Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Quantitative Assessment of Brain Stem and Cerebellar Atrophy in Spinocerebellar Ataxia Types 3 and 6: Impact on Clinical Status

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Cerebellar and brain stem atrophy are important features in SCA3, whereas SCA6 has been regarded as a “pure” cerebellar disease. However, recent neuropathologic studies have described additional brain stem involvement in SCA6. We, therefore, aimed to investigate the occurrence and impact of regional infratentorial brain volume differences in patients with SCA3 and SCA6. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-four patients with genetically proved SCA (SCA3, n = 17; SCA6, n = 17) and age-matched healthy control subjects (n = 51) were included. In all subjects, high-resolution T1-weighted images were acquired with a 1.5T MR imaging scanner. Individual brain stem and cerebellar volumes were calculated by using semiautomated volumetry approaches. For all patients with SCA, clinical dysfunction was scored according to the ICARS. Multiple regression analysis was used to identify the contribution of regional volumes to explain the variance in clinical dysfunction in each SCA genotype. RESULTS: Cerebellar volumes were lower in patients with SCA6 compared with controls and with those with SCA3. In contrast to controls, brain stem volume loss was observed in patients with SCA3 (P < .001) and, to a lesser extent, in those with SCA6 (P = .027). Significant linear dependencies were found between ICARS and cerebellum volume (SCA3: R2 = 0.29, P = .02; SCA6: R2 = 0.29, P = .03) and between ICARS and brain stem volume (SCA3: R2 = 0.49, P = .002; SCA6: R2 = 0.39, P < .01) in both subtypes. Both cerebellar and brain stem atrophy contributed independently to the variance in clinical dysfunction in SCA6, while in SCA3, only brain stem atrophy was of relevance. CONCLUSIONS: Our current findings in accordance with recent neuroradiologic and pathoanatomic studies suggest brain stem and cerebellar volume loss as attractive surrogate markers of disease severity in SCA3 and SCA6.
Particulate Matter Exposures, Mortality, and Cardiovascular Disease in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study

Background: The association of all-cause mortality and cardiovascular outcomes with air pollution exposures has been well established in the literature. The number of studies examining chronic exposures in cohorts is growing, with more recent studies conducted among women finding risk estimates of greater magnitude. Questions remain regarding sex differences in the relationship of chronic particulate matter (PM) exposures with mortality and cardiovascular outcomes. Objectives: In this study we explored these associations in the all-male Health Professionals Follow-Up Study prospective cohort. Methods: The same spatiotemporal exposure estimation models, similar outcomes, and biennially updated covariates were used as those previously applied in the female Nurses’ Health Study cohort. Results: Among 17,545 men residing in the northeastern and midwestern United States, there were 2,813 deaths, including 746 cases of fatal coronary heart disease (CHD). An interquartile range change (4 µg/m3) in average exposure to PM ≤ 2.5 µm in diameter in the 12 previous months was not associated with all-cause mortality [hazard ratio (HR) = 0.94; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.87–1.00] or fatal CHD (HR = 0.99; 95% CI, 0.87–1.13) in fully adjusted models. Findings were similar for separate models of exposure to PM ≤ 10 µm in diameter and PM between 2.5 and 10 µm in diameter and for copollutant models. Conclusions: Among this cohort of men with high socioeconomic status living in the midwestern and northeastern United States, the results did not support an association of chronic PM exposures with all-cause mortality and cardiovascular outcomes in models with time-varying covariates. Whether these findings suggest sex differences in susceptibility or the protective impact of healthier lifestyles and higher socioeconomic status requires additional investigation.
Anisotropy beneath the Pyrenees Range from teleseismic shear wave splitting: Results from a test experiment

