Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Scalable multichannel MRI data acquisition system

A scalable multichannel digital MRI receiver system was designed to achieve high bandwidth echo‐planar imaging (EPI) acquisitions for applications such as BOLD‐fMRI. The modular system design allows for easy extension to an arbitrary number of channels. A 16‐channel receiver was developed and integrated with a General Electric (GE) Signa 3T VH/3 clinical scanner. Receiver performance was evaluated on phantoms and human volunteers using a custom‐built 16‐element receive‐only brain surface coil array. At an output bandwidth of 1 MHz, a 100% acquisition duty cycle was achieved. Overall system noise figure and dynamic range were better than 0.85 dB and 84 dB, respectively. During repetitive EPI scanning on phantoms, the relative temporal standard deviation of the image intensity time‐course was below 0.2%. As compared to the product birdcage head coil, 16‐channel reception with the custom array yielded a nearly 6‐fold SNR gain in the cerebral cortex and a 1.8‐fold SNR gain in the center of the brain. The excellent system stability combined with the increased sensitivity and SENSE capabilities of 16‐channel coils are expected to significantly benefit and enhance fMRI applications. Magn Reson Med 51:165–171, 2004. Published 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Status of plasma nitric oxide and non-enzymatic antioxidants before and after antipsychotic treatment in Nigerian patients with schizophrenia

BACKGROUND: Recently, it is proposed that oxidant-antioxidant imbalance may have a role in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. The present study was performed to assess differences in plasma levels of nitric oxide (as oxidant), caeruloplasmin (secondary antioxidant), and antioxidant trace metals (Zn, Se, Mn, Cu and Fe) in patients with schizophrenia compared with healthy controls. Our secondary aim was to further evaluate the impact of psychopharmacologic treatment on these parameters. METHODS: Plasma levels of nitric oxides (NO), caeruloplasmin, zinc (Zn), selenium (Se), manganese (Mn), copper (Cu) and iron (Fe) in patients with schizophrenia before (n = 15) and after antipsychotic drug treatment (n = 20) were compared with those of healthy controls (n = 20). Convenient sampling method was used for the selection of subjects. NO was estimated by the use of Griess method, caeruloplasmin was estimated by the use of immunodiffusion method and antioxidant trace metals was estimated by the use of atomic absorption spectrophotometer. RESULTS: The levels of Cu and caeruloplasmin were not significantly different while Fe and Se were significantly reduced in both groups of schizophrenic patients compared with the controls. Zn was significantly elevated in medicated schizophrenics compared with drug-free patients or controls. NO was significantly elevated in drug free patients with schizophrenia compared with controls or treated patients. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest the application of management strategies that will reduce NO but will increase antioxidant trace metals in patients with schizophrenia.
Postoperative nausea and vomiting: is everything now solved or still more questions than answers?

It has been more than 12 years since the first international recommendations for the prophylaxis and treatment of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) were published. During the subsequent decade these guidelines were updated twice to incorporate new knowledge and trends from thousands of clinical trials on this important field of outcome research. Despite some criticisms concerning their applicability and the ease of implementing their complex risk score-based anti-PONV algorithms, the last version of the Society for Ambulatory Anesthesia PONV-guidelines were commended as a ‘leapfrog towards a PONV-free hospital. ’
When to arrive in a congested system: Achieving equilibrium via learning algorithm

Motivated by applications in competitive WiFi sensing, and competition to grab user attention in social networks, the problem of when to arrive at/sample a shared resource/server platform with multiple players is considered. Server activity is intermittent, with the server switching between ON and OFF periods alternatively. Each player spends a certain cost to sample the server state, and the per-player payoff is inversely proportional to the number of simultaneously connected/arrived players. The objective of each player is to arrive/sample the server as soon as any ON period begins while incurring minimal sensing cost and to avoid having many other players overlap in time with itself. For this competition model, we propose a distributed randomized learning algorithm (strategy to sample the server) for each player, which is shown to converge to a unique non-trivial fixed point. The fixed point is moreover shown to be a Nash equilibrium of a game, where each player's utility function is demonstrated to possess all the required selfish tradeoffs.
Effect of uraemia on endothelial cell damage is mediated by the integrin linked kinase pathway

