution of these cells may relate to functional neuronal properties. We used biocytin labeling and whole cell patch clamp recordings, associated with digital reconstruction and quantitative morphological analysis, to assess correlations between dendritic morphology, spatial distribution and membrane properties of rat layer 1 neurons. A total of 106 cells were recorded, labeled and subjected to morphological analysis. Based on the quantitative patterns of their dendritic arbor, cells were divided into four major morphotypes: horizontal, radial, ascendant, and descendant cells. Descendant cells exhibited a highly distinct spatial distribution in relation to other morphotypes, suggesting that they may have a distinct function in these cortical circuits. A significant difference was also found in the distribution of firing patterns between each morphotype and between the neuronal populations of each sublayer. Passive membrane properties were, however, statistically homogeneous among all subgroups. We speculate that the differences observed in active membrane properties might be related to differences in the synaptic input of specific types of afferent fibers and to differences in the computational roles of each morphotype in layer 1 circuits. Our findings provide new insights into dendritic morphology and neuronal spatial distribution in layer 1 circuits, indicating that variations in these properties may be correlated with distinct physiological functions.
Spondyloarthritis: may the force be with you?

Jacques et al 1 provide proof of concept that experimental spondyloarthritis (SpA) may be a biomechanically triggered process. The implication is that an aberrant mesenchymal tissue response to physiological mechanical forces that occur during joint movement may trigger inflammation associated with SpA. Given the long-known genetic association of human SpA with human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-B27,2 which governs initiation of adaptive immune responses, the concept that SpA resembles a biomechanically driven rather than autoimmune disease may come as a great surprise. The en face argument that mechanically driven animal models bear no resemblance to human SpA, however, has to be taken with caution, given that the role of mechanics in human SpA has several supporting strands of evidence that date back over 50 years. Jacques and colleagues show that the earliest lesions in their model are localised at the Achilles tendon. As far back as 1959, La Cava, in his prophetic commentary on enthesitis, but not specifically in relationship to SpA, recognised that “the continually recurring concentration of muscle stress at these points provokes a reaction of inflammation with a strong tendency to the formation of fibrosis and calcification”. 3 He also stated that insertions appeared to show ‘a peculiar reaction to irritative stimuli’ and that such stimuli were most frequently ‘microtraumatic in origin’. Since that time evidence has accumulated that supports all aspects of these suppositions. In the 1970s, Moll and Wright deduced the clinical concept of SpA.4–6 Although they did not pinpoint the ‘invisible unifying concept’, which appears to be mechanical stress, they recognised that physical trauma to joints appeared to trigger psoriatic arthritis and speculated that psoriatic arthritis (PsA) represented a ‘Deep Koebner response’. However, they did not specifically recognise the importance of the entheseal organ as the link between biomechanics and inflammation. Likewise, nail …
Anti-double stranded antibody. Association with titers and fluorescence patterns of anti-nuclear antibody in systemic lupus erythematosus.

OBJECTIVE Many laboratories do not test antinuclear antibodies (ANA) by indirect immune-fluorescence (IIF) in parallel with anti-double stranded (ds) DNA antibodies. This study attempts to investigate the legitimacy of such practice. METHODS A retrospective laboratory data analysis of simultaneous assessment of ANA and anti-dsDNA antibody results of 106 patients with either diagnosed or suspected systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) was performed at King Khalid University Hospital, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The ANA was detected by IIF on HEp2 cells and anti-dsDNA antibodies were assessed by specific ELISA test. RESULTS Among the patients, female preponderance (96.3%) was evident and a coarse speckled fluorescence pattern was commonly observed (60.4%). There was almost no detection of anti-dsDNA antibodies up to an ANA titer of 1:320. Anti-dsDNA antibodies were often detected at ANA titers of 1:640 and beyond. Other patterns of fluorescence observed at ANA titers as low as 1:40 and at higher dilutions were, fine speckled (14.15%), homogeneous (9.4%), anti-mitochondrial (7.5%), ribosomal (4.7%), and nucleolar (3.8%). Linear regression analysis revealed a statistically significant relationship (p=0.02) between ANA titers and anti-dsDNA antibodies only in the presence of a coarse speckled pattern. CONCLUSION The rare occurrence of anti-dsDNA antibodies at clinically significant ANA titers associated with the coarse speckled pattern may mask the diagnosis of SLE. Similarly, the diagnosis of SLE may be overlooked if anti-dsDNA antibodies are not checked in the presence of clinically insignificant ANA titers associated with other patterns of fluorescence.