We have investigated the seismic anisotropy from SKS and SKKS wave splitting along a N-S profile perpendicular to the Pyrenean mountain belt. The line crossed the North Pyrenean Fault (NPF), which probably represents the plate boundary between the European and the Iberian plates. We observed large delay times δt (1.3 to 1.5 s) and uniform fast polarization directions ϕ (N100E) at three stations located on the Iberian plate. On the other hand, δt are smaller (0.5–1.0 s) and the ϕ scattered at stations located north of the NPF. The small scale variability, the relation with surface geology and the correlation of the δt with lithospheric thickness suggest that the anisotropy could be predominantly of lithospheric origin. However, an asthenospheric contribution cannot be ruled out. In the North Pyrenean Zone, an important thermal event before the Pyrenean compression has likely erased the former mantle fabric. The observed anisotropy is then likely related to the Pyrenean orogeny. On the Iberian plate, our splitting parameters are similar to those obtained at two stations located on Hercynian structures in Central Spain. This suggests that two contributions are likely superposed to that of the Pyrenean built up: one related to the Hercynian orogeny and the other one related to the rotation of the Iberian plate.
Gladius-bearing coleoids from the Upper Cretaceous Lebanese Lagerstätten: diversity, morphology, and phylogenetic implications

Abstract. Gladius-bearing coleoids are rare in the fossil record. For the Cretaceous period, these cephalopods are mainly recorded in a few Lagerstätten in Lebanon (Haqel, Hajoula, En Nammoura, and Sahel Aalma). Here, we study 16 specimens of gladius-bearing coleoids from these Upper Cretaceous Lebanese Lagerstätten to investigate their taxonomic diversity. Besides two species that were already reported (Dorateuthis syriaca and Glyphiteuthis libanotica), one new species is identified in the Cenomanian site of Hajoula: Rachiteuthis acutali n. sp. , as well as another form of Glyphiteuthis from En Nammoura. Several studied specimens exhibit well-preserved soft-part characters. Among them, we document for the first time two transverse rows of sessile suckers in D. syriaca and we confirm the absence of tentacles, as well as the presence of a crop in this species. This strongly supports the phylogenetic proximity of D. syriaca with modern vampyropods rather than with modern decabrachians. In turn, the similarity in gladius morphology between this taxon and modern squids is regarded as convergent.
Embryonic Stem Cells: An Exciting Field for Basic Research and Tissue Engineering, but also an Ethical Dilemma?

Recent reports describing that, not unexpectedly, human embryonic stem (ES) cells have become available [Shamblott et al., 1998; Thomson et al., 1998] suddenly put ES cells in the centre of public interest. Mouse ES cells have been known as a fascinating object of biological research for many years, and in particular they have proven useful as an experimental tool for basic studies on gene function. Their potential use as model systems for studies on basic aspects of differentiation processes was in the past exploited by only a limited, but steadily increasing, number of researchers. Since last year interest in this field seems to have experienced a quantum leap, in particular due to the fact that the primate, and especially human, ES cells now available may show considerable promise for broad applications in tissue engineering and transplantation. Indeed, they could be an ideal source of material for transplantation purposes in the human. We will of course never have enough donated human cells and organs to meet all transplantation needs, in spite of all efforts that are being made. Xenotransplantation poses immunologic and animal protection problems. ES cells are attractive because they can proliferate and then be influenced by various cytokines to differentiate into certain directions, e.g. into the direction of haematopoietic stem cells that are of utmost interest in transplantation medicine [for animal experiments see e.g. Forrester et al., 1991; Palacios et al., 1995]. Studies along those lines are now being continued with human ES cells. ES cells are, on the other hand, also of considerable interest to embryologists and developmental biologists because they offer opportunities previously unavailable for performing studies on differentiation and pattern formation in mammals including (nonhuman) primates. It seems that the great practical use that derivatives of ES cell lines may find in transplantation medicine will increase the pressure to put much money and effort into such basic research on the regulation of differentiation in these systems. I am very happy, therefore, that Anna Wobus and Kenneth Boheler have accepted to compile and edit this timely special issue of Cells Tissues Organs. I am sure it will be welcomed by the scientific community as a very impor-
Workload characterization and customer interaction at e-commerce web servers