Patients with chronic kidney disease have a higher risk of developing cardiovascular diseases than the general population. Their vascular endothelium is dysfunctional, among other things, because it is permanently exposed to uraemic toxins, several of which have poor clearance by conventional dialysis. Recent studies have demonstrated the important role of integrin‐linked kinase (ILK) in the maintenance of endothelial integrity and in this study we investigate the involvement of ILK in the mechanism underlying vascular endothelial damage that occurs in uraemia. For the first time, we demonstrate the implication of ILK in the protection against endothelial cell damage (inhibition of proliferation, toxicity, oxidative stress and programed cell death) induced by uraemic serum from chronic kidney disease patients and uraemic toxins. This molecular mechanism may have clinical relevance because it highlights the importance of maintaining high levels of ILK activity to help preserve endothelial integrity, at least in early stages of chronic kidney disease.
Treatment of neonatal thrombus formation with recombinant tissue plasminogen activator: six years experience and review of the literature

BACKGROUND Thrombosis is a relatively rare event in children. However, many conditions in the neonatal period result in an increased risk of thrombus formation. The major risk factor is the indwelling intravascular catheter. Numerous small studies have reported experience of thrombolytic treatment for neonatal thrombotic disease with a wide range of different thrombolytic agents in various forms of administration, dosage, and duration, but no conclusions on the most effective treatment for neonates has been reached. OBJECTIVE To assess the efficacy and safety of thrombolytic treatment of neonatal catheter related thrombus (CRT) formation with recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA). METHOD Over a six year period, 14 neonates with CRT were treated with the same rt-PA protocol (an initial bolus of 0.7 mg/kg over 30–60 minutes followed by infusion of 0.2 mg/kg/h). RESULTS Complete clot dissolution was documented in 11 patients, and partial clot lysis in two patients, leading to a patency rate of 94%. In two cases, local bleeding occurred, resulting in treatment failure in one case. Finally, antithrombin III substitution was required in one case. No other complications such as severe bleeding were recognised. CONCLUSION With the use of close clinical and haematological monitoring on a neonatal intensive care unit combined with serial two dimensional colour echocardiography, the present rt-PA protocol was shown to be a safe and effective method of clot dissolution in neonates.
Truncated RON Tyrosine Kinase Drives Tumor Cell Progression and Abrogates Cell-Cell Adhesion Through E-Cadherin Transcriptional Repression

RON is a tyrosine kinase receptor that triggers scattering of normal cells and invasive growth of cancer cells on ligand binding. We identified a short RON mRNA, which is expressed in human lung, ovary, tissues of the gastrointestinal tract, and also in several human cancers, including ovarian carcinomas and cell lines from pancreatic carcinomas and leukemias. This transcript encodes a truncated protein (short-form RON; sf-RON), lacking most of the RON receptor extracellular domain but retaining the whole transmembrane and intracellular domains. Sf-RON shows strong intrinsic tyrosine kinase activity and is constitutively phosphorylated. Epithelial cells transduced with sf-RON display an aggressive phenotype; they shift to a nonepithelial morphology, are unable to form aggregates, grow faster in monolayer cultures, show anchorage-independent growth, and become motile. We show that in these cells, E-cadherin expression is lost through a dominant transcriptional repression pathway likely mediated by the transcriptional factor SLUG. Altogether, these data show that expression of a naturally occurring, constitutively active truncated RON kinase results in loss of epithelial phenotype and aggressive behavior and, thus, it might contribute to tumor progression.
Functional architecture of the CFTR chloride channel