Electronic commerce servers have a significant presence in today’s Internet. Corporations want to maintain high availability, sufficient capacity, and satisfactory performance for their E-commerce Web systems, and want to provide satisfactory services to customers. Workload characterization and the analysis of customers’ interactions with Web sites are the bases upon which to analyze server performance, plan system capacity, manage system resources, and personalize services at the Web site. To date, little empirical evidence has been discovered that identifies the characteristics for Web workloads of E-commerce systems and the behaviours of customers. This thesis analyzes the Web access logs at public Web sites for three organizations: a car rental company, an IT company, and the Computer Science department of the University of Saskatchewan. In these case studies, the characteristics of Web workloads are explored at the request level, function level, resource level, and session level; customers’ interactions with Web sites are analyzed by identifying and characterizing session groups. The main E-commerce Web workload characteristics and performance implications are: i) The requests for dynamic Web objects are an important part of the workload. These requests should be characterized separately since the system processes them differently; ii) Some popular image files, which are embedded in the same Web page, are always requested together. If these files are requested and sent in a bundle, a system will greatly reduce the overheads in processing requests for these files; iii) The percentage of requests for each Web page category tends to be stable in the workload when the time scale is large enough. This observation is helpful in forecasting workload composition; iv) the Secure Socket Layer protocol (SSL) is heavily used and most Web objects are either requested primarily through SSL or primarily not through SSL; and v) Session groups of different characteristics are identified for all logs. The analysis of session groups may be helpful in improving system performance, maximizing revenue throughput of the system, providing better services to customers, and managing and planning system resources. A hybrid clustering algorithm, which is a combination of the minimum spanning tree method and k-means clustering algorithm, is proposed to identify session clusters. Session clusters obtained using the three session representations Pages Requested, Navigation Pattern, and Resource Usage are similar enough so that it is possible to use different session representations interchangeably to produce similar groupings. The grouping based on one session representation is believed to be sufficient to answer questions in server performance, resource management, capacity planning and Web site personalization, which previously would have required multiple different groupings. Grouping by Pages Requested is recommended since it is the simplest and data on Web pages requested is relatively easy to obtain in HTTP logs.
Performance of different luminescence approaches for the dating of known-age glaciofluvial deposits from northern Switzerland

Luminescence properties of two samples taken from sand lenses in proglacial outwash de-posits of a piedmont glacier that reached the Swiss midlands during the Last Glacial Maximum are investigated in detail. Deconvolution of CW-OSL decay curves shows that the fast component dominates the OSL signal of quartz. The chemistry of single feldspar grains, in particular the K content in different grains, is determined using wavelength dispersive spectrometry (electron microprobe), revealing an average 12.9 wt. % K of the grains contributing to the IRSL signal. De distributions are investigated in order to gain insights into partial bleaching, and agreement is found for quartz OSL and feldspar IR50 and pIRIR225 ages for small aliquots and single grains when applying the Minimum Age Model. These ages are also consistent with independent age control. For one sample, ages determined using the Central Age Model result in highly overestimated ages for both feldspar and quartz.
An Adaptive BIST Design for Detecting Multiple Stuck-Open Faults in a CMOS Complex Cell

This paper describes a new adaptive built-in self-test (BIST) technique for detecting stuck-open faults in a CMOS complex cell. A test pattern generator (TPG) that adaptively generates a sequence of single-input-change test pairs based on the past responses of the circuit under test (CUT) is designed. Conventional TPGs produce a predefined sequence of test vectors. The novelty of the proposed approach lies in the fact that the test sequence (TS) generated by the TPG depends on the actual error produced by the CUT during testing. The BIST design is universal, i.e., independent of the structure or functionality of the CUT, and depends only on the number of inputs to the CUT. The length of the TS (|TS|) also depends on the error behavior; hence, it significantly reduces the average test application time. For an n-input CUT, it is shown that 4 les |TS | les 2n ldr2n. The design of the response analyzer is also simple. Barring a few exceptions, any irredundant multiple stuck-open faults, including those simultaneously occurring in both the n- and p- parts of a complex cell, are guaranteed to be detected using the proposed BIST scheme.
DInSAR Coseismic Deformation of the May 2011 M w 5.1 Lorca Earthquake (southeastern Spain)

Abstract. The coseismic superficial deformation at the region of Lorca (Murcia, southeastern Spain) due to the Mw 5.1 earthquake on 11 May 2011 was characterized by a multidisciplinary team, integrating information from DInSAR, GPS and numerical modelling techniques. Despite the moderate magnitude of the event, quantitative information was obtained from the interferometric study of a pair of TerraSAR-X images. The DinSAR results defined the trace of the fault plane and evidenced uplift of the hanging wall block in agreement with the estimated deformation obtained through an elastic rupture dislocation numerical model. Meanwhile for the footwall block, interferometric results showed that tectonic deformation is masked by an important subsidence related to groundwater extraction previously identified at the area of study. Horizontal crustal deformation rates and velocity vectors, obtained from GPS stations existent at the area, were also coherent with the tectonic setting of the southern margin of the Iberian Peninsula and with the focal mechanism calculated for the Lorca event. The analysis of a continuous GPS site in Lorca showed good agreement with the horizontal N–S direction component relative to the numerical model and tectonics of the region. This is the first time at this seismic active area that a multi-technique analysis has been performed immediately after the occurrence of a seismic event, comparing the existing deformation data with a theoretical numerical model based on estimated seismic rupture dislocation.
Zircon-Inclusion Mineralogy of a Diamond-Grade Eclogite from the Kokchetav Massif, Northern Kazakhstan

In order to understand the dehydration process related to phengite decomposition during subduction of crust into the deep mantle, we systematically investigated mineral inclusions in zircons from Kokchetav diamond-grade eclogites. In the eclogites, phengite is absent from the matrix but only occurs as inclusions in clinopyroxene. The clinopyroxene is zoned; the core augite contains K2O up to 0.24 wt%, whereas the rim omphacite contains secondary K-feldspar inclusions. Phengite may have been consumed during prograde reactions, and K was fixed in clinopyroxene or in a fluid/melt phase. Inclusions of clinopyroxene and garnet were identified in zircon cores, whereas garnet, rutile, quartz, and composite inclusions are present in the mantles and quartz occurs in the rims. Distribution of mineral inclusions in zoned zircons indicates that zircon cores grew at the peak UHP stage, whereas the rims grew in the quartz stability field during decompression. The composite inclusions have assemblages of albite + glass + epidote, rutile + ilmenite, quartz + rutile, and rutile + albite. The former three-phase composite inclusions have rounded outlines and triple-junction grain boundaries, suggesting crystallization from fluid or melt. During the growth of zircon from core to mantle, phengite was consumed, and new garnet, rutile and fluid/melt were formed.
Medication errors in the obstetrics emergency ward in a low resource setting

Objective: To investigate the patterns of medication errors in the obstetric emergency ward in a low resource setting. Material and methods: This prospective observational study included 10 000 women who presented at the obstetric emergency ward, department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Menofyia University Hospital, Egypt between March and December 2010. All medications prescribed in the emergency ward were monitored for different types of errors. The head nurse in each shift was asked to monitor each pharmacologic order from the moment of prescribing till its administration. Retrospective review of the patients’ charts and nurses’ notes was carried out by the authors of this paper. Results were tabulated and statistically analyzed. Results: A total of 1976 medication errors were detected. Administration errors were the commonest error reported. Omitted errors ranked second followed by unauthorized and prescription errors. Three administration errors resulted in three Cesareans were performed for fetal distress because of wrong doses of oxytocin infusion. The rest of errors did not cause patients harm but may have lead to an increase in monitoring. Most errors occurred during night shifts. Conclusion: The availability of automated infusion pumps will probably decrease administration errors significantly. There is a need for more obstetricians and nurses during the nightshifts to minimize errors resulting from working under stressful conditions.
Using Weather Data and Climate Model Output in Economic Analyses of Climate Change