Abstract Cystic fibrosis is caused by mutations in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR), a member of the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) family of membrane transport proteins. CFTR is unique among ABC proteins in that it functions not as an active transporter but as an ATP-gated Cl− channel. As an ion channel, the function of the CFTR transmembrane channel pore that mediates Cl− movement has been studied in great detail. On the other hand, only low resolution structural data is available on the transmembrane parts of the protein. The structure of the channel pore has, however, been modeled on the known structure of active transporter ABC proteins. Currently, significant barriers exist to building a unified view of CFTR pore structure and function. Reconciling functional data on the channel with indirect structural data based on other proteins with very different transport functions and substrates has proven problematic. This review summarizes current structural and functional models of the CFTR Cl− channel pore, including a comprehensive review of previous electrophysiological investigations of channel structure and function. In addition, functional data on the three-dimensional arrangement of pore-lining helices, as well as contemporary hypotheses concerning conformational changes in the pore that occur during channel opening and closing, are discussed. Important similarities and differences between different models of the pore highlight current gaps in our knowledge of CFTR structure and function. In order to fill these gaps, structural and functional models of the membrane-spanning pore need to become better integrated.
Analysis of the rainfall variability and change in the Republic of Benin (West Africa)

ABSTRACT The temporal variation and trends of annual rainfall distribution in Benin were examined using data from 1940 to 2015 at six meteorological stations and three raingauges stationed throughout the country. The nonparametric modified Mann-Kendal (MK) and Levene tests were applied to detect trends and heteroscedasticity, respectively. For six of the time series, no significant trends were detected. A Bayesian multiple change points detection approach was applied to the rainfall time series, and most (six of nine) exhibited abrupt change points, corresponding to the alternation between wet (before 1968 and after 1990) and dry (1969–1990) periods. No significant trends or breakpoints and changes in the variance were observed for the spatial average rainfall time series. Seven modified MK trend tests were applied; the trends are affected by the selected MK method and rainfall statistics. Oceanic and/or atmospheric influences on the rainfall in Benin were examined by investigating the correlation between the precipitation time series and several indices. Negative seasonal correlations were determined for the North Atlantic Oscillation, Pacific Decadal Oscillation and Niño3, while positive seasonal correlations were observed for the Southern Oscillation, Antarctic Oscillation and Dipole Mode Index.
Representation of Linguistic Information Determines Its Susceptibility to Memory Interference

We used the dual-task paradigm to infer how linguistic information is represented in the brain by indexing its susceptibility to retrieval interference. We measured recognition memory, in bilingual Chinese-English, and monolingual English speakers. Participants were visually presented with simplified Chinese characters under full attention, and later asked to recognize them while simultaneously engaging in distracting tasks that required either phonological or visuo-spatial processing of auditorily presented letters. Chinese speakers showed significantly greater memory interference from the visuo-spatial than phonological distracting task, a pattern that was not present in the English group. Such a pattern suggests that retrieval of simplified Chinese characters differentially requires visuo-spatial processing resources in Chinese speakers; these are compromised under dual-task conditions when such resources are otherwise engaged in a distracting task. In a secondary analysis, we showed the complementary pattern in a group of English speakers, whose memory for English words was disrupted to a greater degree from the phonological than visuo-spatial distracting task. Together, these results suggest the mode of representation of linguistic information can be indexed behaviorally by susceptibility to retrieval interference that occurs when representations overlap with resources required in a competing task.
Minimally Invasive TLIF Using Unilateral Approach and Single Cage at Single Level in Patients over 65

Background. Minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (MIS-TLIF) is a widely accepted surgical procedure. But there are only a few reports of MIS-TLIF using the unilateral approach and single cage in elderly patients. Objective. The study investigated the clinical and radiological outcomes of MIS-TLIF using the unilateral approach and single cage in the patients over 65 years of age. Methods. Thirty-eight patients were followed for a mean of 15.5 ± 11.61 months. Radiological data include fusion rate, change of disc height, and central canal area. The numeric rating scale (NRS) and Oswestry disability index (ODI) were used to assess clinical outcomes. Results. The mean age of these patients at operation was 71.82 ± 4.71 years (range, 65–82 years). Evidence of fusion was observed radiologically in 64.71% at 6 months and 87.5% at 12 months after surgery, giving a final fusion rate of 100%. The mean NRS scores for back and leg pain and ODI scores improved significantly at the final follow-up. Conclusions. Clinical and radiologic outcomes of MIS-TLIF using unilateral approach and single cage in elderly patients indicate an acceptable method for the treatment of various kinds of lumbar spinal diseases.
Title: Modulation of Motor Cortex Neuronal Activity and Motor Behavior 1 during Subthalamic Nucleus Stimulation in the Normal Primate 2 3 Authors and Affiliations: Stn Stimulation and M1 Activity in Normal Primate