Economists are increasingly using weather data and climate model output in analyses of the economic impacts of climate change. This article introduces weather data sets and climate models that are frequently used, discusses the most common mistakes economists make in using these products, and identifies ways to avoid these pitfalls. We first provide an introduction to weather data, including a summary of the types of data sets available, and then we discuss five common pitfalls that empirical researchers should be aware of when using historical weather data as explanatory variables in econometric applications. We then provide a brief overview of climate models and discuss two common and significant errors often made by economists when climate model output is used to simulate the future impacts of climate change on an economic outcome of interest.
The Slope of the Psychometric Function for Bailey-Lovie Letter Charts: Defocus Effects and Implications for Modeling Letter-By-Letter Scores

Background. Visual acuity measurement often results in an imprecise endpoint because subjects correctly identify some but not all of the letters on one or more size levels on a letter chart. The extent of this transition zone from seeing to nonseeing can be described by probit size, which is calculated by performing Probit Analysis on letter chart data. There has been no previous research into the effects of optical defocus on letter chart probit size. Methods. We tested 18 young visually normal subjects monocularly during three different defocus conditions: best spectacle correction (zero defocus) and +1.00 D and +2.00 D additions. Stimuli were Bailey-Lovie–style logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (log MAR) letter charts constructed with a 0.05 logMAR size progression between size levels. Frequency of seeing data from these charts were used to calculate probit size. Results. There were statistically significant effects of optical defocus on mean probit size. After Monte Carlo correction for bias, we believe that true mean values for probit size are about 0.07 logMAR for well-corrected subjects and up to 0.12 logMAR with optical defocus. Conclusion. The smaller probit size for well-corrected subjects should correspond to a sharper logMAR visual acuity endpoint and less intrasubject variability in logMAR acuity than for subjects with a larger probit size (optical defocus). Our modeling shows that these different probit sizes can also significantly affect letter-by-letter visual acuity scoring.
The near-surface hydrothermal regime of Long Valley Caldera

Temperatures at the 5- to 10-m depth from 29 shallow holes in Long Valley caldera can be contoured systematically; they correlate well with the character of the thermal gradient to 30 m. Where the temperature at a depth of 10 m is less than 11°C (group I), the gradients to 30 m are practically zero; where the 10-m temperature is between 11°C and 16°C (group II), the gradients are 2000°–400°C/km and uniform, corresponding to conductive heat flows of 4–8 HFU (1 HFU = 1 × 10−6 cal/cm2 s). Where the 10-m temperatures exceed 16°C (group III), gradients are larger and irregular, with local heat flows to 50 HFU. Thermal considerations suggest that the first group is characteristic of regions of hydrologic recharge, that the second group is probably characteristic of regions with conductive regimes to substantial depth, and that the third group is characteristic of regions of hydrologic discharge. This interpretation is supported by limited drilling to depths up to 300 m. Regimes in group I occur in the peripheral portion of the caldera, suggesting that this is an area of recharge. The hot springs discharge in a fault zone characterized by near-surface regimes in groups II and III; chemical evidence indicates that their source reservoir is at about 200°C. Evidently, the springs are fed by local fractures; if the background regime is conductive, their reservoirs are probably less than 1 km deep. Hydrologic and isotopic data indicate that gross circulation in the hydrothermal system is from west to east, suggesting that the hot springs gain their heat in the western caldera. The large estimates of heat being removed from the caldera by flowing water and the geologic inference that hydrothermal activity was more intense in the past support the view that the Long Valley system was resupplied with heat from deep magmatic sources during its eruptive history.