1 during subthalamic nucleus stimulation in the normal primate 2 3 Authors and Affiliations: Luke A. Johnson, Weidong Xu, Kenneth B. Baker, Jianyu Zhang, Jerrold L. Vitek 4 Department of Neurology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455 USA; 5 2 Department of Anesthesiology, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH 44195 USA; 6 7 Authors Contribution: W. Xu and J. Zhang conducted the experiments. L.A. Johnson analyzed the data and 8 prepared the manuscript. K.B. Baker and J.L. Vitek contributed to manuscript revisions. 9 10 Running Head: STN stimulation and M1 activity in normal primate 11
Analysis and Computation of Compatible Least-Squares Methods for div-curl Equations

We develop and analyze least-squares finite element methods for two complementary div-curl elliptic boundary value problems. The first one prescribes the tangential component of the vector field on the boundary and is solved using curl-conforming elements. The second problem specifies the normal component of the vector field and is handled by div-conforming elements. We prove that both least-squares formulations are norm-equivalent with respect to suitable discrete norms, yield optimal asymptotic error estimates, and give rise to algebraic systems that can be solved by efficient algebraic multigrid methods. Numerical results that illustrate scalability of iterative solvers and optimal rates of convergence are also included.
Evaluation of health-related quality of life in patients with Cushing's syndrome with a new questionnaire.

UNLABELLED Chronic exposure to hypercortisolism has significant impact on patient's health and health-related quality of life (HRQoL), as demonstrated with generic questionnaires. We have developed a disease-generated questionnaire to evaluate HRQoL in patients with Cushing's syndrome (CS; CushingQoL). OBJECTIVE Validate the CushingQoL questionnaire in patients with CS in clinical practice conditions. DESIGN Observational, international, cross-sectional study. METHODS A total of 125 patients were recruited by 14 investigators from Spain, France, Germany, The Netherlands, and Italy over a 2-month period. Clinical and hormonal data were collected and correlated with results of the generic short form 36 (SF-36) questionnaire, a question on self-perceived general health status and the CushingQoL score. RESULTS A total of 107 patients were pituitary-dependent and 18 adrenal-dependent CS; 104 (83%) were females, mean age 45 years (range 20-73 years); 39 (31%) were currently hypercortisolemic; and 47 (38%) adrenal insufficient. In clinical practice, CushingQoL was feasible (117; 94% of patients fully responded to the questionnaire in a mean time of 4 min), reliable (Crohnbach's alpha=0.87), and valid (factorial analysis demonstrated unidimensionality and Rasch analysis lead to a final version with 12 items). A significant (P<0.001) correlation was observed between CushingQoL score and patients self-perceived general health status and dimensions of SF-36 (Pearson's correlation coefficient > or =0.597). Patients with current hypercortisolism scored worse (lower) than those without (44+/-22 vs 56+/-21, P=0.004). Linear regression analysis identified female gender and hypercortisolism as significant predictors for worse QoL. CONCLUSION CushingQoL is useful to evaluate HRQoL in patients with CS and correlates with clinical parameters.
Improving Translation of Unknown Proper Names Using a Hybrid Web-based Translation Extraction Method

Recently, we have proposed several effective Web-based term translation extraction methods exploring Web resources to deal with translation of Web query terms. However, many unknown proper names in Web queries are still difficult to be translated by using our previous Web-based term translation extraction methods. Therefore, in this paper we propose a new hybrid translation extraction method, which combines our pervious Web-based term translation extraction method and a new Web-based transliteration method in order to improve translation of unknown proper names. In addition, to efficiently construct a good quality transliteration model, we also present a mixed-syllable-mapping transliteration model and a Web-based semi-supervised learning algorithm to explore search-result pages further for collecting large amounts of English-Chinese transliteration pairs from the Web.
An Immunosuppressant Peptide from the Hard Tick Amblyomma variegatum

Ixodid ticks are well known for spreading transmitted tick-borne pathogens while being attached to their hosts for almost 1–2 weeks to obtain blood meals. Thus, they must secrete many immunosuppressant factors to combat the hosts’ immune system. In the present work, we investigated an immunosuppressant peptide of the hard tick Amblyomma variegatum. This peptide, named amregulin, is composed of 40 residues with an amino acid sequence of HLHMHGNGATQVFKPRLVLKCPNAAQLIQPGKLQRQLLLQ. A cDNA of the precursor peptide was obtained from the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI, Bethesda, MD, USA). In rat splenocytes, amregulin exerts significant anti-inflammatory effects by inhibiting the secretion of inflammatory factors in vitro, such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-1 (IL-1), interleukin-8 (IL-8) and interferon-gamma (IFN-γ). In rat splenocytes, treated with amregulin, compared to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) alone, the inhibition of the above inflammatory factors was significant at all tested concentrations (2, 4 and 8 µg/mL). Amregulin shows strong free radical scavenging and antioxidant activities (5, 10 and 20 µg/mL) in vitro. Amregulin also significantly inhibits adjuvant-induced paw inflammation in mouse models in vivo. This peptide may facilitate the ticks’ successful blood feeding and may lead to host immunotolerance of the tick. These findings have important implications for the understanding of tick-host interactions and the co-evolution between ticks and the viruses that they bear.
Emergence of invariance and disentangling in deep representations

We show that invariance in a deep neural network is equivalent to information minimality of the representation it computes, and that stacking layers and injecting noise during training naturally bias the network towards learning invariant representations. Then, we show that overfitting is related to the quantity of information stored in the weights, and derive a sharp bound between this information and the minimality and Total Correlation of the layers. This allows us to conclude that implicit and explicit regularization of the loss function not only help limit overfitting, but also foster invariance and disentangling of the learned representation. We also shed light on the properties of deep networks in relation to the geometry of the loss function.
Nevirapine- Versus Lopinavir/Ritonavir-Based Antiretroviral Therapy in HIV-Infected Infants and Young Children: Long-term Follow-up of the IMPAACT P1060 Randomized Trial.

BACKGROUND The International Maternal Pediatric Adolescent AIDS Clinical Trials Network (IMPAACT) P1060 study demonstrated short-term superiority of lopinavir/ritonavir (LPV/r) over nevirapine (NVP) in antiretroviral therapy (ART), regardless of prior NVP exposure. However, NVP-based ART had a marginal benefit in CD4 percentage (CD4%) and growth. We compared 5-year outcomes from this clinical trial. METHODS Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected, ART-eligible children were enrolled into 2 cohorts based on prior NVP exposure and randomized to NVP- or LPV/r-based ART. The data safety monitoring board recommended unblinding results in both cohorts due to superiority of LPV/r for the primary endpoint: stopping randomized treatment, virologic failure (VF), or death by 6 months. Participants were offered a switch in regimens (if on NVP) and continued observational follow-up. We compared time to VF or death, death, and CD4% and growth changes using intention-to-treat analyses. Additionally, inverse probability weights were used to account for treatment switching and censoring. RESULTS As of September 2014, 329 of the 451 (73%) enrolled participants were still in follow-up (median, 5.3 years; interquartile range [IQR], 4.3-6.4), with 52% on NVP and 88% on LPV/r as originally randomized. NVP arm participants had significantly higher risk of VF or death (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 1.90; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.37-2.65) but not death alone (aHR, 1.65; 95% CI, .72-3.76) compared with participants randomized to LPV/r. Mean CD4% was significantly higher in the NVP arm up to 1 year after ART initiation, but not beyond. Mean weight-for-age z scores were marginally higher in the NVP arm, but height-for-age z scores did not differ. Similar trends were observed in sensitivity analyses. CONCLUSIONS These findings support the current World Health Organization recommendation of LPV/r in first-line ART regimens for HIV-infected children. CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRATION NCT00307151.